Delbert Disselhorst was a member of the UI School of Music faculty from 1970 to 2008. He holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the University of Illinois, where he graduated as a Bronze Tablet Scholar. As a recipient of a Fulbright grant in organ, he also studied at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt, Germany where he was a student of Helmut Walcha. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Michigan where he was also awarded the Palmer Christian citation as a distinguished graduate of the organ department. His teachers include Jerald Hamilton, Mildred Andrews Boggess, Marilyn Mason, and Russell Saunders.

As a concert artist, Disselhorst has performed in the United States, Canada and Europe. He has appeared as a recitalist for several regional conventions and for the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists in Houston, Texas, in 1989. Tours of Europe have included recitals in Denmark, Germany and France. He has been a featured artist for international festivals and concert series in the cathedrals of Trier and Limburg and the Munster in Freiburg, Germany.

His recordings include works by Rorem and Pinkham for the Arkay label (recorded on the Noack organ at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, Iowa) and the Harmonische Seelenlust of G.F.Kauffmann for PRO ORGANO was released in 2007. This was recorded on the Brombaugh instrument at First Presbyterian Church, Springfield, Illinois. Disselhorst has recorded with Wolfgang Rübsam for NAXOS recordings the complete chorale settings of Helmut Walcha. His two volumes will be released in 2013.