Craig Smith (conductor)
Encyclopedia
Craig Smith was an American conductor
who is considered a seminal figure in Boston
's Baroque music
revival of the 1970s and 1980s. In subsequent years he became increasingly known as an international conductor. At the beginning of his career, in 1970, he founded Emmanuel Music
, a widely recognized organization that continues to focus on performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach
.
, Smith began studying the piano at the age of four. His mother was a teacher and his father a carpenter. Although neither of his parents were working musicians, they constantly encouraged their children's musical education. For Craig that meant flute lessons in addition to the piano. With his parents and his brother Kent he traveled frequently throughout the Northwest to concerts as he was growing up. In high school, Smith was active in musical ensembles including the band and several choirs.
In 1965 Smith entered Washington State University
, where he was first exposed to the production side of opera. He was, as he wrote at the time, hooked. After attending a 1967 summer program organized by the New England Conservatory (NEC), Smith moved to Boston, where he had been accepted for matriculation at the conservatory. He was mentored there in chamber music
studies by the pianist Russell Sherman
and violinist Rudolf Kolisch
.
In 1968, though he was still a 21-year-old student, Smith was hired as choir director at Emmanuel Church. Two years later he founded Emmanuel Music
at the church. The new group was a collective of singers and instrumentalists based in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, created to perform the cycle of 224 sacred cantatas of J.S. Bach "in the liturgical setting for which they were intended", as Smith put it. The group later expanded into performing other literature, including operas from all periods and new works composed for it. Baroque music, however, remains the group's major emphasis to this day. It continues to be the resident ensemble of Emmanuel Church. Conducted until his death by Craig Smith, a number of other well-known conductors have made guest appearances over the years.
During his time with Emmanuel Music, Smith conducted hundreds of concerts of Bach's works, as well as the United States premieres of several operas by Handel and the world premieres of works by composer John Harbison
. During the 1980s, Smith collaborated frequently with stage director Peter Sellars
, including stagings of Mozart's trilogy of operas from librettos by Lorenzo da Ponte; also Handel's Giulio Cesare
, several Gilbert and Sullivan
operettas, and works by Bach, Weill, and Gershwin.
In 1988 Smith was invited to be permanent guest conductor at La Monnaie
, a Baroque-era opera house and theater in Brussels. He remained there for three years. Soon after arriving he worked in the preparation, and conducted the premiere, of choreographer Mark Morris
's adaptation of Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
, an influential dance work which continues to be staged internationally. Smith also appeared as guest conductor at opera houses in Barcelona, Vienna, Paris, and London, among other cities, while in the United States he conducted at a number of opera houses, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago
, the Boston Lyric Opera
, the Houston Grand Opera
, and the Handel and Haydn Society
. He also served on the faculties of the Juilliard School
, MIT, the New England Conservatory, Boston University
, Pepperdine University
, and the Tanglewood Music Center
.
Smith died in Boston at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
in 2007 of heart disease and diabetes-related kidney failure.
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
who is considered a seminal figure in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's Baroque music
Baroque music
Baroque music describes a style of Western Classical music approximately extending from 1600 to 1760. This era follows the Renaissance and was followed in turn by the Classical era...
revival of the 1970s and 1980s. In subsequent years he became increasingly known as an international conductor. At the beginning of his career, in 1970, he founded Emmanuel Music
Emmanuel Music
Emmanuel Music is a Boston-based collective group of singers and instrumentalists founded in 1970 by Craig Smith. It was created specifically to perform the complete cycle of over 200 sacred cantatas of J.S. Bach in the liturgical setting for which they were intended, an endeavor twice completed...
, a widely recognized organization that continues to focus on performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
.
Biography
Born in Lewiston, IdahoLewiston, Idaho
Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...
, Smith began studying the piano at the age of four. His mother was a teacher and his father a carpenter. Although neither of his parents were working musicians, they constantly encouraged their children's musical education. For Craig that meant flute lessons in addition to the piano. With his parents and his brother Kent he traveled frequently throughout the Northwest to concerts as he was growing up. In high school, Smith was active in musical ensembles including the band and several choirs.
In 1965 Smith entered Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
, where he was first exposed to the production side of opera. He was, as he wrote at the time, hooked. After attending a 1967 summer program organized by the New England Conservatory (NEC), Smith moved to Boston, where he had been accepted for matriculation at the conservatory. He was mentored there in chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
studies by the pianist Russell Sherman
Russell Sherman
Russell Sherman is an American classical pianist, educator and author.Russell Sherman made his debut at The Town Hall in New York at age 15; later studying piano with Edward Steuermann and composition with Erich Itor Kahn...
and violinist Rudolf Kolisch
Rudolf Kolisch
Rudolf Kolisch was a Viennese violinist and leader of string quartets, including the Kolisch Quartet and the Pro Arte Quartet. He played a right-handed violin left-handed—an extremely rare occurrence in classical music settings....
.
In 1968, though he was still a 21-year-old student, Smith was hired as choir director at Emmanuel Church. Two years later he founded Emmanuel Music
Emmanuel Music
Emmanuel Music is a Boston-based collective group of singers and instrumentalists founded in 1970 by Craig Smith. It was created specifically to perform the complete cycle of over 200 sacred cantatas of J.S. Bach in the liturgical setting for which they were intended, an endeavor twice completed...
at the church. The new group was a collective of singers and instrumentalists based in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts, created to perform the cycle of 224 sacred cantatas of J.S. Bach "in the liturgical setting for which they were intended", as Smith put it. The group later expanded into performing other literature, including operas from all periods and new works composed for it. Baroque music, however, remains the group's major emphasis to this day. It continues to be the resident ensemble of Emmanuel Church. Conducted until his death by Craig Smith, a number of other well-known conductors have made guest appearances over the years.
During his time with Emmanuel Music, Smith conducted hundreds of concerts of Bach's works, as well as the United States premieres of several operas by Handel and the world premieres of works by composer John Harbison
John Harbison
John Harris Harbison is an American composer, best known for his operas and large choral works.-Life:...
. During the 1980s, Smith collaborated frequently with stage director Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
, including stagings of Mozart's trilogy of operas from librettos by Lorenzo da Ponte; also Handel's Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
, several Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
operettas, and works by Bach, Weill, and Gershwin.
In 1988 Smith was invited to be permanent guest conductor at La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
, a Baroque-era opera house and theater in Brussels. He remained there for three years. Soon after arriving he worked in the preparation, and conducted the premiere, of choreographer Mark Morris
Mark Morris
Mark William Morris is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments...
's adaptation of Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato is a pastoral ode by George Frideric Handel based on the poetry of John Milton.-History:Handel composed the work over the period of 19 January to 4 February 1740, and the work was premiered on 27 February 1740 at the Royal Theatre of Lincoln's Inn Fields...
, an influential dance work which continues to be staged internationally. Smith also appeared as guest conductor at opera houses in Barcelona, Vienna, Paris, and London, among other cities, while in the United States he conducted at a number of opera houses, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, the Boston Lyric Opera
Boston Lyric Opera
Boston Lyric Opera is an American opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1976.Each season, BLO produces three mainstage productions at the Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre in Boston and a fully staged, one-hour English language version of a popular opera for school...
, the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
, and the Handel and Haydn Society
Handel and Haydn Society
The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1815, it remains one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the United States.-Early history:...
. He also served on the faculties of the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, MIT, the New England Conservatory, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
, and the Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
.
Smith died in Boston at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...
in 2007 of heart disease and diabetes-related kidney failure.