Kile Smith
Composer
“There is no other music like this.”—Craig Hella Johnson
2025 Calendar
FINISHED 8 Jan. Jesus Stood on the Shore. SATB, SATB soloists, organ, 20′
9 Jan. Revised SATB arr. of America the Beautiful; added 2nd Soprano
1 Feb. Wie schön leuchtet from Vespers. American Kantorei, Maurice Boyer, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis
2 Feb. Wie schön leuchtet from Vespers. American Kantorei, Maurice Boyer, St. Paul’s Lutheran, Des Peres, MO
FINISHED 7 Feb. Lord, Who May Dwell in Your Tabernacle (Psalm 15). St. David’s Episcopal Church, Austin, TX, Mark Wischkaemper
8 Feb. Engraved TTBB piano score of Wach auf, du alter Minnesang (Robert Pracht)
8 Feb. Engraved TTBB piano score of Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen (Heinrich Isaac, arr. Fritz Binder)
PREMIERE 28 Feb. Jesus Stood on the Shore. Choir and organ, 20′. Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Michael Plagerman, Seattle
28 Feb. Where Flames a Word. Madison Choral Project, Albert Pinsonneault, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, WI
2 Mar. Where Flames a Word. Madison Choral Project, Albert Pinsonneault, Luther Memorial Church, Madison, WI
PREMIERE 9 Mar. Jubilate Deo for chorus and orchestra. Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, Sheldon Bair, Bel Air, MD
PREMIERE 14 Mar. Endless Morn of Light. Sylvan Viol Consort, Variant 6. Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia
15 Mar. Endless Morn of Light. Sylvan Viol Consort, Variant 6. First and Central Presbyterian, Wilmington, DE
16 Mar. Endless Morn of Light. Sylvan Viol Consort, Variant 6. Levering Mill Tribute House, Bala Cynwyd, PA
29 Mar. In the Midst of Life. Richmond Concert Chorale, Ryan Tibbetts
PUBLISHED 9 Apr. America, the Beautiful. SSAA, piano, 4′, ECS Publishing, Craig Hella Johnson Choral Series
FINISHED 6 Apr. Let All the Strains of Joy, SATB, 6’30”
10 Apr. Sometimes It Happens So. Benjamin Flanders, baritone, Sonya Szabo-Reynolds, piano. Skald Festival, Northern Kentucky University
12 Apr. I Want to Write a Book of Praise, from The Arc in the Sky. Wheaton College Men’s Glee Club, John Swedberg
PREMIERE 26 Apr. Even the Grass Must Sing, plus “To One Coming North” from Northland. The Choristers with orchestra, Lansdale, PA, David Spitko
10 May. The Consolation of Apollo. Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Stephen Alltop
10 May. Grandmother’s Garden. Oakville Choir for Children & Youth, Susan Wieler, Oakville, ON, Canada
17 May. The Waking Sun. Back Bay Chorale, Stephen Spinelli. Sanders Theater, Harvard Memorial Hall
RELEASED 23 May. my son my son. On the album Across the Open Spaces, Khorikos, Alec Galambos
14 Jun. my son my son. Release party, Across the Open Spaces CD Khorikos, Alec Galambos, including performance of this and Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn from Vespers
24 Jul. Northland. Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Joshua Habermann. Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe, NM
27 Jul. Northland. Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Joshua Habermann. Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe, NM
1 Aug. Northland. Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Joshua Habermann. Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe, NM
PREMIERE 18, 19 Oct. Let All the Strains of Joy (Tagore) plus Where the Mind is Without Fear (Tagore). The Crossing, Donald Nally. Philadelphia
2026
PREMIERE. 25, 26 Apr. New Work, Dolce Canto, David Edmonds, Missoula, MT
2024 Highlights
PREMIERE 3 Mar. Come, Ye Sinners. 2-pt, org version. Martin Luther Chapel, Pennsauken, NJ, Jacqueline Smith
