Scope and Content Note
The Leonard B. Smith Papers span 1859-2001, the bulk of which date from 1920 to 1980. The materials primarily consist of band and orchestra music Smith used as conductor of the Detroit Concert Band and other ensembles. The method books, solo works, and chamber music are indicative of his career as a trumpet/cornet player, soloist, and composer. The clippings, correspondence, photographs, concert programs, and writings help illustrate Smith's musical pursuits and research interests.
Leonard B. Smith's Concert Band Library of approximately 3,200 titles comprises the largest portion of this collection. The library supported performances by the Detroit Concert Band and later formed the basis of his BOVACO band music publishing business. Smith established his concert band library in 1945, which grew through individual gifts to and purchases by Smith; his own compositions and arrangements; and the acquisitions of other band libraries. The concert band library is organized according to letter classifications that may have allowed him to group different genres of music. The E classification is solely devoted to Smith's encore books, compilations that were used to supplement the Detroit Concert Band's regular programs.
Smith acquired part of the Ford Sunday Evening Hour Orchestra Music library to consider transcribing the works for concert band. This portion of the library contains approximately 265 titles, most of which are arrangers' holographs. The Ford Sunday Evening Hour was a concert radio series sponsored by the Ford Motor Company that largely employed musicians from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The broadcasts featured light classics, popular music, hymns, ballads, and arias.
Technical exercises, etudes, and orchestral excerpt books for beginning through advanced trumpet players comprise the Method Books series. Some materials were owned and used by Leonard B. Smith, while others are inscribed to him by the author, compiler, or artist. This series contains two early editions of J.-B. (Jean-Baptiste) Arban's "Method for the Trumpet" and Leonard B. Smith's "Treasury of Scales" for band or orchestra. It also contains method books by Ernest S. Williams, Smith's primary trumpet instructor. The Chamber Music series comprises two subseries. The Brass Ensembles subseries contains original compositions and arrangements for two or more brass players, including numerous arrangements by Leonard B. Smith. The Other Ensembles subseries chiefly comprises scores and parts to arrangements for four to six saxophones. The Solos series has three subseries, the first of which are the Brass Solos, scores and parts for cornet or trumpet with piano accompaniment. The Inscribed Solos subseries consists of piano scores and cornet parts inscribed to Leonard B. Smith by instructors and colleagues. The Songs subseries contains songs composed by Leonard and Helen Smith.
The Subject Files series consists of clippings, correspondence, photographs, programs, and writings collected by Smith and his wife containing information on other musicians, concert and military bands, and arts organizations. The two largest sections are on the Detroit Concert Band and Smith himself. Files about the Detroit Concert Band include programs, photographs, correspondence, funding strategies, and documentation on the band's major undertakings. Much of the written material was created by Helen Rowe Smith in her capacity as the ensemble's publicity manager. The files regarding Smith include early photographs, programs, and clippings of his career before the Detroit Concert Band as well as several files of unpublished writings.