Mount Royal University Centennial

Leacock’s lasting legacy

Leonard H. Leacock (1904–1992) was a celebrated composer, musician, alpinist and

A copy of Leacock's 1954 composition Sea Horse sis one of the many items found in the university archives.

photographer, but he arguably made his biggest impact as a teacher for more than 60 years at Mount Royal.

Fresh out of music school in Toronto, he joined Mount Royal in 1924 as a piano and theory teacher and also became Dean of Boys, living in residence until 1944.

Although the institution grew by leaps and bounds during his tenure, “Doc Leacock” — an affectionate nickname given to him by students — helped foster a sense of closeness and community within our halls for nearly seven decades.

The Leacock Theatre was named in his honour in 1972, upon the opening of the Lincoln Park Campus. Two years later, he celebrated his 50th anniversary at Mount Royal and gave his final public performance in his namesake theatre.

In 1985, he was named a Member of the Order of Canada, recognizing his longstanding contribution to music education.

His Order of Canada medal and a copy of his 1954 composition Sea Horses are just two of the many items from Leonard Leacock’s estate found in the university archives.

Other artifacts include newspaper clippings, personal letters, as well as nature photographs by the avid mountaineer. Some of his images are also on display in the Leacock Theatre foyer.

Conservatory Celebrations Leonard Leacock was often described as a “pillar” of the Mount Royal Conservatory. On Sept. 7, 2011, the Conservatory debuted a multimedia performance piece, called Lakeside, in tribute to him. Calgary-based visual artists Miriam Fabijan and Oli Siska, and composers George Fenwick and Laurie Radford collaborated on the audio-visual piece that draws from new transcriptions of Leacock’s music, video composition of instruments in performance, and striking photographs of the mountains. Clips of the debut performance and the digital video are both available on the Conservatory’s YouTube channel. For more on Leonard Leacock and the history of the Conservatory, watch for The Mount Royal Conservatory's First 100 Years: A Social History of a Musical Institution by Dr. Diana Patterson, which will be published on CD-ROM by the Mount Royal Conservatory on Oct. 23, 2011.

 

This page regularly showcases the collections of the Mount Royal University Archives. Thanks to the Director of the Archives, Patricia Roome, PhD, and her staff for their assistance in selecting artifacts and conducting research.