Inducted into the Percussive Arts Society’s Hall of Fame in 2010, Stanley Leonard achieved prominence in the music world during his distinguished thirty eight year career (1956-1994) as Principal Timpanist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO). With the PSO he performed internationally, on television productions, on over fifty recordings, premiering several major new works for solo timpani and orchestra, and receiving accolades for his performances from critics, conductors, and colleagues. Mr. Leonard has presented clinics and participated in the Emeritus Ensemble at Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. Moreover he has presented masterclasses and clinics at colleges and universities in the United States, Europe and Asia.
With over 140 works to his name, Mr. Leonard is the author of the well known method book Pedal Technique for the Timpani, as well as over sixty works for percussion, solo timpani, timpani and organ/trumpet, percussion ensemble, and handbells that are published and performed around the world. He can be heard performing and conducting his compositions on the recordings: Canticle, Collage, Reunion, and Retrospections; his works for organ, trumpet and timpani on: Acclamation; and his handbell works on: Jubilate.
When did you begin studying music?
I began piano lessons at age five with my mother, but I was always interested in the sound of the drum. When I was 11 years old (by then we had moved to Independence, Missouri from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) I was given a small snare drum that was like a toy. I took some lessons from a local music shop teacher, who was a tuba player. Soon after I was in junior high school playing in the band and was noticed by the band director, who just happened to be a violinist from the Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra (now called the Kansas City Symphony). After some time, he suggested that I take lessons from the principal percussionist in the orchestra. I began studying with Vera McNary, who later became Vera McNary Daehlin. That was in 1944 and I am still involved in music 80 years later.
Did you always study percussion?
I continued piano lessons with my mother after I began studying with Vera, and I also got a real snare drum. I came from a very musical family. My mother was a pianist and my father was a singer who also played the piano. When I was in college I tried playing the French horn. But I decided to stick with percussion.
What made you choose percussion?
When I was a very small child (living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) my mother would hold me up to the living room window so I could see and hear a marching band practice on the street in front of our house. She said I would get very tense when the drums were playing by themselves. When I was a little older my mother took my brother and me to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra. I always focused my attention on the man in the back playing the snare drum. I guess I was hooked from that point.
Who were your primary teachers?
Vera McNary Daehlin was my primary percussion teacher. With her I studied snare drum, marimba, and accessory percussion. She also gave me one of her older four octave Deagan marimbas when I began studying that instrument with her. John Beck and I shared a practice room with this marimba when we were at Eastman together. I kept the marimba in my home studio for 50 years. When I was a sophomore in high school, in Independence, Missouri, I started studying timpani with Ben Udell who was the timpanist of the Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra. He was a former Saul Goodman student. I idolized the way he played and tried to imitate him. Because of him I began to focus my interest on timpani, although I continued studying all concert percussion instruments. My high school principal gave me a key to the school one time so I could practice on the school’s two pedal timpani when school was closed for a few weeks. I played marimba solos and snare drum solos on state and regional music contests (I was lucky to always get a #1 rating). When I was a senior in high school (1948-49) I began playing percussion in the Kansas City Philharmonic next to my teachers. The school was very generous in letting me go to rehearsals without jeopardizing my education.
After graduating from high school I worked for a year in the regional office of the Boy Scouts of America and continued playing in the Kansas City Philharmonic. Then I went to Northwestern University for one quarter and studied with Edward Metzinger, timpanist of the Chicago Symphony. Second semester I went to Graceland University in Iowa and a music teacher there suggested I go to the Eastman School of Music. I did that in the fall and studied with William Street for the next three years. He helped me put all my previous experience together. I played percussion in the Rochester Philharmonic during my senior year at Eastman. Erich Leinsdorf was the conductor. I was also fortunate to play percussion and timpani in the first Eastman Wind Ensemble conducted by Frederick Fennell.
When did you decide to pursue a career in music?
When I was 14 years old, and a freshman in high school, I decided I would like to play in the local orchestra. I auditioned on snare drum with the director. After I played he asked me if I knew anything about the timpani. I said yes, but I never played them. He took me to a rehearsal room and showed me an ancient set of hand tuned timpani. He gave me a pair of timpani sticks and showed me how to play the drums. Then he said, Come to next week’s rehearsal. After doing a quick exploration into how to play the timpani and playing in the orchestra for a while, I decided that this was probably my career objective.
Did you have a specific goal?
I knew I wanted a role performing in an orchestra, but I also participated in many other activities. When I was in high school, the band director allowed me to conduct the band in rehearsals. I really enjoyed that. I also participated in the art club and drama theater productions. I was enrolled in the ROTC program and rose to the lofty rank of assistant battalion commander. Outside of school I was active in Boy Scouts, boys choir, and young people’s activities at my church. I assumed many leadership roles. One of the defining moments occurred when I had to choose between a leading role in a school play or go to a symphony rehearsal. I finally chose to go to the symphony rehearsal. However, I later enjoyed directing a school play and conducting a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta, The Pirates of Penzance. During my senior year in high school I tried my hand at composing for the piano by writing some little pieces for my mother to play. The summer after I graduated I enrolled for eight weeks of courses offered by the University of Michigan at Interlochen. One of the courses was orchestral conducting. I studied the art with a teacher and then conducted the university orchestra for one number in a concert. I also studied conducting and composing while at Eastman.
