Stuart Saunders Smith (16 March 1948 - 3 June 2024) was an American composer and percussionist. After having studied composition and music theory at three music institutions, Smith was based in Vermont, United States, with his wife Sylvia. He produced almost 200 compositions, half of which were written for percussion instruments with a focus on the vibraphone.
Life Smith was born in Portland, Maine. He started studying composition and percussion at six years old with Charles Newcomb, who was previously a vaudeville performer and exposed him to many musical styles e.g. Latin music, waltz, Dixieland. Smith has attributed a "physical" form of music composition to Newcomb. From the age of 13, Smith began performing publicly in clubs and dance venues. At the age of 18, Smith went on to Berklee School of Music where he furthered his studies in counterpoint, harmony and musical arrangements. He continued to study percussion and composition at Hartt College of Music from 1967 to 1972. He received his DMA in music composition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1977, where he studied under Herbert Brün, Salvatore Martirano, and Benjamin Johnston.
Alongside Newcomb, his other percussion teachers included Fred Budha, Al Dawson, Alexander Lepak, and Thomas Siwe.
Music Smith has composed over 150 works. In categorizing Smith's work, four primary areas of focus have been identified: music of extreme rhythmic and melodic intricacy; musical mobiles with instrumental parts that freely interact; text-based compositions; trans-media systems for any kind of performing artist(s). Smith uses language (in the form of body language, melody and speech) as the core of each of these styles.
Smith's percussion-theater music forms the core of that literature with notable pieces includingPoems I II III, ...And Points North, Tunnels, Clay Singing and twenty-six compositions of that genre.
Smith has recorded with compositions on labels such as New World Records, Ravello Records, Centaur, Innova, 11 West Records, O.O. Discs, Equilibrium, GAC, Soundset Recordings, and Chen Li.
In addition, anthologies of new music have included his theater music, and music of rhythmic intricacy: Here and There, MacMillan Publishing, New York City; Return and Recall, Assembling Press, New York City; Faces, ASUC, New York City; and Transitions and Leaps, Mark Batty Publications, New York City. Articles on his music have been published regularly throughout the years in such journals as: Perspectives of New Music, Percussive Notes, Interface, and ex tempore.
Writings Smith is the author of several articles on his music and the music of others. There have also been a number of articles written about Smith's music.
Perspectives of New Music
"Communications" by Stuart Smith Vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 269–277 (1973)
"A Portrait of Herbert Brün" by Stuart Smith and Sylvia Smith Vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 56–75 (1979)
"Visual Music" by Sylvia Smith and Stuart Smith Volume 20, no. 1–2, pp. 75–93 (1981)
"A Composer’s Mosaic" by Stuart Smith Vol. 22, no. 1–2, pp. 275–285 (1983)
"Return and Recall (Improvisation – The First Step) at U. M. B. C." by Stuart Smith Vol. 22, no. 1–2, pp. 286–289 (1983)
"Notes on Stuart Smith’s Return and Recall: A View From Within" by Linda Fiore Vol. 22, no. 1–2, pp. 290–302 (1983)
"Aussie Blue (Day in the Summer in 1985) for Piano (Pianist Also Plays Triangle and Sings) Commissioned by Chris Mann" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 300–305 (1988)
"Against Definition" by Stuart Smith Vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 214–218 (1994)
"To Suffer Music" by Stuart Smith Vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 106–112 (1996)
"Showing and Saying" by Stuart Smith Vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 116–121 (1996)
"Inner-views: A Conversation between Stuart Saunders Smith and Tom Goldstein" by Stuart Saunders Smith and Tom Goldstein Vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 187–199 (1998)
"Stuart Saunders Smith's Links No. 6 (Song Interiors): How Can I Tell what I Think Until I See What I Sing?" by Ron Hess Vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 211–232 (2009)
"Interview with Stuart Saunders Smith" by Kristina Der Vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 219–233 (2017)
Percussive Notes
"Music Notation as Visual Art" by Sylvia Smith and Stuart Smith Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 49–54 (1981)
"Focus on Performance: The Noble Snare – A Concert of Snare Drum Solos" by Brian Johnson Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 52–54 (1989)
"Having Words With John Cage" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 48–52 (1992)
"Percussion in Discussion (Language, Percussion, and My Speech Songs)" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 31, No. 8, pp. 71–73 (1993)
"Thinking On Tools – Touching My Trade – or – The Touch in Time Is Mine" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 31, No. 8, pp. 74–79 (1993)
"Percussion Ecology: Doing More With Less – Music for a Small Planet" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 62–63 (1994)
"Against Definition" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 63–64 (1994)
"Showing and Saying (1994)" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 68–70 (1995)
"The Links Series of Vibraphone Essays: A Personal View/A Concert Review" by Christopher Shultis Vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 70–74 (1996)
"An Interview with Sylvia Smith on the 30th Anniversary of Smith Publications and Sonic Arts Editions" by Carrie Rose Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 74–79 (2004)
"The Geography of Time: The Links Series of Vibraphone Essays (1974–1994)" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 58–62 (2005)
"The History and Significance of The Noble Snare" by Jason Baker Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 72–77 (2006)
"Stuart Saunders Smith's Links No. 6 (Song Interiors) How Can I Tell What I Think Until I See What I Sing?" by Ron Hess Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 42–50 (2010)
"Stuart Saunders Smith’s Ground for Solo Glockenspiel: Clear Complexity" by Rob Falvo Vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 42–49 (2011)
