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Lee Orean Smith
Biography
Lee Orean Smith (1874 Crawfordsville, Ind. – 6 April 1942, Flushing, N.Y.) was an American composer, conductor and publisher.
As a boy, Smith tried his hand at painting. Eventually however, he followed the footsteps of his father, a well-known Midwestern musician. He studied piano and violin and was soon playing violin, viola, and cello in his father's theater orchestra. He also played several brass instruments in the local band.
Smith studied at Wabash College and DePauw University. After studying music theory for one year at a conservatory, he joined a traveling theater company as a conductor. Later, he was managing editor of the band and orchestra department of the Leo Feist music publishing house and held this position for over 20 years.
Most of his works were written for orchestra and later transcribed for band. He composed a large amount of music for orchestra, so much, in fact, that he adopted several pseudonyms. Calvin Grooms was used for some of his original works but mostly for arrangements; Maurice Lee was used for violin solos; Leon Obrero and Jose Santos were used for Spanish-style music; and Leopold Lamont and Francois Chevalier were used for French-style works.
Works for Winds
- Bohemiana (1909)
- Campin' on de Old Swanee (1899)
- Carnival Queen Waltz (1916)
- Valse Celesta (1915)
- When a Lady Leads the Band (1903)
Resources
- Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Lee Orean Smith." Accessed 13 September 2020
- "Smith, Lee Orean." IMSLP. Web. Accessed 13 September 2020