Lawrence Dillon

Lawrence Dillon (born July 3, 1959) is an American composer, and Composer in Residence at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His music has a wide range of expression, generally within a tonal idiom notable both for its rhythmic propulsiveness and a strong lyrical element. Acclaimed particularly for his chamber music, he has also written extensively for voice and large ensembles. Early life and education Dillon was born in Summit, New Jersey to James and Jeanne Beaumont Dillon. He was the youngest of eight children. His father died of a brain tumor when Lawrence was two; his mother lived well into her nineties. He lost 50% of his hearing in an early childhood bout with chicken pox. Intrigued by his siblings’ piano lessons, he began his own at age seven, and soon developed a habit of composing a new work for his lesson each week. After undergraduate studies at the Hartt School of Music, he became the youngest composer to earn a doctorate at The Juilliard School, winning the Gretchaninoff Prize upon graduation (1985). He studied privately with Vincent Persichetti, and in classes with Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, David Diamond, Leon Kirchner and Roger Sessions. Oth