Ashley William Smith

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Ashley William Smith
Born1984
Occupation(s)Chair of Woodwind and Contemporary Performance
AwardsFreedman Award of the Music Council of Australia. "Performance of the Year" APRA Art Music Awards.
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Western Australia, Yale University
ThesisRedefining moments: Interpreting flexible moment form in the late solo works of Franco Donatoni (2020)
Academic work
DisciplineMusic
Sub-disciplineClarinet Performance, Popular Music, Composition

Ashley William Smith (born 1984) is an Australian clarinet player and academic. He is the chair of woodwind and contemporary performance[1] at the UWA Conservatorium of Music at the University of Western Australia,[2] and a member of the Queensland-based Southern Cross Soloists.[3]

Biography[edit]

Smith was born in Perth, and went to John Forrest Secondary College (then John Forrest Senior High School). He attended the University of Western Australia, where he studied clarinet with Allen Meyer, principal clarinet of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. After completing a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours, Smith became a fellow at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne, Victoria.

In 2010, Smith entered Yale University, where he completed a master's degree in clarinet performance under the tutelage of David Shifrin. The Music Council of Australia awarded him the prestigious "Freedman Prize" in classical music, a national award given annually.[4] The award is sometimes called the "Genius Prize" in the popular press.[5] Earlier in 2010, Smith won the "Other Instruments" category of the national ABC Young Performers award with a performance of Ross Edwards Clarinet Concerto.[6]

In 2013, Smith was appointed to the University of Western Australia as artist-in-residence and lecturer in contemporary performance.[7]

He appeared with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in October 2014, and performed and recorded Lachlan Skipworth's Clarinet Concerto. In 2015, this was awarded "Performance of the Year" by the national APRA-AMCOS organisation in their annual "Art Music Awards".[8]

He has appeared with the Bang on a Can Festival in Beijing,[9] Chamber Music North, USA,[10] Music in May,[11] as well as regular performances in his hometown Perth International Arts Festival.[12]

Smith serves on the board of the Perth Symphony Orchestra.[13]

Qualifications[edit]

Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) and Bachelor of Music from the University of Western Australia. Doctoral thesis: “Redefining moments: Interpreting flexible moment form in the late solo works of Franco Donatoni”.[14] Master of Music (Clarinet Performance) from Yale University. Fellow of the Australian National Academy of Music.[15]

Awards[edit]

2006/7 – Several awards at the University of Western Australia. Lady Callaway Prize, Edith Cowan Prize and the Vose Prize.[16]

2009 – ANAM Concerto Competition Winner.[17][18] Described in the Melbourne Age as "Ashley Smith's incandescent performance of Magnus Lindberg's 2002 Clarinet Concerto...As an apologist for contemporary music-making, let alone this concerto, you would search hard to find this young clarinettist's equal."[19]

2010 – ABC Young Performers Award.[20][21] Winner of the "Other Instrumental" category; finalist.

2012 – Music Trust of Australia Freedman Fellow.[22]

2015 – APRA-AMCOS Art Music Awards "Performance of the Year". Skipworth Concerto for Clarinet with WASO.[23]

2015 – Soloist on Lachlan Skipworth "Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra", nominated for the APRA-AMCOS "Symphonic Work of the Year" at the Art Music Awards, and winner of the Paul Lowen Prize (2016).[24]

2016 – Churchill Fellow "To undertake intensive contemporary bass clarinet tuition with three renowned pedagogues and self directed professional development at the Banff Centre - Spain, USA, Canada"[25]

Premier Works Performed[edit]

William Barton Calling of the Earth (2016) With Southern Cross Soloists.[26]

Olivia Davies Intimate Distance (2018) With Louise Devenish, Lachlan Skipworth and Emily Green-Armytage.[27]

Julian Day Resound (2018) With Southern Cross Soloists.[28]

Perry Joyce The Frog Prince for Solo Bass Clarinet and Choir (2018). With Voyces.[29]

Lachlan Skipworth The Eternal (2016) with Akiko Miyazawa, Kate Sullivan, Ben Caddy, Jon Tooby and Lachlan Skipworth.[30]

