- This article is about the composer. For other uses of the name Robert W. Smith, see Robert Smith.
Robert W. Smith is an American composer, arranger, and teacher.
Biography
Smith was born in the small town of Daleville, Alabama on October 24 1958 .[citation needed] He attended high school in Daleville, after which he left for Troy State University, where he played lead trumpet in the Sound of the South Marching Band.[citation needed] While at Troy, he studied composition with Dr. Paul Yoder. Upon his graduation from Troy State with a Bachelor of Music Education degree, Smith pursued his musical career in South Florida, where he earned the Master's degree in Media Writing and Production from the University of Miami, while studying with Dr. Alfred Reed.[citation needed] He was soon hired by Columbia Pictures Publications and later Warner Bros./Belwin Publications.[1] Smith's career with Warner Bros. continued until 2005, when it was bought out by Alfred Music Publishing.[2] In 1997, Smith returned to Troy, Alabama to become the Director of Bands at Troy State University, following the retirement of his old band director, Dr. Long. Smith would remain at Troy for four years, directing the Sound of the South Marching Band and the Symphony Band. In 2001, he left Troy to take a more full-time position with Warner Brothers Publications.[citation needed] His position with Warner since leaving Troy has taken him all over the world, acting as guest conductor and clinician with many ensembles. Smith's "New Day Rising" & "Don Quioxte" were nominated for the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Contemporary Classical Album. Compositions
Currently, Smith has over 600 published works, including three symphonies. Symphony No. 1, The Divine Comedy, was inspired by Dante's epic; Symphony No. 2, The Odyssey, was inspired by the Greek epic of the same name; and Symphony No. 3, "Don Quixote", was inspired by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's epic of the same title.[3] Smith has also composed two works dedicated to solo instruments–-contemporary concertos for the flute family and the euphonium--entitled Gemeinhardt Suite, and Willson Suite respectively.[citation needed] Smith's piece "Into The Storm" was written to commemorate the powerful 1993 winter storm that brutalized the eastern United States. This piece is often worked into various themes and reset in different ensembles such as a version played by an orchestra, substituting the flute ostinato as a violin part; or otherwise used as a part of a marching band show (See Sandy Creek Marching Band).[citation needed] Smith is a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, having been initiated into the Zeta Upsilon chapter at then Troy State University in April 1977. His work "To the Summit" is subtitled "Strive for the Highest," the motto of the fraternity. The middle section of "To the Summit" is an arrangement of the Kappa Kappa Psi Fraternity Hymn. He is now the head of the Music Industry program in Troy University. Other work
In addition to composing for bands, Smith has enjoyed success writing for drum and bugle corps. He had been a member of the Charioteers Drum and Bugle Corps in Alabama in the mid-1970s. His first great success came in the mid-1980s while he was writing for the Suncoast Sound, from Clearwater, Florida -- a tenure which included Suncoast's 1985 program, "A Florida Suite," the first completely original musical program ever done by a drum corps.[1] He would later go on to write for Magic of Orlando for several years. Until 2007, he wrote for the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps, of Toledo, Ohio. Around 2002, Robert and his wife Susan L. Smith began to work on a new project, writing a fully integrated music curriculum that would begin in elementary school and take students all the way through high school. A design team of several music educators was assembled, and the result was Music Expressions. Before the beginning of the 2006–2007 school year, Troy University announced the re-hiring of Smith to the position of Coordinator of the Music Industry program.[2] On December 14, 2006, Smith announced his appointment as Director of Product Development for the C. L. Barnhouse Company, and an exclusive publishing arrangement with the firm, effective January 1, 2007. His wife, Susan Smith is currently the band director of the Saint James band. Compositions
- 'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime'
- A Christmas Hymn
- Affirmation Overture
- Africa: Ceremony, Song and Ritual
- African Bell Carol
- All Is Calm
- America the Beautiful
- Angels, from the Realms of Glory
- Apollo Fanfare
- Ash Lawn Echoes
- At the Crossroads
- Battlefield Earth
- Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
- Brazil: Ceremony, Song, and Samba
- Buffalo Dances
- By Loch and Mountain
- Cameroon
- Cantique de Noel
- Castle Lore
- Celebration
- Celtic Carol
- Ceremonium
- Chautauqua
- Christmas Concerto
- Christmas in the Round
- Covenant
- Currents
- Daphne
- Dance Celebration
- Dan
- Danza
- David
- Debbie
- Declaration in Blue
- Derek
- Discovery 1492
- Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
- Dramatico
- Drummer's Christmas Carol
-
Encanto[3]
- Eternal Peaks
- Fanfare and Processional on an Old English Carol
- Furioso
- Gemeinhardt Suite
- Gladiator Finale (featuring "Battle Theme" from Gladiator and "Parade of the Charioteers" from Ben Hur)
- Glorioso
- God Bless the U.S.A.
