Adams, Leslie, 1932-

H. Leslie Adams, Jr. (b. December 30, 1932) is an important African American composer, teacher and conductor. Born in Cleveland, Ohio to Harrison L. Adams, Sr. and Jessie Adams, Leslie received his early musical training in Cleveland from Dorothy Smith and Mina Eichenbaum. Adams attended Oberlin College (1951-55) to pursue a degree in Music Education. There he studied composition under Herbert Elwell and Joseph Wood. After completing his degree, Adams traveled to New York City to work as a composer, teacher and accompanist (1957-63). He received a Masters in Music from California State University at Long Beach (1965-1967). After completing the degree, Adams became a professor in Florida before beginning his Doctoral Degree from Ohio State University (1969-1971). Even before Adams completed his degree at Ohio State, he became an Associate Professor of Music and Director of the University Concert Choir at the University of Kansas (1970-1979). There he taught courses in music education.

After teaching several years at the University of Kansas, Adams went on sabbatical to focus on his compositions and did not return to the University, but rather became a free-lance composer. Adams moved back to Cleveland to compose after spending a residency at the Rockefeller Foundation's Study and Conference Center in Bellagio, Italy. During his career as a composer, several orchestras and ensembles commissioned Adams to compose pieces, including the Cleveland Orchestra for which he wrote, Western Adventure. Along with spending time composing, Adams became an important contributor to the Cleveland public schools by participating in programs to promote the arts.

As a way to promote his work, Adams formed Accord Associates (1980-1991), a non-profit company. Accord Associates quickly grew and began promoting all African American composers in the United States. Accord Associates was eventually disbanded and Adams started Haridam, Inc., a for-profit company designed to solely promote Adams work. The main project for both Accord Associates and Haridam, Inc. was to promote the production of Blake, the opera composed by Adams in 1984.

Throughout his life, Adams conducted and participated in church music in every city he lived in. He was very active in the church throughout his life and contributed to many church music programs throughout the country. Currently Adams resides in Cleveland and continues to compose.

Adams' compositions include songs, choir pieces, orchestral pieces, chamber works, concertos, pieces for solo instruments, and an opera.

The collection chronicles the life of composer H. Leslie Adams, Jr. Material included in the collection consists of Adams' papers, correspondences, manuscripts, recordings, and artifacts. His papers include recital programs, photographs, course work, and other important papers representing his career as a musician, teacher, and composer.

Biographical information derived from collection and the composer's website:

http://www.hleslieadams.com/biography.html

Composer, pianist, educator and arts advocate H. Leslie Adams, was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 30, 1932. Adams attended the Cleveland public schools and graduated from Glenville High School. He studied voice, piano, and composition at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, where he earned his bachelor's of music degree in 1955. He went on to earn a master's degree in music from the California State University at Long Beach in 1967 and his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1973. He also completed additional studies in composition with Edward Mattila, Eugene O'Brien, and Marcel Dick from 1978 to 1983.

Adams has worked as piano accompanist for ballet and other dance companies and choral music ensembles. He served as the associate musical director at Cleveland's Karamu House from 1964 to 1965 and became the musical director for the Kaleidoscope Players in Ration, New Mexico in 1967. Adams later returned to Karamu House as their composer in residence in 1979 and then served as guest composer at Cuyahoga Community College in 1980. He then served as composer-in-residence at the Cleveland Music School Settlement from 1981 to 1982, and was the founder and president of Accord Associates, Inc. for six years beginning in 1980, and the executive vice-president and composer-in-residence for Accord from 1986 to 1992. He has served as the president and artist-in-residence for Creative Arts, Inc. since 1997.

Adams held teaching positions at Soehl Junior High School, Linden, N.J., in the secondary schools of Raton, New Mexico, Florida A & M University, and at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. He is the recipient of numerous commissions, including those from the Ohio Chamber Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the University of Kansas, and the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. He is the recipient of honors and awards from the National Association of Negro Women, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cleveland Foundation and the Jennings Foundation, among others.

He holds life memberships in Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Delta Kappa, Pi Kappa Lambda, the American Choral Directors Association, and the American Guild of Organists. He has also served on the Advisory Council of the Musical Arts Association of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Adams resides in Cleveland's Glenville Community.

H. Leslie Adams was interviewed byThe HistoryMakerson June 17, 2004.