Welcome to guitarist / composer Steve Smith's Biography!

Use these pages to delve into my various associations with composers, orchestras and artists, etc. If you are looking for more information about specific scores and works in my repertoire, consult the Archives, pages. For more on my available services go to Services.

This is the FULL story. If you need a shorter, printable PDF version you can download it here.

Steve Smith - Biography introduction

Since graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music Manchester; where he was a student of Gordon Crosskey; guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and composer Steve Smith, has earnt a reputation as one of the finest exponents of the contemporary guitar. He has performed, broadcast and recorded with all the major British ensembles including; The London Sinfonietta, The Nash Ensemble of London, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. Steve Smith's musical intelligence and versatility has attracted the attention of many of today's prominent conductors, composers and musicians. Steve Smith was Sir Simon Rattle’s first choice guitarist during his time with the CBSO, and whilst resident in London, was the favoured guitarist of many visiting conductors, including; John Adams, Oliver Knussen and Mstislav Rostropovich.

Steve Smith - early years

On graduation, Steve Smith co-founded the Alpha Guitar Duo with Canadian guitarist Andrew Allen. Between 1983-86, the duo concertised extensively in the UK and issued two recordings; The Alpha Duo (1984), and The Alpha Duo Play Gershwin and Joplin (1986). The duo also recorded a concertwatch the video from the first International Garden Festival, held in Liverpool in 1984, for Granada TV. During this time Steve was also working with Cordial Company, a mixed ensemble of voices and instruments, and his involvement in both of these outfits, helped to develop his writing and arranging. Steve Smith performed in the first national tour of, The Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Nicholas Nickleby 1983. Around this time, Steve Smith made his first on many appearances with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (known at the time as the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra) performances included the premiere of Richard Rodney Bennett's Love Songs in 1984, repeated at the BBC Promenade Concerts a year later.

Steve Smith - the Tippett connection

Perhaps one of his most fateful musical experiences occurred in 1985, when owing to an indisposition, Steve was asked by the Northern Sinfonia to work with them on a short tour of the North of England, performing Sir Michael Tippett's Songs for Dov. After a successful tour, during which; the interpretation of the complex and expressive electric guitar part, attracted considerable praise from the composer, Sir Michael was moved to suggest that, Steve Smith might be the player to perform the guitar parts in his third opera - The Knot Garden, from which the suite, Songs for Dov is taken - at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, revival during the 1988 season.
Since then Steve Smith has enjoyed a long and rewarding relationship with Sir Michael's music. He has gone on to perform all of the composer's works involving guitar, including; King Priam with David Atherton and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, in the BBC Promenade Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and in the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank. Between 1987-89, it was Steve Smith's privilege to advise Sir Michael on the preparation of the electric/bass guitar parts, for his fifth and final opera New Year. He performed the UK premiere at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, in Summer 1990. The same composer's solo guitar work, The Blue Guitar has been a staple recital piece in Steve Smith's repertoire since 1985. He was invited to perform the work during the composer's 90th birthday celebrations at the church of St. Giles Cripplegate, Barbican, London, in 1995.

Steve Smith - other composer collaborations

Steve Smith's association with composers continued with Mark-Anthony Turnage, whose work he has performed on numerous occasions, including; The Country of the Blind (now withdrawn) at the 1997 Aldeburgh Festival, bass guitar in Kai and Blood on the Floor, with Finnish chamber group Avanti! in 1998, and Fractured Lines, also on bass, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2000. Steve also advised Turnage on the preparation of the electric guitar component in Blood on the Floor in 1994. Steve Smith premiered Sir John Tavener's, Meditation on the Light at the 1991 Spitalfields Festival with countertenor Michael Chance. Other British composers Steve has collaborated with include; Steve Martland, Graham Fitkin, James Dillon, Michael Finnissy (Obrecht Motetten II) at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, (Shameful Vice) 1995 with the Endymion Ensemble and with the London Musici, Roxanna Panufnik's (Odi et Amo) at St. John's Smith Square in London. In 1994-5 Steve performed Dutch composer Roel Van Oosten's Scapin (1986) for solo guitar, as part of dancer Matthew Hawkins' project, Matthew and Diana on Manoeuvres.
Judith Weir is a composer with whom Steve Smith has enjoyed much involvement, including for piccolo and guitar, Gentle Violence, performed in concerts with flautist though the music theatre piece Scipio's Dream, with The Endymion Ensemble, to the 2000 BBC Proms performance of, woman.life.song, with London Sinfonietta, conductor David Robertson and soloist Jessye Norman - Steve Smith consulted with Judith Weir on technical aspects of the guitar part.