- Greensleeves: A Fantasy
- Holiday Fanfare
- Herndon Exaltations
- Huntington Proclamation
- Hymnsong Variants
- In a Gentle Rain
- In the Bleak Midwinter
- Incantations
- Inchon
-
Into the Storm [4]
- Ireland: Of Legend and Lore
-
Ithaca (from The Odyssey (Symphony No. 2))
- Jefferson: A Vision for America
- Jingle Bells Forever
- Journeys Through Time
- King of Kings
- Knights of the Royal Realm
- Kronos
- Let Heaven and Nature Sing!
- Linus and Lucy
- Liturgical Fanfare
- Liza Jane
- Lullaby Carols
- Montevista
- Monument
- Morpheus
- Mystere
- Mysterioso
- Nocturnal Dances
- North Bay Vistas
- Northwoods: Of Might and Mettle
- Old Time Rock & Roll
- On Eagle's Wings
- On This Day Earth Shall Ring (from Holst's Winter Suite, Mvt. 1)
- On the Rising Winds
- On the Mall
-
Paradiso (from The Divine Comedy (Symphony No. 1))
- Patriots on Parade
- Pavane (Pour Une Infante Defunte)
- Portsmouth Overture
- Proclamation
- Prologue
- Proud Mary
- Provenance
-
Purgatorio(from The Divine Comedy (Symphony No. 1))
- Quintilian
- Ragtime Medley
- Repercussions
- Rising Dragons
- Rites of Tamburo
- Rockin' Robin
- Russian Folk Rhapsody
- Rythmos
- Sami's Lullabye
- Semper Liberi
- Serengeti Dreams
- Songs of Earth, Water, Fire and Sky
- Songs of Sailor and Sea
- Spirit of the Winds
- Symphonic Suite from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- Tanoan Echoes
- Tap Roots
-
The Ascension (from The Divine Comedy (Symphony No. 1))
- The Children's Carols
- The Divine Comedy (Symphony No. 1)
- The Hunt With Belle Meade
- The Gathering of the Yeomen
- The Great Escape March
-
The Great Locomotive Chase [5]
- The Great Steamboat Race
-
The Iliad (from The Odyssey (Symphony No. 2))
-
The Inferno (from The Divine Comedy (Symphony No. 1))
-
The Isle of Calypso (from The Odyssey (Symphony No. 2))
- The Maelstrom
-
The Odyssey (Symphony No. 2)
- The Runaway Sleigh
- The Second Storm
- The Sound and the Fury
- The Spirit of Orpheus
- The Star of Dreams
- The Swarm (A Battle Won With Hornets)
- The Sword of Kings
- The Symphony of Souls
- The Trail of Dreams
- The Tempest
-
The Winds of Poseidon (from The Odyssey (Symphony No. 2))
-
Three Faces of Kilimanjaro
- Tidings of Joy!
- To Challenge the Sky and Heavens Above
- To Dance in the Fields of Glory
- To Dance in the Secret Garden
- To the Summit! (Strive for the Highest)
- Twelve Seconds to the Moon
- Twilight Is Falling
- Two Beethoven Sketches
- Ukrainian Bell Carol
- Ultimatum
- Valdres
- Valiance (A Heroic Overture for Band)
- Variant on an Old English Carol
- Variations on "Deck the Halls"
- Warm-Ups for Outdoor Winds and Percussion
- Wassail
- When Summer Takes Flight
- Where the Black Hawk Soars
- Wild Wild West
- Willson Suite
- Winged Victory
References
External links
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