Norman Leyden

Info

Date of birth

10/17/1917

Date of death

07/23/2014

Place of birth

Springfield, Massachusetts, USA

Norman Leyden

Biography

Norman Leyden is a well known conductor, arranger, and clarinetist. He was a master sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II, serving as one of three arrangers for Glenn Miller's Air Force Band. Leyden also arranged for the reorganized Glenn Miller Orchestra of Tex Beneke. He became the associate conductor of the Oregon Symphony in 1970, and conducted the Oregon Symphony Pops for 34 seasons. He retired in May 2004, and was honored with the lifetime title laureate associate conductor of the Oregon Symphony. Leyden has conducted and arranged for numerous artists including Tony Bennett, Gordon MacRae, Frank Sinatra, and Sarah Vaughan. He led the Air Force Falconaires of the U.S. Air Force Band of the Rockies in August 2000 in a PBS television program titled "Glenn Miller's Last Flight".