Detroit born and raised, a teacher of the History of Rock and Roll, and a professional Oboist; Professor Luca De La Florin is full of fun facts and hidden talents.
De La Florin Moved to Utah to get his doctorate at the University of Utah and has been here ever since. “I still think of myself as being new here, but it’s been eight years! I never expected to stay here.” The stars aligned for him and he found the jobs he wanted here in Utah.
De La Florin works at Utah Valley University, Snow College, does sub work for the Utah Symphony, and is a part of the symphony for the Utah Ballet. Eating his meals in the car on the way to and from all of his activities, He constantly has something to do.
De La Florin is passionate in his teaching students here at Snow the Obo, Intro to jazz, and History of Rock and Roll. His favorite thing to teach is the counterculture movement of the 1960s and going into depth about the domino effect of music.
Besides teaching, De La Florin loves to be social and is described by his friends as “Chaotic”. In middle school, he was a part of the chess club, but he said, “I don’t think I ever actually played chess…It turned into a big social hour.” His perfect Saturday would include some good food, being on stage, and of course, “a lot of work.”
When asked what the most important qualities in a professor and in students are, De La Florin said, “Sympathy, Empathy, and understanding…We all are going through various things in life. At the end of the semester, I want all students to succeed.”
Some words of wisdom he wants to share with the students of Snow College are, “Take care of yourself and take care of each other. We are all trying to be the best that we can.”
Make sure to come and see Luca De La Florin's quintet play a free concert at the snow college campus on Tuesday, November 15 at 7:30 PM in the Eccles Performing arts building recital hall. And check out his classes next semester.