Meet our 25th Anniversary Commissioned Composer

Kile Smith

The three-time Grammy-nominated music of Kile Smith is hailed for its strong voice, sheer beauty, and “profoundly direct emotional appeal.” Commissioned by The Crossing, Conspirare, and many of the nation’s top professional and university choirs, he is regularly performed nationally and internationally. Craig Hella Johnson calls Kile “one of our most important composers…his voice is unlike any other. Utterly unique.” Cincinnati Movers and Shakers wrote, “Kile Smith is reshaping the choral repertoire.” Gramophone called his Vespers “spectacular,” American Record Guide, “a major new work,” and Audiophile Audition, “a masterpiece of the deepest kind…easily one of the best releases of the year of any type.”

The Dawn’s Early Light with the L.A. Guitar Quartet was a 2022 Grammy nominee for Best Choral Performance (Conspirare), and The Arc in the Sky likewise in 2020 (The Crossing). Canticle (Cincinnati’s Vocal Arts Ensemble) helped win the 2020 Classical Producer of the Year Grammy for Blanton Alspaugh.

Kile’s children’s work Bremen Town Musicians was recorded by the English Symphony Orchestra with actor/comedian Gemma Whelan as narrator. The Consolation of Apollo continues its run of over 60 performances. He’s written works for Philadelphia Orchestra concertmaster David Kim, principal horn Jennifer Montone, and principal clarinet Ricardo Morales. Kile’s anthems are regularly heard in churches across the country. His first opera, The Book of Job, co-commissioned by The Crossing and Conspirare, will premiere soon in Philadelphia and Austin. He is published by Hal Leonard, ECS, GIA, Concordia, and is distributed by MusicSpoke. Longer bio here.

[Photo Credit: A. J. Waltz]