String Orchestra | Kile Smith • composer

American Romantics 2: Bird, Chadwick, and Foote

by Kile Smith | Apr 30, 2018 | American music, Classical music, Fleisher Collection, String Orchestra, WRTI

We keep one composer and swap out two from last month’s American Romantics program on Discoveries from the Fleisher Collection. The two new composers are two Arthurs—Bird and Foote—and we’ll hear music they first wrote for other purposes. Arthur Foote’s Theme and...

The Strange Genius of the Adagio for Strings

by Kile Smith | Nov 2, 2015 | Classical music, Orchestral Music, String Orchestra, String Quartet, WRTI Arts Desk

[First published in WRTI’s Arts Desk 2 Nov 2015] Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings didn’t start out the way we know it now. In this feature for WRTI, I look at the inescapable strangeness of this work that is now one of the most heard and most moving pieces in the...

The Red Book of Montserrat premieres at Kimmel

by Kile Smith | May 17, 2013 | Dance Music, Early Music, New Compositions, new music, Orchestral Music, String Orchestra

I could hardly have been happier at the premiere of The Red Book of Montserrat last night at the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia. This newest string orchestra work is a 20-minute suite commissioned by the Philadelphia Sinfonia, Gary White, music...

Thrilling to hear Three Dances in its new version for strings

by Kile Smith | May 13, 2013 | new music, Orchestral Music, String Orchestra

On Saturday, May 11th, Aaron Picht conducted the Temple University Music Preparatory Division Youth Chamber Orchestra in the premiere of the new version of my Three Dances. It was the closing concert of the Festival of Young Musicians, held at the Church of the Holy...

Premiere of new Three Dances

by Kile Smith | May 11, 2013 | new music, Orchestral Music, String Orchestra

I’m looking forward to the premiere of the new version of my Three Dances tonight. Aaron Picht conducts the Temple University Music Preparatory Division Youth Chamber Orchestra at the Festival of Young Musicians, Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square,...

The Red Book of Montserrat

by Kile Smith | May 5, 2013 | Dance Music, Early Music, New Compositions, new music, Orchestral Music, String Orchestra

The Red Book of Montserrat is a suite for string orchestra commissioned by the Philadelphia Sinfonia, the excellent youth orchestra Gary White directs. It sets five of the ten songs from the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, the 14th-century book of music and texts from...

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THE ARC IN THE SKY
Best Choral Performance, The Crossing, Donald Nally

CANTICLE
Producer of the Year, Classical, Blanton Alspaugh

Upcoming

4 Oct. A Child’s Afternoon. Premiere. Anna Meyer, flute, Erik Meyer, organ. Christ Church, Philadelphia

8 Oct. The Bremen Town Musicians. Market Square Concerts, Harrisburg, PA

12 Oct. Where Flames a Word. Chicago Chamber Choir, Christopher Windle. St. Ignatius Church, Rogers Park

13 Oct. Where Flames a Word. Chicago Chamber Choir, Christopher Windle. St. Ita Catholic Church, Edgewater

19 Oct. “Jerusalem” from The Arc in the Sky CD, The Crossing. WRTI-FM Philadelphia and wrti.org, between 8 & 9:30 am, Debra Lew Harder

26 Oct. The Arc in the Sky. Ghostlight Chorus, Evelyn Troester DeGraf. Church of Notre Dame, NYC

26 Oct. The Arc in the Sky, excerpt. The American Sound, Jennifer Hambrick, WOSU Public Media, Columbus, OH, 6 pm

27 Oct. The Word of God. Word of God Lutheran Church, new building dedication, Peachtree, GA

29 Oct. The Arc in the Sky, excerpt. The American Sound, Jennifer Hambrick, WOSU Public Media, Columbus, OH, 7 pm

2 Nov. The Dawn’s Early Light. Conspirare, L.A. Guitar Quartet, Craig Hella Johnson. Austin TX

2 Nov. The Arc in the Sky. The Cantus Ensemble, Dominic Brennan. Pimlico, London

2 Nov. Spirituals for Piano Trio. Arcadian Trio. Medford Leas, Medford, NJ, 7:30

3 Nov. The Dawn’s Early Light. Conspirare, L.A. Guitar Quartet, Craig Hella Johnson. Houston, TX

15 Nov. Where Flames a Word. Chestnut Street Singers, Kevin Vondrak, St. Clement’s Episcopal, Philadelphia

17 Nov. Where Flames a Word. Chestnut Street Singers, Kevin Vondrak. St. Thomas’ Episcopal, Whitemarsh, PA

25 Nov. A Child’s Afternoon. Anna Meyer, flute, Erik Meyer, organ. Harvard Memorial Church, Boston, 7:30

30 Nov. The Arc in the Sky. The Crossing. Complete broadcast, Mark Pinto’s Classical New Releases, WRTI 90.1 Philadelphia, 4:45

2–6 Dec. Workshopping choruses from The Book of Job. Northwestern University Chorale, Donald Nally. Evanston, IL

6 Dec. Movements from The Arc in the Sky. Northwestern University Chorale, Donald Nally. Evanston, IL

14 Dec. Alleluia. Ghostlight Chorus, Evelyn Troester DeGraf. Church of St. Luke in the Fields, NYC

20 Dec. The Consolation of Apollo. The Thirteen, Matthew Robertson. Episcopal High School Chapel, Alexandria, VA, 7:30

21 Dec. The Consolation of Apollo. The Thirteen, Matthew Robertson. First Congregational UCC, Washington, DC, 7:30

22 Dec. The Consolation of Apollo. The Thirteen, Matthew Robertson. Bradley Hills Church, Bethesda, MD, 5:00

12 Jan 2020. The Arc in the Sky. Vocal Arts Ensemble Cincinnati, Craig Hella Johnson

3 Mar 2020. In This Blue Room. Lauren McAllister, mezzo, Ben Flanders, baritone. Cincinnati

24 May 2020. The Consolation of Apollo. Portland State Chamber Choir, Ethan Sperry

12 Jun 2020. The Arc in the Sky. et al., Kevin Neel, Boston

14 Jun 2020. The Arc in the Sky. et al., Kevin Neel, Boston

11–18 Jul 2020. The Consolation of Apollo. Portland State Chamber Choir, Ethan Sperry. 12th World Symposium on Choral Music, Auckland, New Zealand

Feb 2021. Vespers. Virginia Chorale, Piffaro.