Steve Smith - educator

From 1987-90 Steve Smith was a member of the Royal College of Music, Junior Department - 20th Century Studies, headed by Mike Steer, lecturing on music technology, guitar synthesizer, and its applications. During this time he composed Pete Marsh (1989) which received its premiere at the RCM. Steve also lectured on guitar synth techniques at the Yamaha-sponsored SOUNDSCAPE music summer school, at the University of East Anglia in 1989, an event created and co-ordinated jointly, by Mike Steer and Dennis Smalley.

Steve has worked on many education projects with amongst others, the London Sinfonietta and on the London Symphony Orchestra's Discovery programme. 1994 saw a huge cross-arts project and performance, involving musicians from LS, composers John Lunn and Mark-Anthony Turnage, poet Jackie Kay and film maker Deborah May, with inmates of Wormwood Scrubs prison in London. Steve Smith has also led several improvisation workshops for the Sibelius Academy in Finland.
Whilst resident in Washington DC, USA, he was Director of Guitar Studies at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts from 2003-06. Where he also ran the Guitar Ensemble and wrote many arrangements for them.

Steve Smith - diversity

Guitarist Steve Smith has always embraced musical diversity. He is a virtuoso performer on multiple instruments including, mandolin and banjo, and has performed concerti on those instruments. Moreover, he has never been afraid to experiment with more exotic instrumental forces. In the LSO's Shostakovich Festival at the Barbican in 1998, directed by Mstislav Rostropovich, he performed the balkan tambouritza in a solo appearance with the orchestra. In 1987 he performed Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for 2 Mandolins with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra for BBCTV. György Kurtág's Messages of the late Miss R.V. Troussova op. 17, features a unique cello-like instrument, adapted by mr. Kurtág. Steve has performed the same composer's Grabstein für Stephan, with the CBSO and Sir Simon Rattle, and with the London Sinfonietta with Markus Stenz. In 1996 Steve performed in the premiere of John Adams' clarinet concerto Gnarly Buttons with Adams, Michael Collins and the London Sinfonietta. This works features G-banjo, mandolin and guitar. Since then he has performed worldwide and recorded it for Nonsuch Records.
Between 1999-2001 Steve worked with violinist Viktoria Mullova on her album and tour, Through the Looking Glass, with arrangements by Matthew Barley of jazz and pop classics. Steve Smith has worked in London's West End on shows including; Kiss me Kate, Les Miserables and at the Royal National Theatre The Alchemist. Whilst in the USA Steve worked many times with former civil rights singer/songwriter, Donal Leace, including appearances at the National Geographic, the Strathmore Mansion, Maryland and the Washington Folk Festival.

Steve Smith - composer

In recent years, Steve Smith has devoted more time to composition. His works, which feature the guitar either solo, duet or in ensemble, have received broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 (Aphrodite's Dance) and Granada Television Hommage a L'eteView the score & listen, and have been performed in the UK, Finland, Sweden, the USA and France. In Finland commissions have included; The Round Thing for saxophonist, Janne Murto in 1999. For the Jyväskylä Chamber Orchestra, he wrote Another Chance to Slip, Goes Down... for G-banjo and strings, and in 2000 he wrote and performed the premiere of his mandolin concerto, A Particular Peak for the City of Mikkeli Chamber Orchestra. He has written music for Finnish TV channel YLE.
In 2006, his score Underground (view score) - commissioned by the National Gallery of Art, in Washington DC - to accompany Anthony Asquith’s silent film of the same name, was a critical and public success. Steve's piece Gotango! (view score) remains one of his most popular works, with regular performances in the USA, and Europe. Steve's piece Blue TomatoView the score & listen was featured at the Musiikin aika Festival Viitasaari, Finland in 2000, where he also gave the Finnish premieres of Param Vir's, Clear Light, Magic Body, and Shrouded Mirrors by James Dillon.

Steve Smith - other things

In 2003 he was commissioned by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Washington DC, to plan and perform - with violinist Sarah Wetherbee and pianist Jeffrey Watson - a special spring concert of Dutch musical masters spanning five centuries.
With flautist Tina Kerchner, Steve Smith appeared many times in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the wonderful Presbyterian church there. Performing many special designed concert programmes by Tina Kerchner; including several charity events, for amongst others hurricane relief, after the devastating Hurricane Katrina. Many of Steve Smith's works were performed at these concerts, including the US premiere of Blue TomatoView the score & listen