Elijah Daniel Smith and I discuss compositional process, pedagogical development, and his upcoming piece for the Chicago Symphony's Homecoming concert.
Guest Bio:
Described by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a “rising star”, composer Elijah Daniel Smith is quickly establishing himself as one of today’s leading young composers. From orchestral compositions to multimedia and interdisciplinary collaborations, Elijah’s affinity for dense and complex textures, rhythmic ambiguity and fluidity, and rich gravitational harmonies shines through in all of his creations. Elijah’s music has been premiered and performed by world renowned ensembles such as Mivos Quartet, Sō Percussion, Sandbox Percussion, Contemporaneous, Ensemble Linea, Ecce Ensemble, Fuse Quartet, and Earspace. Upcoming commissions include new works for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for MusicNOW, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Bergamot Quartet, and saxophonist Julian Velasco on behalf of the Luminarts Cultural Foundation.
Elijah’s creative endeavors extend beyond the realm of traditional concert composition, including interdisciplinary work and commissions from multiple dance companies and choreographers throughout the United States. His ability to realize his own dynamic multimedia visions was cultivated by his experience as a recording, mixing, and mastering engineer for his own studio music, film scores and electro-acoustic music. In his 2019 multimedia project Come, Clarity, Elijah exercised his visual artistry as a filmmaker and photographer, creating the film as well as composing and producing the music himself.
Elijah is currently pursuing his PhD in Music Composition at Princeton University as a President’s Fellow after earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Composition from the Boston Conservatory in 2017, and a Master of Music degree in Music Composition from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in 2020.
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