Geoff Smith (music composer)

Last updated

Geoff Smith
Vice Chancellor and CEO of Regent's University London
Assumed office
August 12, 2019
Personal details
Born1966
Newcastle, United Kingdom
SpouseNicola Walker Smith
Children2
Alma mater
ProfessionAcademic, composer, musician

Geoff Smith (born 1966) is an English composer, academic and university Vice Chancellor. He has written and recorded four studio albums, performed internationally and been compared to such composers as Philip Glass and Steve Reich. [1] In August 2019, he became the Vice Chancellor and CEO of Regent's University London, having formerly served as the Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor of Falmouth University and Head of Music & Performing Arts at Bath Spa University. [2]

Contents

Education

Smith earned his BA in Music from the University of Nottingham before an MPhil in Electronic Music from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Composition from the University of Huddersfield (where he was supervised by the composer Gavin Bryars). [3] He also holds an MBA in Higher Education Management from the Institute of Education at University College London.

Career

Along with his wife, singer Nicola Walker Smith (born 1964), he has written and recorded numerous pieces of music and published American Originals (Faber & Faber, 1995); a book of interviews with American contemporary composers such as John Cage, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson and Terry Riley. [4] Although strongly influenced by American composers, much of Smith's musical work borrows lyric content from traditional English verse and Romantic poets such as Emily Brontë, John Keats, Christina Rossetti, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Elizabeth Siddal. [5] [6]

Following the release of his first album Gas Food Lodging (1993) with independent label Kitchenware Records, Smith signed a record deal with Sony Classical and a publishing contract with EMI. His second album, 15 Wild Decembers (1995), was produced by Steve Nye in New York, whilst his third album Black Flowers (1997) was produced at AIR Studios in London. In 2014, after fourteen years of inactivity, Smith recorded a new album Black is the Colour (2014) and released it digitally via Bandcamp. [7]

His academic career began as a lecturer at the universities of Manchester and Huddersfield before joining Bath Spa University as Head of Music in 1998. In 2002, he founded the School of Music and Performing Arts at Bath Spa which was recognized as a national Centre of Excellence in Teaching and Learning in 2005. Later that year, aged 38, Smith was awarded a professorial title for ‘outstanding qualities of academic leadership’. [8]

In November 2008, he joined Falmouth University as Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor where he expanded the university's academic portfolio and developed a range of national and international partnerships. [9] He also led the development of the university's online brand, 'Falmouth Flexible', and authored the '2030 Portfolio Strategy' for the building of a pedagogy fit for the '4th Industrial Revolution'. [2] In August 2019, he was appointed Vice Chancellor and CEO of Regent's University London and in April 2020 announced that he would donate 20% of his monthly salary back to the University in response to the financial pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] He is also a Trustee of Trinity College London. [11]

Discography

Albums

EPs

Other Recordings

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrison Birtwistle</span> English composer (1934–2022)

Sir Harrison Birtwistle was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include The Triumph of Time (1972) and the operas The Mask of Orpheus (1986), Gawain (1991), and The Minotaur (2008). The last of these was ranked by music critics at The Guardian in 2019 as the third-best piece of the 21st century. Even his compositions that were not written for the stage often showed a theatrical approach. A performance of his saxophone concerto Panic during the BBC's Last Night of the Proms caused "national notoriety". He received many international awards and honorary degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Armitage</span> English poet (born 1963)

Simon Robert Armitage is an English poet, playwright, musician and novelist. He was appointed Poet Laureate on 10 May 2019. He is professor of poetry at the University of Leeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonny Greenwood</span> English musician (born 1971)

Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, and has composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by numerous publications, including Rolling Stone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing Joke</span> English post-punk band

Killing Joke are an English rock band formed in Cheltenham, England in 1979 by Jaz Coleman, Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (bass).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Huddersfield</span> University in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England

The University of Huddersfield is a public research university located in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It has been a University since 1992, but has its origins in a series of institutions dating back to the 19th century. It has made teaching quality a particular focus of its activities, winning the inaugural Higher Education Academy Global Teaching Excellence Award in 2017, and achieving a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Gold Award, in 2017 and 2023. It has consistently been ranked among the leading universities in England for the proportion of its staff with a teaching qualification, and in 2022 was at the top with 94%. The University has also put an increasing focus on research quality, and as of 2022 more than three quarters of its academic staff hold a doctorate, the third highest rate in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Cow</span> English avant-rock group

Henry Cow were an English experimental rock group, founded at the University of Cambridge in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler, bassist John Greaves, and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members alongside Frith and Hodgkinson.

