Fleisher Discoveries | Kile Smith • composer

Fleisher Discoveries: Spring with Roy Harris, Mary Howe, Joachim Raff

by Kile Smith | Mar 1, 2023 | American music, Classical music, Fleisher Collection, Fleisher Discoveries, Podcast

Listen on SoundCloud Listen on Spotify Calling on spring with a trio of pieces, two from Americans Roy Harris and Mary Howe, and one from a German, Joachim Raff. Roy Harris (1898–1979). Kentucky Spring (1949) Mary Howe (1882–1964). Spring Pastorale (1936) Joachim Raff...

Fleisher Discoveries: Sibelius the Revolutionary

by Kile Smith | Feb 1, 2023 | Fleisher Collection, Fleisher Discoveries, Podcast

Exactly 100 years have passed, new ideas have come and gone, waves of new music have crashed and receded, yet Sibelius and his church modes in 1923 seem more and more to be something we never considered: revolutionary. Jean Sibelius (1865–1957). Symphony No. 6 (1923)...

Fleisher Discoveries: Gunther Schuller, William Russo, a New Year, a Third Stream

by Kile Smith | Jan 4, 2023 | Classical music, Fleisher Collection, Fleisher Discoveries, Podcast

On our New Year’s show, another example of the power of concert music to constantly reinvent itself as it reaches out to, and accepts, every kind of music into its orbit. Gunther Schuller (1925–2015). Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee (1959) William Russo...

Fleisher Discoveries: Christmas 2022

by Kile Smith | Dec 2, 2022 | Fleisher Collection, Fleisher Discoveries, Podcast

Twenty-two years and while we’ve had a few Christmas pieces on Fleisher Discoveries, we’ve never done a Christmas show, until now. Frank Bridge (1879–1941). A Christmas Dance, Sir Roger de Coverley, for strings (1923) Alec Rowley (1892–1958). from...

Fleisher Discoveries: Composers Should Thank Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

by Kile Smith | Nov 2, 2022 | Classical music, Fleisher Collection, Fleisher Discoveries, Podcast

Elgar promoted him, his music sold hundreds of thousands of copies, he was as big as Elton John or Paul McCartney, but he died in poverty. So the music industry changed. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875–1912). Symphonic Variations on an African Air (1905)...

Fleisher Discoveries: Bridging Germany and Israel, Paul Ben-Haim

by Kile Smith | Oct 1, 2022 | Classical music, Fleisher Collection, Fleisher Discoveries, Podcast

He was the assistant conductor at the Bavarian State Opera, then assistant at Augsburg Opera, then Kapellmeister, but Hitler came to power, and the purge of Jews began. So he went to Palestine. He was forbidden to work under the terms of his travel visa. So he changed...

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At a glance

16 Feb. The Dawn’s Early Light. Charlotte Master Chorale, Kenney Potter, First UMC Charlotte NC

19 Feb. There’s a Land Beyond the River. Grace Presbyterian Long Beach CA, Stan DeWitt

22 Feb. Monstra te essem matrem (SSA, harp) from Ave Maris Stella. iSing Girlchoir, Jennah Delp, ACDA National Conference, Cincinnati

5 Mar. Canticle. Choral Arts Initiative, Brandon Elliott. West Coast premiere.

13 Mar. Nirakar, excerpts from the opera. Erica Schuller, Bella Voce. Woman’s Athletic Club Ballroom, Chicago

18 Mar. Susquehanna. Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, Sheldon Bair, Bel Air, MD

25 Mar. The Bremen Town Musicians. New Saint Andrews College, David Erb

25 Mar. The Bremen Town Musicians. Harford Youth Orchestra, Brian Folus, Sheldon Bair, narrator, Bel Air, MD

28 Mar. The Three Graces. Oliver Talukder, oboe, Martina Adams, horn, Yoonsoo Yeo, cello, Marguerite Cox, double bass, Michelle Cann, piano, Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia

23 Apr. The Bremen Town Musicians. Benedictine College, Brian Casey, Rachel Dannar, Narrator, Atchison, KS

23 Apr. Narrator, Casey at the Bat (Randol Alan Bass), Delaware Valley Wind Symphony, Colleen Sweetsir, Holland, PA

5 May. In the Midst of Life. William Ferris Chorale, Chicago, Christopher Windle. Premiere. Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Chicago, 7:30

7 May. In the Midst of Life. William Ferris Chorale, Chicago, Christopher Windle. Premiere. Wicker Park Lutheran, Chicago, 3:30

20 May. The Bremen Town Musicians. Salt Lake Symphony, Robert Baldwin

8 Jul. The Arc in the Sky. Reading Bach Choir, Daniel Mahoney, Douai Abbey, Upper Woolhampton, England

23 Jul. Northland. Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Joshua Habermann. Premiere

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.