Do you focus on a specific area of percussion?
When I first started studying I focused mostly on snare drum. I realized there was a vast world of percussion instruments but I was determined to develop my technique on the snare drum. I was always interested in concert music for band and orchestra. When I discovered the timpani and began playing them in the Independence Little Symphony, I began to appreciate playing the timpani more and more. I had friends who introduced me to the world of jazz and big band music. After I started getting my techniques together on a majority of the standard percussion instruments I tried my hand at playing drum set. I did not have a real drum set but my father helped me put a faux one together. He had a colleague at work who sold him a small bass drum and three Chinese tom toms which I used in my drum set. We found a second hand foot pedal somewhere for the bass drum. I remember putting suspended cymbals (borrowed from the high school) on the top of folding music stands. A group of us high school players got together to form a little band and played for Teen Town Dances. We played mostly soupy music that was easy to dance to and perform. I never seemed to have a strong desire to have a real drum set and learn the techniques required. Maybe the concert hall beckoned too loudly.
Who impacted your musical growth the most?
I think I grew musically the most because of my experience with the conductors with whom I worked. Their approach to the music and their discussions with musicians in other instrument sections about performing, inspired new concepts in my mind about what the music was all about, and how to bring it to life. During the years before I became a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony, I was fortunate to perform with many talented musicians. I listened to how they played and how they interpreted the music. That experience made an impression on me. When I joined the Pittsburgh Symphony, as Principal Timpanist at age 25, I began performing with musicians who had more years of experience than myself. I did a lot of on the job training, so I was fortunate to perform with those people and be mentored by the person on the podium. As the years progressed I continued to gain more knowledge and insight because of these relationships.
Here are a few of the teachers with whom I was privileged to work with; who were musical giants in the second half of the 20th century; and who created the strongest impact on me: William Steinberg, Andre Previn, Lorin Maazel, Eugene Ormandy, Leonard Bernstein, George Solti, Sir Thomas Beecham, Leopold Stokowski, Pierre Monteaux, Carlo Maria Giulini, Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos, Rafael Kubelik, and Frederick Fennell.
What teaching positions have you held?
I was an Adjunct Professor of Percussion at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) from 1958 to 1978. There, I taught all the percussion instruments and percussion ensemble; establishing the first percussion ensemble at a Pittsburgh university. Unfortunately, no studio room for percussion existed at CMU, but I was able to have one built. During one summer session at CMU I directed and conducted a wind ensemble class. And from 1989 to 2001 I was an Adjunct Professor of Percussion at Duquesne University where I taught timpani and directed the percussion ensemble. The Dean of the School of Music at Duquesne was one of my former students from CMU! I also had a private studio of percussion students at my home during my entire forty years in Pittsburgh.
What percussionists have inspired you the most?
My teachers Vera Daehlin and Ben Udell inspired me to achieve excellence in my performing. In my early days I used to listen to the New York Philharmonic on the radio and hear their sound and the sounds made by Saul Goodman. I had the music to some of the pieces they played and I would play along on pillows. William Street inspired me to consolidate all of the things that I had experienced and learned from others and himself. I had a lifelong friendship with Alan Abel. His musical approach to percussion was very important to me. I appreciated the artistry of Shelly Mann. His musical approach to playing the drum set was an inspiration to me. I used to listen to Stan Kenton’s recording of Artistry in Rhythm, and he played on that recording. I was fortunate to meet Shelly when he came to Pittsburgh to do recordings with Andre Previn. I met Saul Goodman at a New York Philharmonic rehearsal. He was very complimentary about my playing in the Pittsburgh Symphony. I was astonished that he had ever heard me play. Some of the active performers I appreciate in today’s world include Don Liuzzi, Ed Stephan, David Herbert, Joseph Pereira, Peter Erskine, Chris Lamb, and Peter Kogan.
Is there a specific genre you enjoy performing the most?
The world of orchestral music is still the most important genre for me.
What composers do you identify with?
During my active performing days as a timpanist I always enjoyed playing the classical symphonies. Beethoven was number one, Brahms was number two. It seems to me that the timpani reached its highest importance in the orchestral repertoire starting with those two composers. Later composers created music for timpani built on the foundations established by these two composers. Many present day composers are still struggling to give the timpani a voice that matters. I have enjoyed creating and performing arrangements of music for organ and timpani for the last 25 years.
Do you get nervous before you play?
I would say being anxious is a natural response that everyone experiences. I have had that feeling. However, if you feel completely prepared, through practice and understanding of the music, this will help alleviate some anxiousness. Good breathing is important while performing. String players do a lot of breathing exercises as part of their training. Percussionists should include good breathing technique as a part of their performance. It is very important in the total approach to creating music. Sometimes choice of sticks and mallets is involved with anxiousness. Our brains often react to the sounds that we perform. Using appropriate sticks and mallets can help create the sounds that make our brains feel more comfortable.