Thomas Z. Shepard is an American record producer who is best known for his recordings of Broadway musicals, including the works of Stephen Sondheim. Shepard is also a composer, conductor, music arranger and pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prefab Sprout</span> English pop band

Prefab Sprout are an English pop/rock band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they released their debut album Swoon to critical acclaim in 1984. Their subsequent albums, including 1985's Steve McQueen and 1990's Jordan: The Comeback, have been described by Paul Lester of The Guardian as "some of the most beautiful and intelligent records of their era". Frontman Paddy McAloon is regarded as one of the great songwriters of his time and the band have been credited with producing some of the "most beloved" pop music of the 1980s and 1990s.

Robert Saxton is a British composer.

<i>The Back Room</i> (album) 2005 studio album by Editors

The Back Room is the debut studio album of British rock band Editors; it was released on 25 July 2005 through Kitchenware Records. The Editors formed while attending university and later moved to Birmingham, where they played club shows and made demos. After signing to Kitchenware in late 2004, the band recorded their debut album at studios in Lincolnshire, London and Wolverhampton. Jim Abbiss produced all but one of the tracks; the exception was produced by Gavin Monaghan. The Back Room is a post-punk revival, gothic rock and indie pop album that has been compared to the works of Echo & the Bunnymen, Elbow and Interpol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jasun Martz</span> Musical artist

Jasun Martz is an American record producer, composer, musician, fine artist, creative director and sculptor who has worked on several #1 internationally best-selling hit records but is probably best known for his contemporary classical symphonies. He has recorded with Michael Jackson, toured with Frank Zappa and helped arrange one of rock music's best-selling hits: "We Built This City" by Starship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paquito D'Rivera</span> Cuban saxophonist, clarinetist and composer

Francisco de Jesús Rivera Figueras, known as Paquito D'Rivera, is a Cuban-American alto saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. He was a member of the Cuban songo band Irakere and, since the 1980s, he has established himself as a bandleader in the United States. His smooth saxophone tone and his frequent combination of Latin jazz and classical music have become his trademarks.

Jonathan Dean Harvey was a British composer. He held teaching positions at universities and music conservatories in Europe and the United States.

Kitchenware Records was an independent record label based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. It was founded in 1982 by Keith Armstrong, Paul Ludford and Phil Mitchell, and was originally part of The Soul Kitchen, an artist collective and nightclub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Garland</span> British jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader

Tim Garland is a British jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His compositions draw from modern jazz and classical concert music.

Geoffrey Stephens was an English songwriter and record producer, most prolific in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s. He wrote a long series of hit records, often in conjunction with other British songwriters including Tony Macaulay, John Carter, Roger Greenaway, Peter Callander, Barry Mason, Ken Howard, Alan Blaikley, Don Black, Mitch Murray, and Les Reed.

Geoff Smith may refer to:

Robert Matthew-Walker is an English composer, writer, editor marketer and broadcaster, mainly involved in classical music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Parry (musician)</span> British musician, composer, conductor, singer, arranger and producer

Ben Parry is a British musician, composer, conductor, singer, arranger and producer. He is the Director of London Voices and was formally Artistic Director of the National Youth Choir.

References

  1. Rowe, Matt (2013). "Music Review: Geoff Smith '15 Wild Decembers'". MusicTAP. The Digital Bits. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Regent's appoints new Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive". Regent's University London. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  3. Smith, Geoff (1996). Composing after Cage (Ph.D. thesis). University of Huddersfield.
  4. Smith, Geoff; Smith, Nicola Walker (1995). American originals: interviews with 25 contemporary composers. London: Faber & Faber. ISBN   978-0-571-17088-3. OCLC   1000558312.
  5. "The Geoff Smith Band Are Still Here". 29 January 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  6. "CD REVIEWS". Christian Science Monitor. 13 July 1995. ISSN   0882-7729 . Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  7. "The Geoff Smith Band". The Geoff Smith Band. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  8. "Professor Geoff Smith". Regent's University London. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  9. "Developing hallmark pedagogy – Professor Geoff Smith, Vice Chancellor and CEO of Regent's University". Welcome to Saxton Bampfylde - Global Executive Search & Leadership Consulting. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  10. "Vice-Chancellor makes salary donation". Regent's University London. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  11. "Company information | Trinity College London". www.trinitycollege.com. Retrieved 6 October 2020.