Dennis retired from teaching high school and middle school band in 2020 after 35 years in the South Bend and Mishawaka school systems. He is currently a Lecturer in Music at The Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend. He serves as Music Education Coordinator as well as the conductor of the Wind and Jazz Ensembles. Dennis is also the musical director of the New Horizons senior citizens band and the Jazz Assemblage in Elkhart as well as the music director of the ACE Clarinet Choir in South Bend.
Dennis is a graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University Bloomington from which he earned a Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music Education degrees. He is an active trumpet player and arranger, having performed with the Elkhart, LaPorte and South Bend Symphony Orchestras. He also plays with both jazz and classical chamber groups in the community. He has written numerous arrangements for chamber groups, marching band, concert band and most avidly, jazz ensemble.