Daniel Joseph Leonard-a teacher to thousands, a mentor, friend, and role model to many, died July 14, 2020, at Summerville Community Hospice. He was 80.
Born March 3, 1940 in Waynesville, NC to Patrick Joseph and Coralie Bolton Leonard, Dan was a recognized expert in the field of music education, having taught and directed bands of all levels: elementary, junior high, high school and college. He dearly loved to teach and had a passion for seeing young people learn and excel.
Dan attended James Island High School and briefly attended University of Arizona on an oboe scholarship. He then served in the U.S. Marine Corps and had the distinction of setting the all-time physical fitness test record at Parris Island, scoring 498 out of 500 points.
Returning to Charleston, he began to play professionally and teach at the Leonard School of Music, which his father had founded in 1945. In 1972, he took over LSM as his father retired. From 1965 to through 1983, concert bands and jazz ensembles under his direction received superior ratings in state competitions and rated the highest in the state. He directed the Leonard Studio Band and Jazz Ensemble for 12 years and in that time, these 2 bands recorded 11 records, toured the Southeastern United States and performed professionally. In 1979 and 1981, he directed the American Jazz Ensemble and the American Youth Woodwind Jazz Ensemble respectively. Both of these bands toured Europe, recorded an album, and performed at the Montreaux Jazz Festival, with the latter also performing at the International Jazz Festival.
Dan moved to Texas in 1984, giving clinics in the Southwest based on his book, “Building Confidence Through Sight Reading.” He then began to teach in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, supervising 28 schools. From those schools, The Leonard Music Institute of Texas, Inc. was started. He finally moved back to Charleston in 1996, after having built that program up to 1,027 students. Subsequently, LSM was reopened in 1997.
In 2000, after battling cancer for 2 years and facing death twice, Dan rode his bicycle from Santa Monica, CA to Folly Beach, SC for cancer awareness. That same year, he was presented the Humanitarian Award (Societe Francaise De Bienfaisance Medaille D’Honneur) from the French Society of Charleston, SC. In 2010, at the age of 70, he completed another cross-country ride on his bicycle for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, celebrating his 10th year of being clear of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. In June of 2010, he was given the Key To The City of Folly Beach. Be it resolved that R. Keith Summey, Mayor of North Charleston, proclaimed May 23, 2015 as Mr. Dan Leonard Day. This date is also important in that it marks the 70th Anniversary of the Leonard School of Music, which was recognized by the Charleston County Council as well as the U.S. Congress, being inserted into the Congressional Record (Vol.161, No. 79) by Senator Tim Scott. Dan and his father, Patrick, were both inducted into the Lowcountry Music Hall of Fame later that year on October 25th.
The Leonard School of Music was folded into the Jazz Artists of Charleston in 2017 but Dan continued to teach music classes as well as private lessons in area schools up until this past February.
He is survived by his sister, Patricia Stockdale Howard and 3 sons: Daniel Joseph O’Lannerghty, Patrick William Leonard and Sean Austin Leonard.
A celebration of his life will happen, but due to Covid-19 and its limitations on public gatherings, it will be scheduled at a later time. Any notices regarding this will be published on the Leonard School of Music Alumni page on Facebook and in Charleston’s Post and Courier.
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