Leroy Anderson - renowned American composer with his roots in Övarp

On March 27, 1882 the crofter Nils Andersson at Övarp No. 8 in the parish of Norra Strö emigrated to the USA with his wife Hanna Nilsdotter and their seven children. Their destination was Chicago. Later on they settled in the suburb Maywood where a great deal of their relatives and former neighbours from Sweden lived.

One of the children of Nils Andersson was Bror Anton Andersson, born on April 24, 1879 in Övarp. He was called Brewer Anderson in the USA. He lived in Cambridge Massachusetts and worked as a supervisor in the American Postal Office Administration. His wife was named Anna Margareta Johnsson and she had immigrated with her parents in 1887 from Stockholm, Sweden. Anna was an organist in a Swedish-American church. They had two children, Russell b. 1911 and Leroy b. 1908.

Leroy Anderson has become known as a composer of popular concert music and as a conductor. His music is played all over the world.

The Anderson family had a great interest in music. Brewer played the accordion, the mandolin and he often sang Swedish folksongs, Anna played the piano and the organ. Anna taught Leroy to play several musical instruments when he was a child. In his teens he studied music, in theory and practice, with private teachers. Leroy also composed the music for the high school graduations. Later on he studied music at the University of Harvard where he was the conductor of the university orchestra. He was known for composing humoristic pieces and one of those was described as a “light-hearted theme to be played slightly out of tune on the clarinet”.

In 1930 he earned an M.A. with a major in music at Harvard. He began teaching music at a college, but then he aimed for another career; he studied German and Scandinavian languages during a period of four years, 1930-1934. At the same time he continued conducting the university orchestra and he was also an organist and a conductor of a church choir. In 1935 he ended his studies and began free-lancing as an arranger of music, composer and conductor in Boston and New York. Among other things he composed music for the Boston Pops Orchestra.

In 1942 he joined the military service. He was assigned to Iceland and later on to Washington DC as a translator (he spoke nine languages fluently). When the war was over he returned to the music. He composed a lot of well- known pieces. One of those he called “Syncopated Clock” (giving the hint of a clock out of sync) where a clock is heard ticking. That piece of music became a theme song for a TV-show in the USA. Leroy composed unconventional classical music sometimes with odd sound effects. He composed a piece called “The Typewriter” where the clatter from an old typewriter characterises the music. In the Christmas song “Sleigh Ride” the sound of bells, horsewhip and a neighing horse are heard. The “Sandpaper Ballet” is another example with unusual musical instruments.

Leroy was even successful on the hitlist with an instrumental piece, ”Blue Tango”. More than two million copies were sold and it reached the top position on USA Hit Parade in 1952.
Other pieces of music he composed: “Jazz Pizzicato”, “Jazz Legato”, ”Promenade”, “Trumpeter’s Lullaby”, ”Serenata”, ”Bugler’s Holiday”, “Fiddle-Faddle”, ”Forgotten Dreams” and “Belle of the Ball”. He also wrote the music for “Goldilocks”, a Broadway-musical.

Leroy Anderson was elected member of “The Songwriters Hall of Fame” because of his achievements in music and he even has a star on “The Hollywood Walk of Fame”. He has also been acknowledged in other ways, for instance the building where the orchestras are housed at Harvard is called “The Anderson Band Center”.

In 1942 he married Eleanor Firke and they had four children; Eric, Jane, Rolf and Kurt. Leroy and his family visited the home of his father’s childhood in Övarp twice, in 1959 and 1966. But they didn’t find any living relatives. Thanks to the Internet the Anderson family reconnected with their relatives in Sweden in 2001, after decades of silence.

Leroy Anderson died on May 18, 1975 in Woodbury, Connecticut.  

The centennial celebration of Leroy Anderson in Kristianstad will continue during the entire year 2008 with several concerts containing his compositions. On April 26, 2008 there will be a manifestation concert at the Kristianstad indoor sports arena. Many representatives of the music scene will participate with various ensembles, concert bands, symphonic orchestra, a choir of more than 200 people, dancers and others. Have a look at the participants >>. Here you can find other events during 2008 >>