Penn State music community remembers professor Anthony Leach as caring mentor, educator
A beloved Penn State music professor and founding director of Essence of Joy died this week, leaving a legacy and impact that will be felt for generations to come in the State College area and beyond.
Anthony Leach, who died Wednesday at 73 years old, was a professor emeritus of music/music education at Penn State. He was also the founding director of Essence of Joy, a choir at Penn State that sings sacred and secular music from the African and African American choral traditions.
When the Penn State School of Music posted on Facebook Wednesday about his death, School of Music Director Ann Marie Stanley said there was an outpouring of emails, social media posts and phone calls.
Everyone had a story to share about how deeply he impacted them.
“In all his capacities — and there were so many — he brought the highest standards of musicianship and scholarship to bear. For Penn State undergraduate and graduate students alike he was a model and mentor. He really was the consummate choral conductor, pianist, composer, and educator,” Stanley wrote in an email. “He spent years here teaching and demonstrating for the Penn State School of Music community what it means to be a great musician: one with humility, grace, and a sense of humor.”
Leach became a faculty member in 1996 after finishing his masters and doctorate degrees in music at Penn State. He was one of the school’s most highly respected and accomplished faculty members for decades, Stanley said.
While Stanley said his legacy will never leave Penn State, State College Mayor Ezra Nanes pointed to the impact Leach had on the entire community. He played a role in local Martin Luther King Jr. Day observances and Essence of Joy frequently performed a choral tribute to MLK Jr.
“Our community mourns the passing of Tony Leach, and we offer our deepest sympathies to Professor Leach’s family, friends, and colleagues,” Nanes wrote. “His legacy will endure in the countless lives he touched through his teaching, mentoring, and his music, and his spirit will live on in Essence of Joy. We are grateful for his leadership in our community, and we will most certainly miss his presence at the upcoming MLK Day observances.”
Leach taught more than music, said Russell Bloom, assistant director of outreach, operations and safety officer at the School of Music.
“He made everyone, not just his choirs, a better citizen — the grace and respect that he gave to others was immediately infectious. He was so honored and respected as a musician that his participation in any musical endeavor meant that something extraordinary would happen in that moment. Playing the piano and organ was an extension of his soul. His choir was his voice. His mission was to bring and often introduce music that normally wasn’t heard to a community,” Bloom wrote in an email.
Gary King, professor of biobehavioral health, remembers when he first heard that music. One evening in the early 2000s, he was captivated by sounds of traditional gospel music as he walked by the Henderson Building on campus. He stood there, listening for 20 minutes because it reminded him of his religious upbringing and the heritage of African American cultural worship through music, he recalled. He later learned that Leach was the organizer and director of the choir.
Leach’s contributions have “immensely enriched the experiences and uplifted the spirits of us all,” King wrote in an email. He said he appreciates Leach’s dedication and creativity, and wants to see the university sustain his work.
Becca Ziegler, president of the Essence of Joy Alumni Singers, said Leach has been a rock and father figure throughout her entire life — in school and personally. He was always ready to “step in and step up” and be present for his students, who he referred to as “his babies.”
It’s almost impossible to describe Leach, she said.
“He is quintessentially professional and elegant, and yet he is sassy and just hilariously funny. He is both down to earth and has an incredibly serious side. He is talented beyond words, and that’s, I think, what most people know of him,” she said.
Leach was also director of Essence 2, a community choir in State College. Shih-In Ma has sung in Essence 2 for about 10 years, something she said has been a highlight of her spiritual life. She said one thing that made Leach a great teacher is that he would let you know of your mistakes in a kind way. He never called someone out publicly for being off key during rehearsals, she said.
“He could hear somebody singing off key, including me, out of a whole choir while he was playing the piano and conducting at the same time. He could still hear you, but he never called people out. He might (privately) comment, or he would give me the hairy eyeball at times, but he never shamed anybody for being off-tune,” Shih-In Ma said.
Leach valued his friendships and relationships, and made everyone feel special, Bloom said.
“I was privileged to spend some time with Manhattans in our hands and laughter in our souls as friends. He made you feel special. Yet, each of his friends were important to him as if no other was. His heart was big enough to hold us all,” he said.
The Essence of Joy Alumni Singers on Facebook said memorial contributions can be made to the Anthony T. Leach and Neal S. Holter Endowment for Essence of Joy and the African American Music Festival in the School of Music online or by mailing a check, payable to “Penn State- Leach Endowment,” to Donor and Member Services, 329 Innovation Blvd, Suite 311, State College, PA 16803. Include “In memory of Tony Leach” in the memo line.
