Henry David Leslie

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Henry David Leslie (1822-96) was an English composer and conductor, born in London. He studied music with Charles Lucas, became honorary secretary of the Amateur Musical Society in 1847, and served as its conductor from 1853 to its dissolution in 1861. In 1855 he founded the Henry Leslie's Choir, and was its conductor until 1880, when it disbanded. In 1878 it had won the first prize at the Paris International Competition, and in 1882 the society reorganized, only to break up again five years later. In addition, Leslie for a time conducted the Herefordshire Philharmonic Society and the Guild of Amateur Musicians. His compositions, especially the sacred ones, are of considerable merit and include the operas, Romance, or Bold Dick Turpin (1857), Ida (1864); the oratorios, Immanuel (1853), Judith (1858); the cantatas, Holyrood (1860), Daughter of the Isles (1861); a Te Deum and Jubilate in B (1864); etc. He died in Wales.