Lachlan Skipworth Clarinet Concerto (2016) (with West Australian Symphony Orchestra)[31]

Ashley W. Smith Shifrin for Solo Clarinet (2019)[32]

Christopher Tonkin Entr'acte for Solo Bass Clarinet and Electronics.[33]

Published Recordings[edit]

  • Lachlan Skipworth Clarinet Quintet / Clarinet Trio With Akiko Miyazawa, Kate Sullivan, Ben Caddy, and Jon Tooby. Lachlan Skipworth (Composer) Audio CD. Navona Records nv 6241 (2019)[34]
  • I'll Work Beside You, Teddy Tahu Rhodes and the Southern Cross Soloists. Audio CD. ABC Classics, ABC4816826 (2018)[35]
  • Psychosonata, The Works of Michael Kieran Harvey. Michael Kieran Harvey, Eugene Ughetti, Tristram Williams, Natsuko Yoshimoto, Alister Barker, Ashley William Smith, Saxby Pridmore, Arjun von Caemmerer. Audio CD. Move Records. MD 3368. (2013)[36]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ashley Smith Profile". University of Western Australia. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Ashley W Smith". UWA Research Repository. UWA. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Southern Cross Soloists". Southern Cross Soloists. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Ashley Smith on the Freedman Prize". ABC Radio National Music Show. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  5. ^ Bevis, Stephen (7 September 2012). "Maestro Plays on the Edge of Genius". The West Australian Newspaper. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  6. ^ "YPA Award Winners". Young Performers awards. youngperformersawards.org. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Young Genius Appointed to The School of Music". UWA Forward. University of Western Australia. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  8. ^ "WASO Awards". WASO. West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
  9. ^ "Bang on a Can Sound @ Beijing Modern Music Festival". Bang on a Can. bandonacan.org. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Chamber Music Northwest Club Concerts AReview". Oregon Artswatch. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Music in May 2020 Season". Music in May. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  12. ^ Yeoman, William (21 February 2017). "Classic Strings to their Bows". The West Australian Newspaper. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  13. ^ "PSO Board of Directors". Perth Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  14. ^ Smith, Ashley William. "Redefining Moments: Interpreting Flexible Moment Form in the Late Solo Works of Franco Donatoni" (PDF). UWA Research Repository. University of Western Australia. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Ashley Smith Profile". UWA. University of Western Australia. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Young Genius Appointed to School of Music". UWA Forward. University of Western Australia. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  17. ^ "ANAM Concerto Competition Finalists 2009". Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Ashley W Smith appointed to UWA". Yale Music. Yale University. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  19. ^ O'Connell, Clive (6 April 2010). "Quasi Una Fantasia". The Melbourne Age. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  20. ^ in the "Other Instruments" category."Young Performers Past Winners". Young Performers Awards. Symphony Australia. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  21. ^ "Symphony Australia and TSO". Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Music Trust of Australia Freedman Fellowship". Music Trust of Australia. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Ashley William Smith wins Performance of the Year". Yale University Music. Yale University. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  24. ^ "Paul Lowen Orchestral Prize". Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  25. ^ "Smith, Ashley Fellowship Program". Churchill Trust. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Calling of the Earth". Soundcloud. Southern Cross Soloists. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  27. ^ "Olivia Davies: Intimate Distance". RTRFM.com.au. RTRFM. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  28. ^ "Resound: Above and beyond". Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Perry Joyce tells us how to compose music for voice". Cutcommon. Cut Common Magazine. 6 September 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Cappuccio Concert Review". Limelight Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  31. ^ "Lachlan Skipworth and Brett Dean win major award". Cut Common Magazine. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  32. ^ "Cutting Edge Clarinet: Northwest Chamber Festival". Portland State University.
  33. ^ "Entr'acte for Bass Clarinet". Australian Music Centre. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  34. ^ "Lachlan Skipworth Albums". Lachlan Skipworth. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  35. ^ "Teddy Tahu Rhodes I'll Walk Beside You". ABC Classic. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  36. ^ "Psychosonata". Move. move.com.au. Retrieved 30 June 2020.