Barry Smith (organist)
Encyclopedia
Barry Smith is a South Africa
n organist
, choral
and orchestra
l conductor
, author
, and musicologist
.
, Smith was a choirboy at St Mary's Collegiate Church. In 1956, Smith was awarded a scholarship to Rhodes University
in Grahamstown
, Eastern Cape Province, where he completed his Ph.D. degree. In 1960, Smith went to the United Kingdom
on scholarship to the Royal School of Church Music
.
senior school for boys in KwaZulu-Natal
province. In 1964, Smith was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers of St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, a post he held until 2006 for a record forty-two years.
From 1966 to 1999, Smith was on the staff of the Faculty of Music at the University of Cape Town
, from which university he also holds a DMus degree. In 1964, Smith founded the St. George's Singers, which he still directs. Besides conducting in the United Kingdom, Austria
, and Israel
, Smith has made several solo recital tours both in America and England and played in Westminster Abbey
and King's College, Cambridge
.
He has adjudicated in Hong Kong
and directed music courses in Perth, Australia
and in Washington D.C. In June 2007, Smith and his St George's Singers took part in the Sir Edward Elgar 150th Anniversary Celebrations in Worcester, England, where he also conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
in Worcester Cathedral
.
he is the choirmaster and organist at St Michael's Catholic Church in Rondebosch, Cape Town.
, the highest honour the Anglican Church of Southern Africa can bestow on a layman.
Smith has received honorary fellowships from the Guild of Church Musicians in the United Kingdom in 1989, the Royal School of Church Music
in 1994, and the Academy of St Cecilia in 2008. He is an honorary associate of the Centre for the History of Music in Britain, the Empire and the Commonwealth
at the University of Bristol.
In 2009 the Cape Tercentenary Foundation
awarded him the Gold Molteno Medal for lifetime achievement in the performing arts.
Smith received the Parnassus award from the Stellenbosch University
music department in 2010, and in 2011 a mayor's medal from Cape Town mayor
Dan Plato
.
(Philip Heseltine), Peter Warlock: The Life of Philip Heseltine (Oxford University Press, 1994, ISBN 978-0-19-816606-1).
Smith's work includes other books on Warlock, as editor of Frederick Delius and Peter Warlock: A Friendship Revealed (Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-19-816706-8), and the four-volume The Collected Letters of Peter Warlock (Woodbridge, 2005, ISBN 978-1843830801).
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
, choral
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l conductor
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...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, and musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
.
Early life and education
Born in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province, South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Smith was a choirboy at St Mary's Collegiate Church. In 1956, Smith was awarded a scholarship to Rhodes University
Rhodes University
Rhodes University is a public research university located in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, established in 1904. It is the province’s oldest university, and is one of the four universities in the province...
in Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
, Eastern Cape Province, where he completed his Ph.D. degree. In 1960, Smith went to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on scholarship to the Royal School of Church Music
Royal School of Church Music
The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
.
Work
Smith then returned to South Africa to serve as Director of Music for two years at the MichaelhouseMichaelhouse
Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.- History :...
senior school for boys in KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
province. In 1964, Smith was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers of St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, a post he held until 2006 for a record forty-two years.
From 1966 to 1999, Smith was on the staff of the Faculty of Music at the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
, from which university he also holds a DMus degree. In 1964, Smith founded the St. George's Singers, which he still directs. Besides conducting in the United Kingdom, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Smith has made several solo recital tours both in America and England and played in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
.
He has adjudicated in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and directed music courses in Perth, Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and in Washington D.C. In June 2007, Smith and his St George's Singers took part in the Sir Edward Elgar 150th Anniversary Celebrations in Worcester, England, where he also conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society is a society based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, that organises concerts and other events mainly in the field of classical music. The society is the second oldest of its type in the United Kingdom and its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic...
in Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral
Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, England; situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin of Worcester...
.
he is the choirmaster and organist at St Michael's Catholic Church in Rondebosch, Cape Town.
Honours and awards
In 1989 Archbishop Desmond Tutu awarded Smith with the Order of Simon of CyreneOrder of Simon of Cyrene
The Order of Simon of Cyrene is the highest award given by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to laity for distinguished service. It was established in 1960, during the reign of Archbishop Joost de Blank, following a proposal by Bishop Robert Selby Taylor. Membership in the Order is limited...
, the highest honour the Anglican Church of Southern Africa can bestow on a layman.
Smith has received honorary fellowships from the Guild of Church Musicians in the United Kingdom in 1989, the Royal School of Church Music
Royal School of Church Music
The largest church music organisation in Britain, the Royal School of Church Music was founded in 1927 by Sir Sydney Nicholson and has 11,000 members worldwide; it was originally named the School of English Church Music. It seeks to enable church music in the present and invest in its future,...
in 1994, and the Academy of St Cecilia in 2008. He is an honorary associate of the Centre for the History of Music in Britain, the Empire and the Commonwealth
CHOMBEC
CHOMBEC is the Centre for the History of Music in Britain, the Empire and the Commonwealth. It is a part of the music department at the University of Bristol . It was founded in 2006 by Professor Stephen Banfield. The current Director is Professor John Pickard...
at the University of Bristol.
In 2009 the Cape Tercentenary Foundation
The Cape Tercentenary Foundation
The Cape Tercentenary Foundation was set up in 1950 by brothers Edward and Harry Molteno, pioneers of the Cape fruit industry. The influential exporters were great appreciators of music and the arts, and were deeply concerned about the natural environment...
awarded him the Gold Molteno Medal for lifetime achievement in the performing arts.
Smith received the Parnassus award from the Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape....
music department in 2010, and in 2011 a mayor's medal from Cape Town mayor
Mayor of Cape Town
The Mayor of Cape Town is the head of the local government of Cape Town, South Africa; currently that government takes the form of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. In the past, the position of Mayor has varied between that of an executive mayor actively governing the city and that...
Dan Plato
Dan Plato
Daniel "Dan" Plato is the Minister for Community Safety in the Western Cape and the former Executive Mayor of Cape Town, South Africa.-References:...
.
Publications
In 1994 the Oxford University Press published Smith's biography of the English composer Peter WarlockPeter Warlock
Peter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....
(Philip Heseltine), Peter Warlock: The Life of Philip Heseltine (Oxford University Press, 1994, ISBN 978-0-19-816606-1).
Smith's work includes other books on Warlock, as editor of Frederick Delius and Peter Warlock: A Friendship Revealed (Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-19-816706-8), and the four-volume The Collected Letters of Peter Warlock (Woodbridge, 2005, ISBN 978-1843830801).