Do you ever make a mistake while performing?
I think I made a mistake once in 1963. When you are a principal player in a major symphony orchestra you just don’t make mistakes. If you do make a mistake never show any outward sign that anything is wrong. You cannot correct a mistake while performing. The important thing is to maintain your focus on the performance and continue playing. Beethoven supposedly said he did not care how many mistakes anyone made while performing as long as they played with conviction. One time I was performing a Bruckner Symphony (there can be many long waits in a Bruckner symphony) and I let my focus slip. I heard a passage that was similar to one that came later so I played a long crescendo roll, which fortunately fit the music perfectly, but at the end of the roll the music was different. So I just stopped playing, sat down and waited for the real entrance to occur. Good thing I was also listening carefully to the music. The conductor never blinked, and he knew the music without a score in front of him.
Has your practice regimen changed from when you were a student?
When I was young I never did much warming up before playing. I discovered this was a mistake and warming up, even just a little bit, really helps before the actual performing or practice time occurs. When practicing I always focus on being perfect, not just practice, practice. A person needs patience in taking small steps to put the music together. My teaching experience helped keep me in shape to play the primary percussion instruments.
How do you define a good musician and a good teacher?
A good musician is someone who intrinsically, and with musical instincts, knows how to bring the proper life to those little black notes printed on the page. That person will have highly developed technical skills and a keen awareness of the musical values that need to be applied when using that technique. Someone once called these attributes musical personality. A good teacher strives to incorporate these elements in teaching and develop an empathy for the student’s personal abilities in expressing these elements. It takes time for the performer and teacher to understand and apply these attributes. A good teacher explains performance technique and musicality with meaningful words and skillful demonstration. These definitions have remained pretty much the same since I was a student.
Do you think that performing and teaching are intrinsically intertwined?
Not necessarily so. Some performers do not make great teachers and some teachers are not great performers. You cannot put a square peg in a round hole.
Has teaching made you a better musician?
I never spent much time thinking about how to do something, I just did it. Teaching helped me to analyze my performance and learn ways of helping others to achieve a musical result in their performance.
What usually inspires you to compose?
When I first started composing for percussion, back in the 1960s, my inspiration came because of need. There was not a great deal of percussion literature at that time for teaching technique and percussion ensemble performance, so I began writing percussion studies for my students. Then I started creating a few percussion ensembles. This was at Carnegie Mellon University. At the time I only had four or five students so all of the pieces that I wrote were for that number of players. I wrote a compilation of snare drum studies. It was later published in a book titled Contemporary Album for the Snare Drum, which is still available from Alfred Music and used by people today.
My best inspiration usually comes when someone asks me to write a piece for them. I explore the background of the person or ensemble, the location of the ensemble, the percussionists who are going to play and the character of instruments that might fit my explorations. I usually like to tell a story with my music. Then I put these aspects together and think about them for a while before beginning to jot down some ideas for the music.
I do not often write music just for myself. I usually am inspired by the musical life and experiences of others. One piece I did write for myself, entitled, Canticle for Solo Timpani, is an exception to that rule. I’m happy to report that many other people have enjoyed performing it over the years. I have a special interest in pedal technique for the timpani. After several years of working on ideas, I put together the method book Pedal Technique for the Timpani. Published originally in 1988 by Ludwig Music.
An interesting fact about three of my pieces that were published originally by N. Simrock in England (now Boosey and Hawkes) is that this publisher also released works by Dvorak and Brahms. Publishers are often consolidated. All of my music originally published by Ludwig Music is now distributed by Alfred Music.
Did you formally study composition?
I did some study in writing chamber music while a student at the Eastman School of Music. Other than that I’ve not had any formal training in composition. I have done a lot of self-study about the process. During my retirement I have had the opportunity to become a listener rather than a performer. It is interesting to analyze the compositions that I hear. I listen for the structure, tonal colors, and try to determine where the music is going.
How do you feel when your work is performed differently than you intended?
After you have created a piece of music you send it out into the world and let it go. Sometimes I appreciate the interpretation, and sometimes it’s not quite what I would have hoped for.
What would you like others to know about your compositions?
My compositions always express my musical feelings and emotions. Someone once called some of my percussion pieces rather pedagogic. I guess that’s OK if it teaches you something. My music is what I feel about rhythm, harmony, melody, and the sounds of percussion instruments. I have really enjoyed writing for handbells. Those instruments give me a good opportunity to think harmonically and melodically. I also like the sounds very much.
Knowing what you know today, would you change how you prepared for your career?
The basic answer to that question is no, I wouldn’t change anything. I’m fortunate to have lived a life and had a career in music that has been very satisfying.
What words of wisdom would you like to share with students?
It is alright to dream, but be involved in the present. Do not be afraid to explore new pursuits. If you do make an early decision about your future, continue to be flexible in your interests, but be fully engaged performing in the present. Opportunities for the future develop through participation in the present. The same holds true for an educator. If you’re going to teach music you must be involved in creating music.
If you would like to learn more about Mr. Leonard, please visit his website at: stanleyleonard.com
