Simon Smith was born in Northumberland in 1983. A self-taught pianist, he had his first piano lessons at the age of 10, with June Laird. From 1996 to 2002 he studied piano with Richard Beauchamp at St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh, where he also took up composition, studying with Tom David Wilson, and later John Maxwell Geddes and James MacMillan. He is currently reading Music at Clare College, Cambridge.
acclaimed as "beautifully paced, finely structured, Passion music for today... a direct and emotional work" [The Herald]. His current projects are Attis, a concerto for tuba and large orchestra, and Stabat Mater, for solo viola and chamber orchestra. Simon has great interest in computer music engraving, and the study of music notation. He has produced and engraved a piano reduction of MacMillan's The World's Ransoming which was published by Boosey & Hawkes in 2002, and he is currently completing a reduction of MacMillan's clarinet concerto Ninian.
Simon has always had a particular interest in contemporary music, and in recent years he has enjoyed an ever-deepening relationship with the music of James MacMillan. He first played to the composer on one of his visits to St Mary's Music School in 2000, and this prompted a recital of the complete piano music in September of that year, which was repeated in the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. MacMillan has dedicated the piano piece in angustiis... I to Simon, who gave the first performance of the work in Glasgow in February 2002. Simon has also frequently performed the works of Rachmaninov and Alfred Schnittke, both in solo recitals and in concert with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and others.
Recorded 9 & 10 March, 2002 in the Reid Concert Hall, Edinburgh 24-bit stereo technology Producer: Kevin Findlan Engineer: Paul Baxter This recording was made possible with a grant from the Scottish Arts Council. Special thanks to Norman Motion. Design and Photography: © Delphian Records Ltd Photograph of James MacMillan courtesy of Boosey & Hawkes. Photograph of Stuart MacRae courtesy of Novello & Company. 2002 Delphian Records Ltd © 2002 Delphian Records Ltd Delphian Records Ltd PO Box 17179 Edinburgh EH12 5YD www.delphianrecords.co.uk Tel: 0709 215 7149
As a composer, Simon prefers large-scale forms. His orchestral piece Paragon was premiered by the Meadows Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh in May 2000. His next and most recent large-scale composition, Crucifixus, which premiered in St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, in March 2002, was 9
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Simon Smith
