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Leroy J. Robertson papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0038

Scope and Contents

Leroy J. Robertson's original manuscripts are the major part of this collection. Many of these manuscripts show the progression from first melody sketches to the completed works. Notes and thematic analyses accompany many of the compositions. The collection includes correspondence from many prominent musicians, students, friends, and family. There is also correspondence related to his professional activities as a composer (publishers, copyrights, royalties, grants, etc.); as head of the College of Fine Arts, University of Utah; as a member of the General Music Committee of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and as a member on the Board of Directors of the Utah State Institute of Fine Arts. Students' works, concert programs, published reviews of compositions and performances, and newspaper clippings and periodicals containing commentaries by music critics or articles by or about Robertson, are a part of the papers. The Hugo Leichtentritt manuscripts include Leichtentritt's autobiography, his "History of the Motet," and his thematic analyses of composistions by Berlioz, Beethoven, Debussy, Hindemith, Mendelsohn, Roussel, Strauss, Shostakovich, and Weber. The collection also includes school notebooks, pamphlets, receipts, programs, news clippings, and other papers collected by Robertson's daughters, Marian Robertson Wilson and Karen Post.

The McKay Music Library holds Robertson’s published compositions; click here for a list of the Robertson Collection inventory.

Box 4, Folder 20: "Joy of Christmas," "O Come All Ye Faithful" has been digitized.

Dates

  • 1890s-1990s

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Sketch

Leroy J. Robertson was born in Fountain Green, Utah, on 21 December 1896, the son of Utah-born Mormon parents. His first musical experiences were simple and personal--he fashioned tunes on a homemade fiddle and played by ear on the parlor organ in his home. In grammar school, after a few rudimentary music lessons, he organized a small orchestra of young friends and taught them to play music of his own devising. He graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in boston under George Whitefield Chadwick in 1923. His later studies were under Ernest Bloch in San Francisco and in Roveredo Capriasca, Switzerland; Hugo Leichtentritt in Berlin; and Arnold Schoenberg in Los Angeles. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Brigham Young University (BYU) and Ph.D. degree from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. He was professor and chairman of the music department at BYU; lecturer of composition at the University of California, Los Angeles; and professor and chairman of the music department at the University of Utah from 1948 until his retirement in 1964. Upon retirement, Robertson received the first Distinguished Research Professorship at that institution. Robertson was an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa; a fellow of the Utah Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Letters; a member of the Executive Music Committee of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishrs (ASCAP). Robertson's compositions include works for chamber music and orchestra; concertos for violin, cello, and piano; solos, vocal, and instrumental; choral compositions and an "Oratorio from the Book of Mormon" for chorus, soloists, organ, and orchestra. While the Reichhold prize for his "Trilogy" was by far the most impressive, Robertson has a long list of other awards to hs credit. In 1923, he won the Endicott prize for his "Overture in E Minor"; his "Quintet in A Minor for Piano and Strings" won first place in a contest conducted by the Society for Publicaiton of American Music in 1936; his "String Quartet" was chosen by the Critics Circle in New York in 1944; and his "Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra" was given an award by the Utah Institute of Fine Arts in 1945. He received the National Federation of Music Clubs Award of Merit in 1959. Robertson died on 25 July 1971 in Salt Lake City.

Click here to view an online video tribute on the life and influence of Leroy J. Robertson.

Extent

61 Linear Feet (62 boxes, 3 oversize folders, 1 microfilm reel)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Leroy J. Robertson papers (1890s-1990s) consist mainly of Robertson's original music manuscripts. Many of these manuscripts show the progression from first melody sketches to the completed works. Notes and thematic analyses accompany many of the compositions. The collection also includes correspondence from many prominent musicians, students, friends, and family. There is also correspondence related to his professional activities as a composer. Other materials include school notebooks, pamphlets, receipts, programs, news clippings, and other papers collected by Robertson's daughters, Marian Robertson Wilson and Karen Post. Click here to view an online video tribute on the life and influence of Leroy J. Robertson.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Leroy J. Robertson (boxes 1-35) in 1967.

Donated by Marian Robertson Wilson (boxes 36-39) in 1990s.

Donated by Marian Robertson Wilson (boxes 40-54) in 1997.

Donated by Marian Robertson Wilson (boxes 55-58) in 2002, 2003.

Donated by Marian Robertson Wilson (boxes 59-61) in 2007.

Donated by Marian Robertson Wilson (box 62) in 2010.

Separated Materials

See also the LeRoy Robertson photograph collection (P0038) and the Leroy J. Robertson music recordings (A0241) in the Multimedia Division of Special Collections.

Processing Information

Processed by Della L. Dye, Karen Robertson Post, Lisa DeMille, and Betsey Welland in 1972-2010.

Addendum processed by Betsey Welland in 2013.

Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.

Subjects

Related Names

Creator

Digital Material

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Inventory of the Leroy J. Robertson papers
Author
Finding aid created by Della L. Dye, Karen Robertson Post and Lisa DeMille
Date
1980 (last modified: 2013 and 2019)
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository

https://lib.utah.edu/collections/special-collections/index.php
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863

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