Arrangements and orchestrationsGreg Smith’s experience as a composer and chamber musician means that he is comfortable scoring in a variety of styles and instrumental forces: – chamber (e.g., piano, cello and piano, string quartet) – choral – orchestra – wind orchestra Greg can arrange in a variety of styles, from classical to jazz. Contact Greg Smith ARRANGMENTS, […]
Environmental soundscapesIn the 1960s, the Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer founded the World Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser University. The research group explored the sonic environment. Later projects would include The Vancouver Soundscapes of Canada (1973), European Sound Diary, and Five Village Soundscapes. In his book on the subject, The Tuning of the World, Schafer wrote […]
Music as a metaphor … or not“Most music is metaphor, but Wolff is not. I am not metaphor either. Parable, maybe. Cage is sermon.” – Morton Feldman, American composer Cited in Tom Johnson, Remembrance, September 1987. Accessed 11 May 2013.
Individuality“I may not be better than other people, but at least I’m different.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Franco-Swiss philosopher and writer.
Dance of the Sugar-Plum FairyOne of the most magical passages in Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker is the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy. The featured instrument, the celeste, was a relatively new invention, having only been developed by a Parisian harmonium builder, Auguste Mustel, in 1886. The French word “céleste” translates to “heavenly”. Tchaikovsky first discovered the celeste while visiting Paris […]
Art is an immense forestIn the world, in life, and in nature, there is nothing but beautiful tales, and when the door opens, enter and accept it with all your soul. Art is an immense, eternal forest, where the trees stand as sparsely or as densely as you wish. The moon, sun and all kinds of glittering stars move […]
Aim above the mark“If you would hit the mark, you must aim a little above it; Every arrow that flies feels the attraction of earth.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), American poet.
Here I Am, Lord – Psalm 39 (40)Title: Here I Am, Lord Text: Psalm 39 (40): 2, 4, 7-1. R. vv.8-9 Composer: Greg Smith Instrumentation: SATB and piano Product medium: PDF score and part SAMPLE:
Sondheim on expressionMike Brown interviewers musical theatre composer Stephen Sondhiem: When I venture that his songs might suggest that he has a somewhat jaundiced view of love, he momentarily flares into irritation. ‘How can you tell? Every single song I’ve ever written is sung by a character created by somebody else. Some might have a jaundiced view […]
Arthur Rubinstein’s youthful practice habitsInterviewer: So many children hate to take music lessons. Can you understand this? Rubinstein: Oh, yes, I was one of them. You see, music lessons mean always this horrible dictatorial attitude of the professors. They slap four fingers and aarh; they shout at you: “Can’t you learn that? You must practice scales!” I mean, it […]