David Leisner

David Leisner maintains a dual career as both guitarist and composer.

Photo: David Leisner, davidleisner.com

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    About

    Born and raised in Los Angeles, he moved to the East Coast in 1971 to attend Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where his composition teacher was Richard Winslow. He later worked privately with Virgil Thomson, Charles Turner and David Del Tredici. While his early musical interests involved folk/popular song, choral singing and choral conducting, his talent as a classical guitarist took prominence, and an international career ensued. Although composing was a part of his life since the age of 15, it did not take firmer hold until the period of 1984-96, when Leisner had focal dystonia, a debilitating hand condition that stopped his performance career in those years. During that time, his composition activities increased in amount, breadth and quality. After a remarkable self-induced recovery in 1996, his guitar-playing career successfully resumed, while maintaining consistent activity in composition. From his earliest song efforts in popular music until today, vocal music has played a central role in Leisner’s composition catalog.

    While a number of his vocal works are with guitar (which he asserts is a natural and under-recognized combination), many are also with piano, as well as other instrumental combinations. For texts, he turns most often to American poets. Examples are: Confiding (Emily Dickinson, Elissa Ely, Gene Scaramellino and the British Emily Brontë), To Sleep (Elizabeth Bishop), Three James Tate Songs, Fidelity (May Sarton, Walt Whitman, Kenneth Patchen, William Meredith, Wendell Berry, Leslie Marmon Silko), Of Darkness and Light (Wendell Berry) for tenor, violin, oboe and piano, A Timeless Procession (Rosemary Thomas) for baritone and string quartet, Outdoor Shadows (Robert Francis), Simple Songs (Emily Dickinson) and West Wind (Mary Oliver). His songs have found favor with singers worldwide.

    He has received composition grants from the American Music Center, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, the New England Foundation for the Arts and Meet the Composer. His works are published by Theodore Presser Co., G. Schirmer, Doberman-Yppan and Columbia Music.

    –www.davidleisner.com

    Related Information

    Songs

    A Drinking Song

    David Leisner

    William Butler Yeats

    Song Collection: O Love is the Crooked Thing

    A Timeless Procession

    David Leisner

    Rosemary Thomas

    Ample make this Bed —

    David Leisner

    Emily Dickinson

    Song Collection: Confiding

    Anniversary Song

    David Leisner

    Wendell Berry

    Song Collection: Fidelity

    Are you the new person drawn toward me?

