Leo Salkeld Sowerby, born on May 1, 1895, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was an American composer and church musician. He began composing at age 10 and studied composition with Arthur Olaf Andersen at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. His early recognition came when his Violin Concerto was premiered by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1913. Sowerby received the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome in 1921 and began teaching at the American Conservatory of Music in 1924. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1946 for his cantata The Canticle of the Sun. From 1927 to 1962, Sowerby served as organist and choirmaster at St. James Episcopal Church in Chicago. After retiring from St. James, he became the founding director of the College of Church Musicians at Washington National Cathedral in 1962 until 1968. He died on July 7, 1968.
