Leon Portelance (53) is a songwriter, composer, arranger and producer. He has a well equipped home studio in Sonora, California. Leon plays keyboards, guitar and bass. Lately he has be working on tv and film cues using sampled orchestral libraies like East West Quantum Leap Symphony Orchestra and Vienna Symphony Library.

Leon grew up in Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, Canada. He parents started him on accordian when he was about 6, but he thought it was dorky. Then he played sax in elementary school band. When he was 9 he saw the first Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. He wanted a guitar!

At 13, Leon's best friend Sean Vance asked him if he could learn bass because they were putting together a band and needed a bass player. Leon asked what a bass was. "It has only 4 strings," Sean told him. This started a musical partnership that spanned many bands and personnel changes.

Leon's songwriting over the past 35 years has explored a variety of genres from pop & rock to jazz and classical. Leon has a BA in music composition and theory from the University of Victoria and has worked as an engineer and producer at several recording studios. His first recording gig was as an assistant engineer at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver, Canada and he was later a part owner of Bullfrog Studios, also in Vancouver.

Leon's ultimate dream would be to win an Academy Award for Best Sountrack or Best Song, but a number 1 hit on Billboard wouldn't hurt either!

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