"Interview with Stuart Smith: On the Formation and Early Years of the PAS New Music/Research Committee" by Dr. Eugene Novotney Vol. 49, No.5, pp. 32–33 (2011)
"The Silence… An Introduction to the Inner World of Stuart Saunders Smith" by Jose "Zeca" Lacerda Vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 40–47 (2012)
"Amidst the Noise: Stuart Saunders Smith’s Percussion Music" by Jeremy Muller Vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 6–15 (2014)
"Night Suite: Interviews with Stuart Saunders Smith and Berndt Thurner" by Rose Martin Vol. 56, no.3, pp. 20–25 (2018)
Percussive Notes Research Edition
"Music Notation as Visual Art" by Sylvia Smith and Stuart Smith Vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 7–14 (1981)
"Interview with John Cage" by Dr. Stuart Smith Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 3–7 (1983)
"Stuart Smith’s Links Series" by John P. Welsh Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 75–89 (1983)
"Lecture by Dr. Thomas DeLio" by Dr. Thomas DeLio Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 76–81 (1984)
"Scribing Sound" by Sylvia Smith Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 34–51 (1985)
Percussionist
"Avant Garde Percussion" by Stuart Smith Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 3–4 (1972)
"The Early Percussion Music of John Cage" by Stuart Smith Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 16–27 (1978)
"Lou Harrison’s 'Fugue' for Percussion" by Stuart Smith Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 47–56 (1979)
Interface
"Music in the Air Here and There – A Radio Landscape" by John P. Welsh Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 199–223 (1984)
"Viewing Mobile Minds: Stuart Smith's Gifts" by John P. Welsh Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 219–245 (1987)
ex tempore
"Thoughts of Stuart Saunders Smith on Quakerism, Trans-Media and Democracy" by Stuart Smith and Christine Humphries Vol. 7, No. 2 (1995)
"Family Portraits: 'Delbert (great-grandfather)' and Self Interview on the Thirtieth Year of Smith Publications and Sonic Art Editions" by Sylvia Smith Vol. 13, No. 2 (2007)
"A Composer’s Mosaic: Selected Entries from the Composing Journals of Stuart Saunders Smith (1985–1986)" by Stuart Saunders Smith Vol. 14, No. 1 (2008)
"Interview with Stuart Saunders Smith" by Jude Traxler Vol. 14, No. 1 (2008)
Smith is the author of two books: Twentieth Century Music Scores, an anthology, (Prentice-Hall, 1989), co-edited with Thomas DeLio; Words and Spaces, an anthology, (University Press, 1989), co-authored with Thomas DeLio. In addition, he is currently writing Composing, Thoughts, a book of experimental writings about aesthetics, language, composition, listening, and religion. Part I of this book was published in The Modern Percussion Revolution: Journeys of the Progressive Artist, edited by Kevin Lewis and Gustavo Aguilar (Routledge, 2014). John P. Welsh's The Music of Stuart Saunders Smith is published by Greenwood Press (1995).
Smith's service on the behalf of music includes organizing hundreds of concerts of new music, functioning as a lobbyist for the arts for the American Society of University Composers during the Reagan presidency, and as Executive Editor of Percussive Notes, Research Edition from 1982 to 1984.
Awards His awards and honors include three UMBC Research Grants, The Hartt College Distinguished Alumni Award, East/West Artist Award, three Maryland State Artists Fellowships, the National Endowment for the Arts Composer's Fellowship, Percussive Arts Society Service Award and the Atlantic Center's Master Artist Award.
Testimonials Smith titled his ongoing series of vibraphone compositions "Links," a name that reflects the connections within and between his individual works. Furthermore, the title represents the intersection of his various professional roles, including his work as a composer, performer, educator, writer, and musical activist.
Originally from Maine, Smith maintained an independent artistic direction despite studying under several influential composition teachers. While he cites jazz as a primary influence, his music does not explicitly mirror that genre or the specific styles of his instructors. Instead, his work integrates various musical elements into a unified style where the original influences are no longer distinctly recognizable. (Milton Babbitt, quoted in )
Ben Johnston has noted Smith's contributions to jazz and open-form composition, attributing his approach to his background as both a percussionist and a jazz improviser. Johnston suggests that Smith’s work is heavily influenced by a "poetic consciousness," resulting in a compositional style that prioritizes a specific artistic center of gravity over traditional ratiocination or expression. (quoted in )
Compositions 1970
Poems I, II, III for five brake drums and narrator One for Syl for solo vibraphone
1971
One for Two for alto saxophone and organ A Gift for Bessie for violin, piano, bassoon, and percussion
1972
Here and There for shortwave radio, piano interior (percussion) and any melody instrument or voice Legacy Variations No. 1 for any three sustaining melody instruments Legacy Variations No. 99 for any three sustaining melody instruments Three for Two for violin and viola Two for Four for percussion quartet (orchestra bells, vibraphone, cymbal, large and medium gong, xylophone, marimba, timpani, temple blocks, and various small percussion instruments).
1973
Rock Garden for organ and two percussion
1974
Faces for oboe and clarinet Gifts for keyboard and any two melody instruments Links for solo vibraphone
1975
Links no. 2 for solo vibraphone Links no. 3 for solo vibraphone
1976
Return and Recall / Initiatives and Reactions: Studies in the Concept of Group Composition performance systems for actors, dancers, musicians, mimes, etc.
1977 Pinetop for solo piano
1978 Flight for flute and piano
1979 Blue for trumpet, drum set and double bass
1980 Notebook for any instruments in any combination Notebook, Part II for one or two pianos (may be played with Notebook) 1981 Songs I–IX for percussionist-actor (small percussion instruments and various household items from kitchen) 1982 Tunnels a solo music-text-theater composition for keyboard, string, or multiple percussion Links No. 4 (Monk) for solo vibraphone 1983 Blue Too for solo drum set By Language Embellished: I percussion / theater opera for speaking voice 1984