Leroy Anderson

From Wind Repertory Project
Leroy Anderson

Biography

Leroy Anderson (29 June 1908, Cambridge, Mass. - 18 May 1975, Woodbury, Conn.) was an American composer.

Anderson was born to Swedish immigrants. He attended Harvard University where he received a B.A. in Music in 1929, and a M.A. in Music in 1930. He studied toward a Ph.D. in German and Scandinavian languages through 1935 although he never completed his thesis. His composition teachers included George Enescu and Walter Piston. While in school he taught music to undergraduate students at Radcliffe College and was director of the Harvard University Band.

After hearing Anderson's arrangements for the Harvard Band, Arthur Fiedler asked him to make an arrangement of Harvard songs for the Boston Pops Orchestra. This eventually led to Fiedler hiring Anderson as an arranger for the Boston Pops and to the BPO performing original works by Anderson.

Leroy Anderson served in the United States Army during World War II as an interpreter and translator for the Counter Intelligence Corps and rose to the position of chief of the Scandinavian Department of Military Intelligence at the Pentagon.

After the war, Anderson moved to Connecticut with his family where he composed some of his most successful works, including Sleigh Ride (1948). His The Syncopated Clock (1945) was used as the theme show for The Late Show for 25 years and his composition Blue Tango sold over a million copies in 1952. As his compositions grew in popularity, Anderson was engaged as guest conductor of many orchestras across the United States.

Anderson wrote primarily for full orchestra. Soon after completing each orchestral composition, he would score many of his pieces for concert band and, in some cases, for piano and small ensembles. From 1938 to 1950, Anderson's compositions received their first performance with either Arthur Fiedler or Leroy Anderson conducting the Boston Pops. From 1950 to late 1962 Anderson's compositions received their first performances during recording sessions for Decca Records, conducted by Anderson.

He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960.


Works for Winds

Adaptable Music

  • Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Fernie) (1948/)
  • Sleigh Ride (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Torskangerpoll) (1948/2020)


All Wind Works


Resources

  • Coleman, Ronald O. "Irish Suite." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 9, edit. & comp. by Richard Miles, 568-581. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2013.
  • Fennell, Frederick. "Music by Leroy Anderson." The Instrumentalist vol. 44, no. 9, April 1990, pp. 26–28.
  • Harvard Composers - Walter Piston and his Students; Howard Pollack, (The Scarecrow Press, 1992).
  • Leroy Anderson Foundation
  • Leroy Anderson website. Accessed 16 December 2023.
  • Leroy Anderson: A Bio-Bibliography; Burgess Speed, Eleanor Anderson, Steve Metcalf. (Praeger, Westport CT USA; 2004).
  • Leroy Anderson. Wikipedia. Accessed 29 June 2020
  • Once Upon a Sleighride: The Music and Life of Leroy Anderson. PBS Website.
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