Ashley William Smith (born 1984) is an Australian

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

player and academic. He is the chair of woodwind and contemporary performance at the

UWA Conservatorium of Music The UWA Conservatorium of Music is a teaching and research school offering undergraduate and postgraduate study in music at the University of Western Australia. It is located at the north-east corner of the Crawley campus and teaches predominate ...

at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

, and a member of the Queensland-based Southern Cross Soloists.

Biography

Smith was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, 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 The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. Its principal concert venue is the Perth Concert Hall. WASO also gives concerts at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. , WA ...

. After completing a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours, Smith became a fellow at the

Australian National Academy of Music The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is a classical music performance training facility situated in Melbourne. History ANAM was established in 1994, as part of prime minister Paul Keating's "Creative Nation" initiative. On 23 Oct ...

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

. In 2010, Smith entered Yale University, where he completed a master's degree in clarinet performance under the tutelage of

David Shifrin David Shifrin (born January 2, 1950) is an American classical clarinetist and artistic director. Biography David Shifrin received early musical training at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in 1963. He attended the Music Academy of the West sum ...

. The

Music Council of Australia The Music Council of Australia (MCA) is a national peak music organisation for Australia. It is the official Australian representative to the UNESCO world peak music organization, the International Music Council (IMC), Paris. The MCA It is also a ...

awarded him the prestigious "Freedman Prize" in classical music, a national award given annually. The award is sometimes called the "Genius Prize" in the popular press. Earlier in 2010, Smith won the "Other Instruments" category of the national ABC Young Performers award with a performance of

Ross Edwards Ross Edwards (born 1 December 1942) is a former Australian cricketer. Edwards played in 20 Test matches for Australia, playing against England, West Indies and Pakistan. He also played in nine One Day Internationals including the 1975 Crick ...

''Clarinet Concerto''. In 2013, Smith was appointed to the University of Western Australia as artist-in-residence and lecturer in contemporary performance. He appeared with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in October 2014, and performed and recorded

Lachlan Skipworth Lachlan Skipworth (born 1982) is an Australian composer based in Perth, Western Australia. His works span across orchestral, chamber, vocal and experimental music and is heavily influenced by the Japanese shakuhachi and the honkyoku aesthetic. ...

's ''Clarinet Concerto''. In 2015, this was awarded "Performance of the Year" by the national APRA-AMCOS organisation in their annual "

Art Music Awards The APRA Music Awards in Australia are annual awards to celebrate excellence in contemporary music, which honour the skills of member composers, songwriters, and publishers who have achieved outstanding success in sales and airplay performan ...

". He has appeared with the Bang on a Can Festival in Beijing, Chamber Music North, USA, Music in May, as well as regular performances in his hometown

Perth International Arts Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

. Smith serves on the board of the

Perth Symphony Orchestra The Perth Symphony Orchestra (PSO), or simply Perth Symphony, is a not-for-profit professional symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. The orchestra aims to broaden access to classical music by performing in places and spaces not n ...

Qualifications

Doctor of Musical Arts The Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) is a doctoral academic degree in music. The DMA combines advanced studies in an applied area of specialization (usually music performance, music composition, or conducting) with graduate-level academic study in ...

(DMA) and

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

from the University of Western Australia. Doctoral thesis: “Redefining moments: Interpreting flexible moment form in the late solo works of

Franco Donatoni Franco Donatoni (9 June 1927 – 17 August 2000) was an Italian composer. Biography Born in Verona, Donatoni started studying violin at the age of seven, and frequented the local music academy. Later, he studied at the Milan Conservatory ...

”. Master of Music (Clarinet Performance) from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Fellow of the

Awards

2006/7 – Several awards at the University of Western Australia. Lady Callaway Prize, Edith Cowan Prize and the Vose Prize. 2009 – ANAM Concerto Competition Winner. 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." 2010 – ABC Young Performers Award. Winner of the "Other Instrumental" category; finalist. 2012 – Music Trust of Australia Freedman Fellow. 2015 – APRA-AMCOS Art Music Awards "Performance of the Year". Skipworth ''Concerto for Clarinet'' with WASO. 2015 – Soloist on Lachlan Skipworth "Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra", nominated for the APRA-AMCOS "Symphonic Work of the Year" at the

, and winner of the Paul Lowen Prize (2016). 2016 –

Churchill Fellow Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

"To undertake intensive contemporary bass clarinet tuition with three renowned pedagogues and self directed professional development at the Banff Centre - Spain, USA, Canada"

Premier Works Performed

William Barton ''Calling of the Earth'' (2016) With Southern Cross Soloists. Olivia Davies ''Intimate Distance'' (2018) With Louise Devenish, Lachlan Skipworth and Emily Green-Armytage.

Julian Day The Julian day is the continuous count of days since the beginning of the Julian period, and is used primarily by astronomers, and in software for easily calculating elapsed days between two events (e.g. food production date and sell by date). ...

''Resound'' (2018) With Southern Cross Soloists. Perry Joyce ''The Frog Prince'' for Solo Bass Clarinet and Choir (2018). With Voyces. Lachlan Skipworth ''The Eternal'' (2016) with Akiko Miyazawa, Kate Sullivan, Ben Caddy, Jon Tooby and Lachlan Skipworth. Lachlan Skipworth ''Clarinet Concerto'' (2016) (with

) Ashley W. Smith ''Shifrin for Solo Clarinet'' (2019) Christopher Tonkin ''Entr'acte'' for Solo Bass Clarinet and Electronics.

Published Recordings

*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) *''I'll Work Beside You'',

Teddy Tahu Rhodes Teddy Tahu Rhodes (born 30 August 1966) is a New Zealand operatic baritone. Early life Rhodes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 30 August 1966, to a British mother, Joyce, and a New Zealand father, Terrence Tahu Gravenor Rhodes. The Mao ...

and the Southern Cross Soloists. Audio CD. ABC Classics, ABC4816826 (2018) *''Psychosonata'', The Works of

Michael Kieran Harvey Michael Kieran Harvey (born 7 July 1961) is an Australian pianist and composer whose career has been notable for its diversity and wide repertoire. He is renowned for commissioning, performing and composing new music. He has especially promoted ...

. 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)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Ashley William 1984 births Living people APRA Award winners Australian male classical composers Australian classical musicians Australian clarinetists Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Yale University alumni University of Western Australia alumni University of Western Australia faculty 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians