Josef Leeb (musician)

Josef Leeb (born January 30, 1921 in Erla in Lower Austria ; † January 6, 2005 ) was an Austrian Kapellmeister .

Life

Leeb, born in Erla as the son of a farming family, attended elementary and secondary school in St. Valentin and then the commercial school in Enns . At the age of 14 he became a member of the parish chapel in St. Pantaleon-Erla .

As a soldier in World War II , he was seriously wounded in the German-Soviet War off Leningrad in 1942 . In evening classes, he completed the workers' secondary school and graduated from there with a high school diploma . In January 1946 he became parish secretary in St. Pantaleon-Erla.

Leeb also completed private training in the subjects of flute and conducting at the Bruckner Conservatory . he founded the local chapel in St. Pantalon and built a youth chapel. He also founded a string orchestra. In the local band he played as a clarinetist and represented the conductor. In 1952 he took over the leadership as Kapellmeister. In 1952 he founded the "Association of Lower Austrian Wind Music ", from which the Association of Lower Austrian Music Bands and later the Lower Austrian Brass Music Association (NÖBV) emerged, and was elected as the first regional association chairman. Under his forty years of leadership, the NÖBV grew up to 454 bands with over 18,000 musicians. After the regional associations were united in the Austrian Brass Music Association (ÖBV) in 1959 , Leeb was elected the first President of the ÖBV there.

In 1966 he took over the music and choral society as Kapellmeister in the Lower Austrian town of Haag , from which the Haag town band emerged. From 1966 to 1981 he was head of the municipal music school in Haag as the school director and in May 1967 he founded the youth wind orchestra (JBO). The youth wind orchestra Stadt Haag became known nationally and internationally under his leadership.

In 1972 Leeb was given the professional title of Professor by the Federal President . In August 1981 he retired.

From 1984 onwards, on his initiative with the support of the state of Lower Austria and the federal government, Zeillern Castle near Amstetten was completely renovated and has been used by the brass band as a training center for music seminars since 1988.

Leeb was from 1966 to 1980 a consultant for music education and from 1980 to 1985 Vice-President of the Confédération Internationale des Sociétés Musicales (CISM). In 1981 he received honorary membership of the International Society for Research and Promotion of Brass Music (IGEB). The Hague City Music School is named after him today.

Leeb's son Gerhard (* 1944) was later Kapellmeister of the Stadtkapelle Haag until 1998.

Awards (selection)

• Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art
• Gold medal for services to the Republic of Austria
• Gold medal for services to the federal state of Lower Austria
• Golden Cross of Honor of the Austrian Brass Music Association (ÖBV)
• Golden Ring of Honor of the Lower Austrian Brass Music Association (NÖBV)
• Golden Ring of Honor of the municipalities / cities of Haag, St. Pölten , Krems an der Donau , Zeillern
• Knight of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} The history of the city of Hague from its founding to the present: Prof. Josef Leeb (1921 - 2005) ( Memento of the original from November 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Gerhard Obermayr & Karl Schlögelhofer. 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Leeb, Josef , Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon .
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} founder of the youth wind orchestra Prof. Josef Leeb ( Memento of the original from April 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , in 40 Years of the Hague Youth Orchestra , 2007, p. 6. 
4. ↑ Honorary Kapellmeister of the Stadtkapelle , Stadtkapelle Haag.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Chronicle and successes ( memento of the original from January 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Josef Leeb Music School City of Haag. 
6. ^ The Chronicle of the Lower Austrian Brass Music Association from 1952 to the present day . Retrieved August 14, 2015.
7. ↑ Chronology of Zeillern Castle . Retrieved August 14, 2015.
8. ↑ Honorary members ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , IGEB. 
9. ↑ The history of the city of Hague from its founding to the present: Gerhard Leeb ( Memento of the original from February 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Gerhard Obermayr & Karl Schlögelhofer.