
Leon Roberts
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On December 12, 1998, the Lord called your mother, Thelma
Elizabeth Roberts to join Him. "Your job on earth has been completed"
is what she heard. You were saddened by her loss yet overjoyed because
you knew she was in a better place. On the evening of January 22,
1999, you too heard the same calling from above. As you lay resting,
you said to the angels, "'Lead Me, Guide Me' to my mother." And
so they did...
Leon began his piano studies at the age of six with a local teacher
he knew as "Mr. Ben." His grandmother, Mrs. Mary Bookman, became
a religious mentor in the musical growth of her grandson. Being
from a family of devout Baptists, Methodists and Pentecostals, he
gained an integrated understanding of faith.
He first learned skills of directing congregational worship at his
mother's church, the First Apostolic Fire Baptized Holiness Church
of Coatesville. It was there that he also had a deep personal encounter
with Jesus Christ. His talents and strong faith in God were reflected
in the musical groups that he formed and directed such as the "Voices
of Love" and the "Jubali Movement of Southern Pennsylvania."
Leon was equally talented during his years in the Coatesville Area
School District as a member of the various choral groups such as
the Meistersingers and the many theatrical and musical productions.
In 1968, Leon came to Washington, DC, to attend Howard University
where he received a Bachelor's degree in Music Education. Later,
he completed course work for the Liturgical Studies Certificate
from Georgetown University. While at Howard University, he was a
co-founder, pianist and composer for the 100-member Howard University
Gospel Choir. Additionally, during this period, he directed the
Mount Zion Baptist Church Young Adult Choir and the Library of Congress
Gospel Choir.
The defining event of Leon's career and life came in April 1977
when he was invited to direct the struggling Gospel choir of Saints
Paul and Augustine Catholic Church in Washington, DC. Embraced and
mentored by the church community, he converted to Catholicism and
made his life's work the integration of the energy and emotion of
African-American Gospel music with the traditions and rituals of
the Catholic liturgy.
From 1977 until 1994, he was the Director of Liturgical Music at
the Saint Augustine Catholic Church and an instructor of choir and
music appreciation at the Saint Augustine Elementary School. From
1978 until 1983, he directed the Mackin Catholic High School Choir
and the Archdiocesan-wide Gospel Choir at Saint James Cathedral
in Brooklyn, New York. In 1982, he founded and directed the Archdiocesan
Mass Choir for the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. He also was music
director of the Bishop McNamara Senior High School Gospel Choir.
Leon was the co-founder and music chairperson of the REJOICE! Conference
on Black Catholic Liturgy. In 1989, the REJOICE! Conference was
held in Rome, Italy, and the Vatican where he spoke on "The Development
of African-American Liturgical Music Since Vatican II."
He was an internationally recognized African-American composer,
arranger, liturgist and recording artist. The following are among
his works: "Mass of Saint Augustine," published by the Gregorian
Institute of America and dedicated to his late sister, Claudette
Shatteen; "I Call Upon You God!-The Mass of Saint Martin de Porres,"
published by Leon C. Roberts and Associates of which he was president;
"He Has the Power" and "Deliver the Word," recorded by the Saint
Augustine Gospel Choir; "God Has Done Marvelous Things," an artistic
collaboration with David Haas and Roberts' Revival; "The Coming,"
recorded by Roberts' Revival and published by Oregon Catholic Press;
and his most recent recording, "Come Bless the Lord," a live concert
recording to be released in March 1999.
He was a major contributor to the first African-American Catholic
hymnal, "Lead Me, Guide Me," which included twenty liturgical settings
and was distributed nationally in 1987. In 1993, his psalm settings
were published in the African-American hymnal of the Episcopal Church
entitled "Lift Every Voice and Sing." And, he also worked with the
late Sister Thea Bowman to produce her "Songs of My People" and
"Round the Glory Manger."
Leon's liturgical music and seminars are famous around the world.
He toured with various choirs throughout the United States, Italy,
Japan and the Caribbean Islands. During his tour of Rome, Italy,
he directed the Saint Augustine Choir at a special audience with
Pope John Paul II. In 1990, his concert tour of Japan with Roberts'
Revival received critical acclaim and resulted in appearances on
ABC-TV, FOX-TV and a number of radio stations. On Christmas Eve
1991, he directed the Saint Augustine Gospel Choir in a special
program on "The History of Gospel Music" on ABC's Nightline. From
1994 through 1996, he and Roberts' Revival performed annually in
Hawaii at the BILAC, Big Island Liturgical and Arts Conference.
He was a clinician and lecturer for many organizations including
the National Office of Black Catholics, the National Pastoral Musicians
Conventions, the East Coast Conference for Religious Education,
Notre Dame University, the Catholic University of America's Liturgical
Studies program and many dioceses and archdioceses.
In 1994, Leon moved to Brooklyn, New York, to become the Florence
Van Keuren Artist-in-Residence at the Concord Baptist Church of
Christ. He served as the director for Concord's Gospel Chorus and
the Male Chorus. He also was music director of the Union Theological
Seminary Gospel Choir in Manhattan. In 1998, he was honored by the
Office of Black Ministry of the Archdiocese of New York. During
that ceremony at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, New York's Archbishop
John Cardinal O'Connor presented him with the "Special Achievement
Award" for his many contributions to Black Catholic worship and
the development of liturgical music.
Then on Friday evening, January 22, 1999, at Providence Hospital,
Leon left his earthly home to be with his heavenly Father, after
being diagnosed with stomach cancer just two weeks earlier.
Leon is survived by his loving father, John Arthur Roberts, Sr.,
of Coatesville Pennsylvania; four brothers, John Clinton Roberts
of Detroit, Michigan, John Arthur Roberts, Jr., of Midway, Georgia,
Henry Roberts of Bronx, New York, and David Roberts of Petersburg,
Virginia; one sister, Denise Lewis of Coatesville, Pennsylvania;
many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
We have all been truly blessed by his marvelous musical and spiritual
gifts.