Composition | Kile Smith • composer

What I've Learned from Church Music

by Kile Smith | Nov 30, 2014 | church music, Composition, Music Composition

NewMusicBox, the online publication of New Music USA, handed the guest-blogger reins over to me for the month of September 2014. Of all the things we pondered wherein I might contribute, church music was an underserved area I could help fill in, NMBx thought, for this...

12 Things I've Learned from Church Music (Part 4 of 4)

by Kile Smith | Sep 25, 2014 | Choral music, church music, Composition, Music Composition

My last of 4 posts is up at New Music Box, the website of New Music USA, where I’m their September guest-blogger. I’ve had a great time writing these, and my thanks go to editors Frank Oteri and Molly Sheridan for their help. I work in just a little...

12 Things I've Learned from Church Music (Part 3 of 4)

by Kile Smith | Sep 18, 2014 | Choral music, church music, Composition, Music Composition

My 3rd of 4 posts is up at New Music Box, the website of New Music USA; I’m their September guest-blogger. From the 12 Things I’ve Learned about Composing from Writing Church Music, this 3rd batch—with an assist from a drummer—is: 7. Write Faster 8. Hear It,...

12 Things I've Learned from Church Music (Part 2 of 4)

by Kile Smith | Sep 12, 2014 | Choral music, church music, Composition, Music Composition

The second of my four posts is up at New Music Box, the website of New Music USA, as part of my September guest-blog. It’s 12 things I’ve learned about composing from writing church music, so there are three in each of the four post (they say composers are...

12 Things I've Learned from Church Music (Part 1 of 4)

by Kile Smith | Sep 4, 2014 | Choral music, church music, Composition, Music Composition

I’m honored to be guest-blogging on New Music Box, the website of New Music USA. They were interested in my experience writing music for church, and as it’s not something they’ve delved into much, we thought it’d be a good area to explore....

Star Trek and the Dream of Composing

by Kile Smith | Sep 3, 2014 | Broad Street Review, Composition

[First published in the Broad Street Review, 1 Sep 2014. Reprinted by permission.] The villain had the disabled, drifting starship Enterprise lined up in his sights, and his hand slowly descended toward a button on the console. He held it there for a moment, then...

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At a glance

1 Jul. Alleluia. Serenades Choral, David Hayes, Noto, Chiesa di Santa Chiara, Italy

2 Jul. Alleluia. Serenades Choral, David Hayes, Siracusa, Chiesa di San Filippo Apostolo, Italy

3 Jul. The Dawn’s Early Light. Modern Notebook, Tyler Kline, WUSF, Tampa FL

3 Jul. Alleluia. Serenades Choral, David Hayes, Ragusa Ibla, Duomo San Giorgio, Italy

21 Jul. Finished There’s a Land Beyond the River for string quartet

22 Jul. Finished. Preisend mit viel schönen Reden, arr. TTBB

27 Jul. There’s a Land Beyond the River. Premiere. Blue Line String Quartet. Holy Trinity Lutheran, Abington, PA

5 Aug. “Two Out of Three Ways to Compose,” lecture, Settlement Music School Adult Chamber Players, Willow Grove, PA

5 Sep. Preisend mit viel schönen Reden, arr. TTBB. Franklinville-Schwarzwald Männerchor, Jacqueline Smith. Cannstatter Volksfest-Verein 150th Anniversary Oktoberfest, Philadelphia

11 Sep. Go Forth into the World in Peace. Knox Church, Cincinnati, Earl Rivers

1 Oct. April Showers. Calliope’s Call, Marblehead, MA

2 Oct. April Showers. Calliope’s Call, Boston

20 Oct. “Thou mayst know, if thou wilt notice” from The Consolation of Apollo. Western Illinois University Singers, Brian Winnie, Macomb, IL

22 Oct. Jubilate Deo, for chamber orchestra. Premiere. Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, Sheldon Bair.

Recent CDs

The Bremen Town Musicians. English Symphony Orchestra, Gemma Whelan, narrator, Kenneth Woods, conductor. Fiddles, Forests, and Fowl Fables.

The Arc in the Sky. The Crossing. 2020 Grammy nomination, Best Choral Performance

Canticle and Alleluia. Vocal Arts Ensemble. 2020 Grammy, Classical Producer of the Year, Blanton Alspaugh

In This Blue Room, other songs. Lyric Fest

A Child’s Afternoon. Fantasmagoria. Anna K. Meyer, flute, & Erik Meyer, organ

The Nobility of Women. Mélomanie

The Stars Shine, from The Consolation of Apollo. The Same Stream

Vespers. Piffaro, the Renaissance Band, and The Crossing

Where Flames a Word. The Crossing

Where Flames a Word. Voces Tallinn. 2020 Estonian Recording of the Year

Where Flames a Word. Khorikos

Where Flames a Word. Chicago Chamber Choir

Selected publications

The Star-Spangled Banner. SATB, piano, opt. cello, 5’30”. Hal Leonard

Alleluia. SATB, 6′. Hal Leonard

The Consolation of Apollo. SATB, perc, 35′. MusicSpoke

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. SATB, bells, 3′. Hal Leonard

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. SATB, org, 3′. Concordia.