Tim Lautzenheiser

Class of 2026

Honorary Member

Tim Lautzenheiser was born in 1947 in Bluffton, Indiana. Tim’s mother was the local tap dancing teacher and his father owned an upholstery shop and a small furniture store that served their local community. He attended the area country school encompassing grades 1 through 12…all in the same building. As was the pattern with all of his friends, it was expected (that) everyone would finish school, marry one’s high school sweetheart, then go to work in the family business. For Tim, that meant apprenticing in his father’s shop…while continuing to play with his four-piece band Friday and Saturday nights at the local bowling alley. How can it get any better than that?! ARTISTIC NIRVANA!!!

Lancaster Central School (where Tim's parents attended also) was blessed with a wonderful choir teacher: MISS SELLERS. She was a magical personality who spent 71 years teaching in the same building; Miss Sellers was a mainstay in the community…and - without question - his all-time favorite teacher during those formative years.

Tim graduated from high school in the spring of 1965 and began his college career at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. As a percussionist and keyboard player, he immediately declared himself a music major with lofty aspirations of becoming a band director. Following graduation from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, he joined his mentor, F. Earl Dunn (who had just accepted the Director of Bands position at the University of Alabama) as a graduate assistant. Completing his Master of Arts degree, Tim was invited to join the faculty at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan as the Assistant Director of Bands along with the challenge of building a respected percussion studio and starting a show choir to act as ambassadors for the University.

After three years at Northern Michigan University, he accepted the position of Associate Director of Bands/Professor of Percussion at the University of Missouri. During that time, he also became the creator/director of “Mini-Mizzou,” a popular entertainment ensemble that traveled throughout the midwest playing for various conventions, festivals, etc.

In 1976, Tim became Director of Bands at New Mexico State University where he introduced the marching band to the modern-day style of the marching activity. He expanded the program to three concert bands and grew the percussion studio to 40+ majors who all have assumed select key teaching positions throughout the nation. From there, he invested three years as the Executive Director of Bands of America.

In 1982 Tim created Attitude Concepts for Today, Inc., an organization designed to manage the many requests for student leadership workshops, teacher seminars, and convention speaking engagements, all focusing on the critical importance the teacher plays in the development of a Culture of Excellence. In 1995, VanderCook College of Music recognized his contribution to the music profession by awarding him an Honorary Doctorate.

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