Biography
Tom Smail
Tom Smail is a composer of orchestral and chamber music, of choral works and music for film, television, radio and the theatre. He plays the horn, the piano and the drums and, after university, became a professional jazz drummer, touring extensively and working with many of the greats of the British jazz scene. After ten years he decided to concentrate full time on composition, studying, most recently, with Huw Watkins.
Among his choral works are several carols, most recently a setting of Kevin Crossley-Holland's The Heart-in-Waiting, commissioned and performed by the choir of St. George’s, Hanover Square. Best known of his orchestral works are Requiem for the Routemaster and the five Fairy Tales for orchestra and narrator, two of which have been toured nationally by English Touring Opera.
The Fairy Tales, with words by Emma House, are the result of their shared belief in the importance of showing children that classical music can be exciting, moving, inspiring and FUN.
His chamber music includes a string quartet, premiered in 2009 by the Solstice Quartet, two wind quintets,
accompanied songs for baritone, tenor and mezzo, and a trio for violin, trombone and piano. In 2010 he completed a large, seven-movement orchestral commission, Music in the Marble, reactions to seven pieces of sculpture, and in June 2011 he completed his first symphony.
His commercial credits, in addition to six films for the cinema and a host of wildlife programmes for the BBC, include Daniel Libeskind - the making of an architect for the BBC, The Whale that swam to London for Channel 4 and Daphne, for BBC TV drama.
Tom is married to the writer, Alba Arikha, and they live with her two children in London.
Dates
- 9th March 2012, premiere of 'Music in the Marble', symphonic work in seven movements. Tickets/Info.
Amaryllis Fleming Hall at the Royal College of Music. City of London Sinfonia/Oliver Gilmour.
Quotes
"Tom Smail is one of the most fascinating and lyrical composers of his generation."
Christopher Hart (Sunday Times)“Tom’s music is wonderfully atmospheric and original.”
Richard Hosford (Principal Clarinet of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the BBC Symphony Orchestra)“Tom Smail is a composer I admire enormously. He combines superb craftsmanship with genuine communicative gifts. I have taken two of his pieces on tour with ETO in the last few years and both were impeccably made, with a fine sense of timbre and colour, and delicate orchestration. The audiences loved his music. He also possesses innate dramatic gifts, and an ability to tell a story in sound.”
Tim Yealland (Artistic Associate, English Touring Opera)“Quite the most dynamic, involving, sympathetic music I have ever had the joy to include in one of my films.”
Toby Macdonald (Writer, Producer, Director: The Whale that swam to London)"Tom is a joy for a director to work with."
Christopher Swann (Director)“It’s wonderful; it’s the most beautiful music that my children listen to.”
Emma Freud (of the Fairy Tales)"As a creative force he is an amazing asset for any production."
Julian Kean (Director: Ghost Rig)“Tom has the ability to write hugely atmospheric music which works as well to picture as it does on its own. His understanding of how to combine acoustic performances with contemporary sounds makes him a very useful man to have about the place!”
Andrew Sunnucks (Managing Director, Audio Network)“Tom's flair, imagination and attention to detail are extraordinary. He takes a brief incredibly well and produces a wide range of profoundly moving musical landscapes, which always hit the mark. He's as comfortable with orchestral compositions as he is with electronic creations and I have the highest regard for his imaginative interpretations of the mood of a film. He is also very committed to the collaborative and frequently challenging processes of the editing room for which he deserves the highest praise.”
Richard Shaw (Producer/Director, Lion TV)