Robert Daniel Leaf (February 20, 1936 – October 11, 2005) was an American
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
''.
Robert Daniel Leaf was born and raised in
Lindsborg, Kansas
Lindsborg is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,776. Lindsborg is known for its large Swedish, other Nordic and Scandinavian Americans ( Nordic- Scandinavian), and German ...
. The son of Bernard and Judith (Valine) Leaf, he attended Luther Academy and College in
Wahoo, Nebraska
Wahoo (; from Dakota ; " arrow wood") is a city and county seat of Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,508 at the 2010 census.
History
Wahoo was founded in 1870. The town's name comes from the eastern wahoo (''Euon ...
, played trumpet in the Air Force band, and completed his undergraduate degree at
MacPhail School of Music
The MacPhail Center for Music is one of the nation's oldest and largest community-based music education centers. Located in the Mills District of Downtown East, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the school has over 16,000 students, providing instruction at ...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After a short career as an elementary school music teacher and a series of records of Children's music; he enrolled in graduate studies in composition at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
. Having nearly completed the program, he left school and began composing
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...
s and secular choral music from the home he shared with his wife and three children in suburban Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
He was especially interested in music for hymns and was completing a book on the subject at the time of his death. In particular, he had a belief in the value of hymn as one of the last commonplace examples of community singing outside of 'The Birthday Song' and The National Anthem.
He wrote both instrumental and vocal music and was published by AMSI, Augsburg, Choristers Guild, GIA and Kjos. Much of his late music included solo instrumental additions to choral arrangement. He had an innate understanding of church music, and wrote in a style that complemented worship.
His wife of 43 years, Barbara (Harmon) Leaf died on March 28, 2005. They had three sons: Eryc, Andrew and John.
1936 births
2005 deaths
University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni
People from Lindsborg, Kansas
American male composers
20th-century American composers
20th-century American male musicians
Schoolteachers from Kansas
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