Len (he much prefers that to Leonard) was born in the L.A. area and, until four months ago, lived his whole life there. His musical introduction came at a mere five years of age when he took up the accordion. By the time he was eighteen, he was a virtuoso on the instrument and enjoyed many performance opportunities. By then, he had also become accomplished on the piano, though accordion was his first choice.
Len studied at California State University at Northridge, majoring in music and accounting. Upon graduation, he took and passed the CPA exam and has spent his whole working career as an accountant. The first seven years working for an accounting firm, and ever since then as a sole proprietorship accountant. His client base includes both business and individual…”Anyone needing help staying compliant with the IRS”, he says.
Len is married to Linda and they have two daughters, one living near-by in Ballard, and one in Tucson. When Linda retired, after 23 years as a 3rd-grade teacher in the LA schools, they decided to move to be near, at least one of the girls. Lucky for Northwest Sound, they choose the Ballard daughter. They now live in Brier, and love their new home.
After college, music took a back seat to getting the career established, but by the late 1980’s Len was interested to have music back in his life. A friend told him about the Los Angeles Chapter of the BHS and he joined in 1989, later moving to the North Hills Chapter, where the standards where higher and more challenging. After spending the last eight years with the San Fernando Valley Chapter, that progression has continued, Len says, with his move to Northwest Sound. The way he put it to me was this: “I’m one of those people with perfect pitch and it just got to be pretty disconcerting to always end a song on a higher note than the rest of the chorus.”
Len enjoys the cars from his youth. Though he doesn’t claim to have the mechanical skills to restore them, in his spare time you might find him in his garage, polishing the 1962 Bonneville sedan or maybe the 1965 Bonneville convertible. His next acquisition will probably be a 1970 Cadillac Coupe de Ville.
In just his short time with us, Len pitched in (perfectly, naturally) and got qualified on our contest set, and was on the stage with us this past week end, a welcome addition to Northwest Sound Men’s Chorus.