Leonard Candelaria:  

Leonard is from Montclair, California. His schools include Montclair High School. He later attended University of North Texas (Music Education with Teacher Certification). Music Leonard likes includes Petronel Malan - pianist, Jens Lindemann, Airmen of Note. More about Leonard:"I am recently retired after 35 years of university teaching. I retired as Regents Professor of Music at the University of North Texas where I taught from 1974 to 2003. I then retired as Artist in Residence and Professor of Trumpet from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, teaching there from 2002 to 2009. My spouse. Dr. Kathryn Fouse (we married in 1993 after nearly five years of courtship), is a virtuoso pianist and world-class collaborative performer. Among the premier artists with whom she has performed are Maestro Timofei Dokshizer, Dr. Edward H. Tarr, Stephen Meade - euphoniumist, Ron Barron - Boston Symphony, John Wallace, James Thompson, Vince DiMartino, David Gurrier, Giuliano Sommerhalder, David Bilger and many others. In July, 2011 she became Chair of the Division of Music and Associate Dean of the School of the Arts at Samford University. I am the proud father of 4 children --- Dara and Gabriel (both currently serving in the US Army - Dara in Afghanistan and Gabriel recently returned to Germany from Afghanistan) and Alexander (14) and Arianna (12). I am a grandfather 8 times over having been blessed with 4 little ones each from Dara and Gabriel (Tito). From 1967 to 1970 I served as a bandsman in the US Army - one year at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, CA and two years spent in Honolulu, Hawaii with the 264th A.G. Band at Fort Shafter. I was selected as "Soldier of the Year" at Fort MacArthur in August of 1968. The Fort Shafter band, to which I was assigned in September of 1968, was the headquarters band for the US Army in the Pacific during the Vietnam conflict. It included among its members some great musicians including my friend Ron Goddard and Tom Still, son of Ray Still, former Principal Oboist of the Chicago Symphony. I was honorably discharged from active duty as a Specialist 5th class on June 26, 1970. I then attended North Texas State University from 1970 to 1974 earning a Bachelor of Music degree (Mus. Ed. - 1972) and a Master of Music Education degree (1974). Prior to entering the Army, I had studied three semester at Chaffey Junior College in Alta Loma, CA. I ultimately earned the Doctor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from Northwestern University in 1985. I had the proud honor and the great pressure of being the very first brass player admitted to the doctoral program in performance at Northwestern. I am humbled yet thankful for having beeen afforded that experience. While a student at North Texas I was a member of the world famous One O'clock Lab Band and played with many of the top players in the Dallas Area including Don Thomas, my NTSU classmate Jay Saunders, Ken George, Harvey Anderson, and George Churb. During the 1970's much of the commercial playing done in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the Southwest region was being done by many of the talented players who were also studying at North Texas. This includes great trumpeters such as Joe Rodriguez, Keith Jourdan, Barry Reis, Bill Stapleton, Larry Ford, and Rick Steffen among the trumpeters. These guys ended up playing professionally in Nashville and with people like Tom Jones, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Horace Silver and others. I was hired as a faculty member at UNT immediately upon the completion of my masters degree in 1974. Despite the disadvantages of being a graduate of the prestigious UNT School of Music who suddenly maticulated from student status to a full-time faculy position, I was able to rise through the academic ranks from my start as an Assistant Professor, to Associate Professor with tenure, to full Professor and ultimately to Regents Professor. I was voted the recipient of the Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award by the UNT Faculty Senate in 1993. More than 50 of my former students have held university, college and conservatory teaching positions in the USA and abroad. Many are professional performers in both classical and jazz venues as well as highly succe...Expand for more