Leon J. Portelance is a composer, arranger and songwriter originally from Vancouver Island, Brtisih Columbia, now living in northern California. He has a BA in composition and theory from the University of Victoria and has worked as both an recording engineer and producer. His 35 years of musical experiences incompass a wide range of styles from pop, blues and rock to classical and jazz. Leon plays guitar, bass and keyboards, and has a complete recording studio in his garage built around a Mac dual G4 with Logic Pro and East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold and a P4 with GigaStudio 3 Orchestra. His console is a Mackie 24/8 with monitors by JBL, Bose, Tannoy and Auratone. Leon is currently working on film cues.
Influences
Leon's first inluences were the British Invasion of the early 60s: The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who. Then the late 60s with Cream, Doors, Jimi Hendrix and the 70s: Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, Li
Bio
Leon was born and raised in Lake Cowichan, a small town on Vancouver Island. He started out as a bass player and later switched to guitar. He began writing songs at age 15.
Attended the University of Victoria from 1972 to 1976 and received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition and Theory. Graduated with a Recording Engineer certificate from the Columbia School of Broadcasting with Laurie Wallace.
Played in various bands in the Vancouver area for many years. Some regional success with "Julio and the Howlers" in 1980.
Worked as an assistand engineer at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver, Canada with Keith Stein, Worked on Susan Jacks "Ghost" album with Terry Jacks producing. Part owner of Bullfrog Studios in Vancouver, Canada until the studio closed. Recorded "Twenty Years Ago Today" a tribute to John Lennon with Billy Cowsill on vocals.
Moved to California in 1998, currently living in Davis near Sacramento.
Has a two room recording studio in a 2 car garage. Main studio setup: Mackie 24x8 console, Tascam DA88, DA38, Tannoy, Bose, JBL and Auratone monitors. Dual G4 running Logic 6 Pro with Native Instruments Kontakt 2 and East West Quantum Leap Symphony Orchestra, and a PC P4 with Giga Studio 3 Orchestra.