Frank Esler-Smith (5 June 1948 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England – 1 March 1991 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia) was an English arranger and keyboard player for Doug Parkinson's Southern Star from 1978 to 1980 before joining the soft rock band

Air Supply Air Supply is a soft rock duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1975. It consists of Englishman Graham Russell (vocals, guitar) and Australian Russell Hitchcock (vocals). They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-five ...

in their 1980s heyday. Initially, his pursuits lay elsewhere, as he attended

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

to study architecture. However, his early passion had been classical music, and he would later gain extensive experience as an

orchestral conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

in settings as variegated as musical theatre and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

recordings. He first met principal Air Supply members

Russell Hitchcock Russell Charles Hitchcock (born 15 June 1949) is an Australian musician and lead vocalist of the soft rock duo Air Supply. Early life Born in Melbourne, Hitchcock attended South Brunswick State School, and later studied at Princes Hill High ...

and

Graham Russell Graham Cyril Russell (born 11 June 1950) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, producer and guitarist of the soft rock duo Air Supply. In 1975, with Russell Hitchcock, he formed Air Supply in Australia. The duo have been singing and p ...

while he was working with the orchestra in a production of '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' that included Hitchcock and Russell as cast members. He collaborated with many other musicians and songwriters throughout his career. He died of pneumonia in 1991. According to the website rememberme.org, Esler-Smith also had AIDS.

References

1948 births 1991 deaths English rock keyboardists Pop keyboardists British soft rock musicians Air Supply members Deaths from pneumonia in Victoria (Australia) AIDS-related deaths in Australia 20th-century English musicians {{keyboardist-stub