Leroy Robertson (December 21, 1896 – July 25, 1971) was an American composer and music educator. Robertson was born in Fountain Green,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. One of his earliest instructors was Anthony C. Lund. He graduated from the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

with a certificate in public school music and diplomas in composition, violin (after studies with

Harrison Keller Harrison Keller (October 8, 1888 – March 13, 1979) was an American violinist and music educator.''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', Seventh Edition, Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky, Schirmer Books, New York, 1984, page 1178 Keller w ...

), and piano in 1923, the same year he was awarded the Endicott prize for "Overture in E Minor". Following his graduation, Robertson taught music at North Cache High School in

Richmond, Utah Richmond is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is included in the Logan metropolitan area. History Agrippa Cooper was the first settler in Richmond in the mid-1 ...

and at Pleasant Grove High School in Pleasant Grove, Utah, where he also supervised music in the Alpine School District. Robertson was appointed to the music faculty at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in 1925. He soon became professor and chairman of the music department, a position he held until 1948. In 1930, Robertson studied with

Ernest Bloch Ernest Bloch (; ; July 24, 1880 – July 15, 1959) was a Swiss-born American composer. Bloch was a preeminent artist in his day, and left a lasting legacy. He is recognized as one of the greatest Swiss composers in history. Several of his most no ...

at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He would continue his studies with Bloch in Roveredo Capriasca, Switzerland in 1932, and with

Hugo Leichtentritt Hugo Leichtentritt (1 January 1874, Pleschen, , nearby Posen, Province of Posen13 November 1951, Cambridge, Massachusetts) was a German-Jewish musicologist and composer who spent much of his life in the USA. His pupils include composers Leroy R ...

in Berlin, Germany, in 1933. Robertson received a

BA degree A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

and an

MA degree A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from

in June 1933. Between 1933-1945, Robertson composed several works for piano and organ, as well as strings, including his "Songs from the Shadow", "Fantasia for the Organ", "String Quartet", and "Punch and Judy Overture". It was also during this period that he began work on the "Oratorio from the Book of Mormon". In 1945, Robertson was awarded the Utah Institute of Fine Arts Award for "Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra". Robertson won the Reichhold Award of $25,000 for "Trilogy for Orchestra" in 1947, which was premiered by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra with Karl Krueger conducting. The following year, he was appointed professor and chairman of the music department at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

, a position he held until 1962. Robertson's "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra" premiered under

Maurice Abravanel Maurice Abravanel (January 6, 1903 – September 22, 1993) was an American classical music conductor. He is remembered as the conductor of the Utah Symphony for over 30 years. Life Abravanel was born in Salonika, Rumelia Eyalet, Ottoman Emp ...

during the centennial of the University of Utah in 1950 with

Utah Symphony Orchestra The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

's concertmaster Tibor Zelig as soloist. In 1954, he received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. Robertson was instrumental in the promotion of the

Utah Symphony The Utah Symphony is an American orchestra based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The orchestra's principal venue is Abravanel Hall. In addition to its Salt Lake City subscription concerts, the orchestra travels around the Intermountain West serving ...

and of classical music in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. He is best known for his ''Oratorio from the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

'', which premiered in 1953. The setting of

the Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...

from that oratorio was recorded by the

Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for o ...

and released as a 45 single on the flip side of the

Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is an American patriotic music, American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe during the American Civil War. Howe adapted her song from the soldiers' song "John Brown's Body" in N ...

, which hit the top 50 charts. Among Robertson's works in the 1948 hymnal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the music for "Up! Arouse Thee, O Beautiful Zion", with words by Emily H. Woodmansee. The 1985 edition of the Church's hymnal includes eight of Robertson's hymns, including "On This Day of Joy and Gladness" (hymn #64, both words and music by Robertson), "Let Earth's Inhabitants Rejoice" (hymn #53), ""Great King of Heaven" (hymn #63), "God of Our Fathers, Known of Old" (hymn #80), "I'm A Pilgrim, I'm A Stranger" (hymn #121), "Upon The Cross Of Calvary" (hymn #184), "We Love Thy House, Oh God" (hymn #247) and "Go Ye Messengers of Glory" (hymn #262).

Selected works

Dictionary Of Composers and their music - Eric Gilder Sphere 1985 0517092956 *1923 Endicott Overture *1936 Quintet in A Minor for Piano and String Quartet *1940 Prelude, Scherzo and Ricercare ''for orchestra'' *1940 String Quartet *1944 Rhapsody ''for piano and orchestra'' *1945 Punch and Judy Overture *1947 Trilogy, ''for orchestra'' *1948 Violin Concerto *1953 The Book Of Mormon, ''oratorio'' *1957 American Serenade, ''for string quartet'' *1966 Piano Concerto also *Cello Concerto *Fantasia ''for organ'' *Come, Come, Ye Saints, ''for chorus'' *Hatikva, ''for chorus'' *From The Crossroads, ''for chorus'' *The Lord's Prayer, ''for chorus'' *Passacaglia ''for orchestra'' *''All Creatures of Our God and King'', motet

References

External links

*
Robertson on Musicweb International
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Leroy 1896 births 1971 deaths 20th-century American classical composers American male classical composers American Latter Day Saint hymnwriters Brigham Young University faculty People from Fountain Green, Utah USC Thornton School of Music alumni University of Utah alumni University of Utah faculty Musicians from Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah 20th-century American male musicians