    David Leisner

    Walt Whitman

    Song Collection: Fidelity

    Brown Penny

    David Leisner

    William Butler Yeats

    Song Collection: O Love is the Crooked Thing

    Chance Awakenings

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    William Meredith

    Come with me

    David Leisner

    Mary Oliver

    Song Collection: West Wind

    Confiding

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    Emily Brontë

    Emily Dickinson

    Elissa Ely

    Gene Scaramellino

    Dark is as dark does

    David Leisner

    Mary Oliver

    Song Collection: West Wind

    Down by the Salley Gardens

    David Leisner

    William Butler Yeats

    Song Collection: O Love is the Crooked Thing

    Faith

    David Leisner

    Emily Brontë

    Song Collection: Confiding

    Fidelity

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    Wendell Berry

    William Meredith

    Kenneth Patchen

    Leslie Marmon Silko

    May Swenson

    Walt Whitman

    From an Island

    David Leisner

    James Tate

    Song Collection: Three James Tate Songs

    Heaven's River

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    Rabindranath Tagore

    Homeward

    David Leisner

    Robert Francis

    Song Collection: Outdoor Shadows

    I Can't Speak for the Wind

    David Leisner

    James Tate

    Song Collection: Three James Tate Songs

    Light

    David Leisner

    Rabindranath Tagore

    Song Collection: Heaven's River

    Love and Friendship

    David Leisner

    Emily Brontë

    Song Collection: Confiding

    Lullaby

    David Leisner

    Leslie Marmon Silko

    Song Collection: Fidelity

    Moon, Sun, Sleep, Birds, Live

    David Leisner

    Kenneth Patchen

    Song Collection: Fidelity

    Never Again the Same

    David Leisner

    James Tate

    Song Collection: Three James Tate Songs

    Night birds

    David Leisner

    Mary Oliver

    Song Collection: West Wind

    O My Love the Pretty Towns

    David Leisner

    Kenneth Patchen

    Song Collection: Fidelity

    O Love is the Crooked Thing

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    William Butler Yeats

    Of Darkness and Light

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    Wendell Berry

    Our Forward Shadows

    David Leisner

    May Swenson

    Song Collection: Fidelity

    Outdoor Shadows

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    Robert Francis

    Row for your life

    David Leisner

    Mary Oliver

    Song Collection: West Wind

    Savior! I've no one else to tell —

    David Leisner

    Emily Dickinson

    Song Collection: Confiding

    Seagulls

    David Leisner

    Robert Francis

    Song Collection: Outdoor Shadows

    Signal

    David Leisner

    Gene Scaramellino

    Song Collection: Confidence

    Simple Songs

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    Emily Dickinson

    Sing a Song of Juniper

    David Leisner

    Robert Francis

    Song Collection: Outdoor Shadows

    Sleeping on the Ceiling

    David Leisner

    Elizabeth Bishop

    Song Collection: To Sleep

    Slow

    David Leisner

    Robert Francis

    Song Collection: Outdoor Shadows

    sometimes he contemplates adultery

    David Leisner

    William Meredith

    Song Collection: Fidelity

    Sonnet

    David Leisner

    Elizabeth Bishop

    Song Collection: To Sleep

    Star-Crossed

    David Leisner

    Elissa Ely

    Song Collection: Confiding

    This is my letter to the World

    David Leisner

    Emily Dickinson

    Song Collection: Confiding

    To Imagination

    David Leisner

    Emily Brontë

    Song Collection: Confiding

    To the Stream

    David Leisner

    Rabindranath Tagore

    Song Collection: Heaven's River

    The Boat

    David Leisner

    Rabindranath Tagore

    Song Collection: Heaven's River

    The Lady to Her Guitar

    David Leisner

    Emily Brontë

    Song Collection: Confiding

    The Two Trees

    David Leisner

    William Butler Yeats

    Song Collection: O Love is the Crooked Thing

    The Unbeliever

    David Leisner

    Elizabeth Bishop

    Song Collection: To Sleep

    The Wild Swans at Coole

    David Leisner

    William Butler Yeats

    Song Collection: O Love is the Crooked Thing

    Three James Tate Songs

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    James Tate

    Tree Marriage

    David Leisner

    William Meredith

    Song Collection: Fidelity

    To Sleep

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    Elizabeth Bishop

    West Wind

    Song Collection

    David Leisner

    Mary Oliver

    West Wind

    David Leisner

    Mary Oliver

    Song Collection: West Wind

    Wild Needle

    David Leisner

    Mary Oliver

    Song Collection: West Wind

    Wild Nights

    David Leisner

    Emily Dickinson

    Song Collection: Confiding

    Yes, What?

    David Leisner

    Robert Francis

    Song Collection: Outdoor Shadows

    Recordings

    Crazy Jane

    (George Crumb, David Leisner and John Musto)

    2010

    Olson/De Cari Duo: Quiet Songs

    (David Leisner)

    2006

    Sheet Music

    Heaven's River

    Composer(s): David Leisner

    Song(s): 1. The Boat
    2. Light
    3. To the Stream

    Buy via Dobermann-Yppan Music Publisher

    O Love Is The Crooked Thing

    Composer(s): David Leisner

    Song(s): 1. Down by the Salley Gardens
    2. The Two Trees
    3. A Drinking Song
    4. The Wild Swans at Coole
    5. Brown Penny

    Buy via the Theodore Presser Company

    Outdoor Shadows

    Composer(s): David Leisner

    Song(s): 1. Slow
    2. Homeward
    3. Yes, What?
    4. Seagulls
    5. Sing a Song of Juniper

    Buy via the Theodore Presser Company

    Simple Songs

    Composer(s): David Leisner

    Song(s): 1. Exultation
    2. Beauty
    3. Madness
    4. Letter
    5. Humility
    6. Simplicity

    Buy via Sheet Music Plus

    Three James Tate Songs

    Composer(s): David Leisner

    Song(s): 1. I Can't Speak for the Wind
    2. Never Again the Same
    3. From an Island

    Voice Type: Medium

    Buy via the Theodore Presser Company

    To Sleep

    Composer(s): David Leisner

    Song(s): 1. Sleeping on the Ceiling
    2. The Unbeliever
    3. Sonnet

    Buy via the Theodore Presser Company

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