kile@kilesmith.com
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Kile Smith • composer
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      • Now Is the Time (2008–2017)
        • Now Is the Time, Theme Music
        • Now Is the Time, 2017
        • Now Is the Time, 2016
        • Now Is the Time, 2015
        • Now Is the Time, 2014
        • Now Is the Time, 2013
        • Now Is the Time, 2012
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How to Have a Composing Career in 10 Easy Steps

by Kile Smith | Feb 17, 2015 | Broad Street Review, Composition

[First published in the Broad Street Review, 20 Jan 2014] If you haven’t seen the article on how to write a symphony, you should check it out. It’s filled with helpful advice like “Be inspired.” Here’s another example: “Eventually each theme will become a...

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....
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Recent & Upcoming Highlights

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

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

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

12 Jul. O Thou Who Camest from Above. Csehy Summer School of Music Chamber Choir, Floyd Rawleigh, Langhorne, PA

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

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.

From the blog

  • America the Beautiful
  • Jubilate Deo, for SATB and orchestra
  • Bob Perkins, R.I.P.
  • Endless Morn of Light
  • Jesus Stood on the Shore
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