Leo Salkeld Sowerby (1 May 1895 – 7 July 1968) was an American composer and church musician. He won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1946 and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid 20th century. His many students included Florence Price and Ned Rorem.
Leo Sowerby, son of Florence Gertrude Salkeld and John Sowerby, was born on 1 May 1895, in Grand Rapids, Michigan,[1] where he began to compose at the age of 10. His interest in the organ began at the age of 15, and he was self-taught at the instrument. He studied composition with Arthur Olaf Andersen at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.[2] Early recognition came when his Violin Concerto was premiered in 1913 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.[3] He spent time in France during the First World War in the role of bandmaster.[2] In 1921 he was awarded the Rome Prize (from the American Academy in Rome), the first composer to receive this. He began teaching at the American Conservatory of Music in 1924.[2] He received the 1946 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his cantata, the Canticle of the Sun, written in 1944.[3][4]
In 1962, after his retirement from St. James, he was called to Washington National Cathedral to become the founding director of the College of Church Musicians, a position he held until his death in 1968.[3] He died in Port Clinton, Ohio, while at Camp Wa-Li-Ro in Put-in-Bay, Ohio, the summer choir camp where he had taught for many years. He is buried in Washington National Cathedral.
His substantial output includes over 500 works in every genre but opera and ballet.[3] His later works, composed while he was at St. James, Chicago, and Washington National Cathedral, are primarily church music for choir and organ.
"Impressions: Music for Piano" (Suites: "Florida" and "From the Northland" Folksong and Country Dance Tunes: "Three Folk-tunes from Somerset", "Money Musk", "Fisherman's Tune", "The Irish Washerwoman: A Country Dance Tune", "L'Amour Di Quei Due (The Two Lovers): A Milanese Popular Song") – Malcolm Halliday, pianist [1]: (Troy 226), Albany: Troy Records, 1997 Records
I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes – The Roberts Wesleyan College Chorale & Roberts Wesleyan Brass Ensemble, Robert Shewan, conductor – (Troy 238), Albany NY: Troy Records, 1997
Leo Sowerby: American Master of Sacred Song – Gloriae Dei Cantores, Elizabeth Patterson, conductor; David Chalmers, James E. Jordan, jr., organists – Orleans MA: Paraclete Press, (GDCD 016), 1994
Organ Music of Leo Sowerby (Symphony in G, Requiescat in pace, Fantasy for Flute Stops) – Catharine Crozier, organ – Chatsworth CA: Delos International, (D/CD 3075), 1988
Leo Sowerby: Works for Organ and Orchestra (Classic Concerto, Medieval Poem, Pageant, Festival Music) – David Craighead, David Mulbury, organ; The Fairfield Orchestra, John Welsh, conductor – NAXOS 8.559028
Violin & Organ, The Murray/Lohuis Duo (Poem) – Robert Murray, Violin, Ardyth Lohuis, organ – Richmond, VA: Raven Recordings, (OAR 200), 1991
Rondo, Works for Violin & Organ, Vo. 2 (Ballade) – Robert Murray, Violin, Ardyth Lohuis, organ – Richmond, VA: Raven Recordings, (OAR 230), 1993
Leo Sowerby: Music for Violin and Piano (Sonata in B-Flat, H165; Sonata in D, H 367; Two American Pieces, H 174) – Robert Murray, Violin; Gail Quillman, Piano – New York, NY: Premier Recordings, Inc., (PRCD 1049), 1995
All American, Works for Violin and Organ, Volume 5 (Elevation, H 66) – Robert Murray, Violin, Ardyth Lohuis, organ – Richmond, VA: Raven Recordings, (OAR 650), 2003
Leo Sowerby: The Paul Whiteman Commissions & Other Early Works (Synconata, H 176a, Symphony for Jazz Orchestra, H 178) – Andy Baker Orchestra, Avalon String Quartet, Winston Choi, Piano – Chicago, IL: Cedille Records, (CDR 90000 205), 2021
Trios from the City of Big Shoulders, Lincoln Trio, Cedille CDR90000203 (2021), includes Trio for violin, violoncello and pianoforte, H. 312 (1953)[5]
^United States Federal Census, Grand Rapids ward 4, Kent, Michigan; roll 722; page 15A; enumeration district: 0060; FHL microfilm: 1240722.
^ abcHarold Gleason, "Leo Sowerby". American Organ Music (LP Record). Catharine Crozier, organ. Rochester, New York: Kendall Recording Corporation. KRC-LP 2555.
^ abcdRonald Stalford and Michael Meckna, "Sowerby, Leo", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.), edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrell, (London, Macmillan Publishers (2001)).
