Larry Otto, currently working in music sales, taught for a number of years in Seventh-day Adventist schools. A B.S. music education degree graduate from Union College in Nebraska, he began his career at Sunnydale Academy in Missouri. While at SA, he completed a master's degree in music. He then taught at Indiana Academy, before teaching voice and directing choirs at Columbia Union College and Southern Adventist College, now Southern Adventist University.

In 1984, Otto accepted a position as choir director and chair of the fine arts department at Southwestern Adventist College, now Southwestern Adventist University. It was a challenging situation since the music program had recently been reduced to a service department and he was the only full-time teacher in music.

In his role as department chair, Otto attempted to make the best of the change in status for the department by starting a Ministry of Music program in his second year, a religion degree with special courses in music. He also launched a two-year recording studio program to prepare students for a career in that area. Even though a $40,000 Josephine J. Roberts Recording Studio was established in Mabee Center to facilitate the program, it, as well as the ministry of music offering failed to attract enough students and ended when Otto left in 1991 to work for Ogden Music.

While serving as chair, he was able to restart a college sponsored music festival for the academies that had been stopped in 1984. In his time at SWAC, Otto was able to provide a choral program that attracted a large number of students. He performed several significant choral works and presented programs that were well received on campus and in the community.

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