RELEASED 8 Mar. Where Flames a Word, on Tapestry from Choral Arts Initiative, Brandon Elliott
PREMIERE 31 Mar. Behold, the Best, the Greatest Gift. 2-pt, org version. Martin Luther Chapel, Pennsauken, NJ, Jacqueline Smith
PREMIERE 11 Apr. I Love You Truly from Wireless. Chor Leoni, Erick Lichte
PREMIERE 21 Apr. My Shepherd Will Supply My Need. 2-pt, org version. Martin Luther Chapel, Pennsauken, NJ, Jacqueline Smith
PREMIERE 10 May. Wireless. Chor Leoni, Erick Lichte
19 May. Where Flames a Word, Choral Arts Initiative, Brandon Elliott, Newport Beach, CA
2 Jun. Adieu, Adieu. Relâche, Black Squirrel Club, Philadelphia
8, 10 Jun. Monstra te essem matrem (SSA, harp) and Psalm 113 (SSAA, harp). iSing Girlchoir, Jennah Delp. Berkeley Festival
27 Jun. Jerusalem, from The Arc in the Sky, and Conversation in the Mountains, from Where Flames a Word. The Crossing, Donald Nally, Month of Moderns 2, Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
6 Jul. “Why Did They All Shout?” from The Arc in the Sky, Reading Bach Choir, Daniel Mahoney, Caversham, Reading, Great Britain
PREMIERE 11 Jul. Arise, O Lord (Psalm 132) for SATB, org, 10′. Psalm Festival of the 2024 Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Institute for Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music, Seward, Nebraska, the Bellevue Singers and organist Jacob Weber, conducted by A.J. Reimer.
PREMIERE 18 Oct. Dark Is the Night and Green Is the Grass (Tumša nakte, zaļā zāle). Riga Project Choir, Latvia, Christopher Walsh Sinka
3 Nov. The Bremen Town Musicians. Premiere Performances, Musical Fairytales, Hong Kong, Andrea Fessler, two performances
16 Nov. The Consolation of Apollo. Houston Chamber Chorale, Betsy Cook Weber, St. Philip Presbyterian, Houston
7, 8 Dec. The Consolation of Apollo. New version, with string orchestra. Plus PREMIERE of new Christmas carol. Bethlehem Bach Choir, Christopher Jackson, Allentown and Bethlehem, PA
The three-time Grammy-nominated music of Kile Smith is hailed for its strong voice, sheer beauty, and “profoundly direct emotional appeal.” Commissioned by The Crossing, Conspirare, and many of the nation’s top professional and university choirs, he is regularly performed nationally and internationally. Craig Hella Johnson calls Kile “one of our most important composers…his voice is unlike any other. Utterly unique.” Cincinnati Movers and Shakers wrote, “Kile Smith is reshaping the choral repertoire.” Gramophone called his Vespers “spectacular,” American Record Guide, “a major new work,” and Audiophile Audition, “a masterpiece of the deepest kind…easily one of the best releases of the year of any type.”
The Dawn’s Early Light with the L.A. Guitar Quartet was a 2022 Grammy nominee for Best Choral Performance (Conspirare), and The Arc in the Sky likewise in 2020 (The Crossing). Canticle (Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble) helped win the 2020 Classical Producer of the Year Grammy for Blanton Alspaugh.
Kile’s children’s work Bremen Town Musicians was recorded by the English Symphony Orchestra with actor/comedian Gemma Whelan as narrator. The Consolation of Apollo continues its run of over 60 performances. He’s written works for Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim, principal horn Jennifer Montone, and principal clarinet Ricardo Morales. Kile’s anthems are regularly heard in churches across the country. His first opera, The Book of Job, co-commissioned by The Crossing and Conspirare, will premiere soon in Philadelphia and Austin. He is published by Hal Leonard, ECS, GIA, Concordia, and is distributed by MusicSpoke. Longer bio here. [Photo Credit: A. J. Waltz]