Leroy Anderson completed four works in 1953: "Song of the Bells", "Summer Skies", "The Girl in Satin" and "Concerto in C for Piano and Orchestra". He commisioned a modern home for himself and his family on Grassy Hill in Woodbury, Connecticut. He was Guest Conductor in concerts at the University of Michigan, at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Cleveland, Ohio, Worcester and Boston, Massachusetts and Fairfield University, Connecticut. The Connecticut concert attracted a record-setting 8,500 people in the audience.
While "The Girl In Satin" is in a Latin style, similar to "Serenata", and "Song Of The Bells" is a waltz, "Summer Skies" is much less descriptive than the other works he completed in 1953. "Summer Skies" evokes a softer, enigmatic mood, somewhat like his 1962 work "Balladette".
Significant recordings
1. Decca Records recording session, Manhattan Center, New York, NY; Leroy Anderson, conductor; September 8, 1953.
Leroy Anderson conducted a studio orchestra in his 1953 Monaural recording of "Summer Skies" for Decca Records. 50 musicians, many of whom were the Principals of their respective orchestra sections, came to perform for the recording. They were chosen from the New York Philharmonic, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the NBC Symphony, the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Goldman Band and the Beaux Arts Trio.
The studio orchestra included 11 First Violins, 9 Second Violins, 6 Violas, 5 Celli, 3 Basses, 3 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, 2 Drums.
2. Decca Records recording session, Manhattan Center, New York, NY; Leroy Anderson, conductor; June 2, 1954.
Leroy Anderson conducted a studio orchestra in his 1954 Monaural re-recording of "Summer Skies" for Decca Records. Mr. Anderson was either not satisfied with the September 1953 recording that he had made or he had made some changes to the composition prior to this re-recording of "Summer Skies".
3. Decca Records recording session, Manhattan Center, New York, NY; Leroy Anderson, conductor; June 3, 1959.
Leroy Anderson conducted a studio orchestra in his 1959 Stereo recording of "Summer Skies" for Decca Records.
Note:
Copyright dates for "Summer Skies are sometimes shown as: "1953" or "1954" or "1953/1954" reflecting the 1953 completion of the original composition or the 1954 re-recording of "Summer Skies". It is not clear if the 1954 recording is simply a re-recording of the same music from 1953 or a recording of an edited version of the original work.
Summer Skies
Music by Leroy Anderson
Arranged by Leroy Anderson for Piano
Printed Music included in "Leroy Anderson at the Piano" available from Alfred Music.
Summer Skies
Music by Leroy Anderson
Arranged by Thomas Hundemer for Brass Quintet and for Woodwind Quintet
Thomas Hundemer
Thomas Hundemer, principal horn of the Shreveport Symphony since 1983, and a native of Bogalusa, Louisiana, has performed with many orchestras in the U.S and Mexico, among them the Orquesta Sinfonica de Xalapa in Mexico, and the Quad Cities Symphony
(Iowa-Illinois).
He is principal horn with the orchestras of Longview (TX), Marshall (TX), Texarkana (TX) and South Arkansas (Eldorado, AR), and 3rd horn with the Cabrillo Music Festival Orchestra in Santa Cruz, CA, and the Des Moines (IA) Metro Opera Orchestra.
Mr. Hundemer is Director of the Hurley Music Library and Lecturer in Horn at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana as well at Bossier Parish Community College, and was the 1997 recipient of the Shreveport Regional Arts Council's Artist Fellowship in Music, as well as a 1999 and 2001 individual artist grants. Mr. Hundemer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in composition from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Arts degree in horn performance from the University of Iowa.
Copyrights to the music of Leroy Anderson
are held by Woodbury Music Company LLC.
For information concerning the use
of Leroy Anderson's music,
contact the Leroy Anderson family at:
info[at]woodburymusic[dot]com.
Back to Music of Leroy Anderson
