SMITH, LEO, 1881-1952
MUS 37

Leo Smith fonds.  - 1905-1951.  - 85 cm of textual records.  - 1 drawing. 

Biographical sketch
Composer, cellist, writer and professor born in Birmingham, England, Leo Smith first learned cello with W.H. Priestley and Carl Fuchs.  A talented child, he performed in recital at the age of eight at Birmingham City Hall.  He continued his training at the Royal Manchester College of Music and the University of Manchester.  In England, he worked primarily as a cellist in the Hallé Orchestra, and for five years was a member of the Royal Opera House Orchestra (Covent Garden).  In 1910 he emigrated to Canada and joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.  Smith was also a member of a number of musical groups, including the Conservatory Trio, the Conservatory String Quartet and the Academy String Quartet.  Interested in teaching, he wrote three textbooks, including Musical Rudiments, and was also employed as a professor at the Toronto Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto (1927-50).  He composed works for piano, choir and orchestra (An Ancient Song, A Summer Idyll) and chamber music (Quartet in D, Sonata in E Minor and A Horse Race Ballad). 

Scope and content
The fonds consists of records pertaining to the musical activities of Leo Smith:  biographical notes; correspondence; manuscripts of compositions and arrangements by Leo Smith; list of works; programme notes; contract; ink portrait of L. Smith by Owen Staples. 

Immediate source of acquisition:  acquired from Marion Brown and Betty Wilkinson in 1973 and 1974. 

Restrictions:  none. 

Finding aids:  inventory.