Stuart Saunders Smith

When as a young man from Maine he ventured out into our hypercompartmentalized, ultrapluristic compositional society, he was disposed to be no one's follower, and so his music has displayed no more the explicit influences of the succession of strong-willed composition teachers with whom he studied and from whom he surely learned than that of jazz which he professes to be (or, at least, to have been) his primary musical influence. For he has forged a personalized seamless musical compound, a vast collection of awarenesses fused into a unified, single, and singular vision in which the individual sources retain little of their literal characteristics. (Milton Babbitt, quoted in Welsh 1995, p. )

Smith has done very important and unique work in the fields of open-form composition and jazz. He comes to this approach naturally, for two reasons: first, as a percussionist he is comfortable with notation which diverges from the traditional mainstream in a number of ways; and second, as a jazz performer he is at home with improvisation. There is even a third reason, perhaps somewhat less obvious than these: because poetic consciousness is so fundamental to Smith, his musical thinking often results in compositions that seem to transcend music itself. This leads him to a view of artistic composition which is not tied either to ratiocination or to expression. It is not that his art is lacking in logic or in expressive effect but rather that its center of gravity is elsewhere. (Ben Johnston, quoted in Welsh 1995, p. )

"Showing and Saying (1994)" by Stuart Saunders Smith

Smith is the author of two books: Twentieth Century Music Scores, an anthology, (Prentice-Hall, 1989), co-edited with Thomas DeLio; Words and Spaces, an anthology, (University Press, 1989), co-authored with Thomas DeLio. In addition, he is currently writing Composing, Thoughts, a book of experimental writings about aesthetics, language, composition, listening, and religion. Part I of this book was published in The Modern Percussion Revolution: Journeys of the Progressive Artist, edited by Kevin Lewis and Gustavo Aguilar (Routledge, 2014). John P. Welsh's The Music of Stuart Saunders Smith is published by Greenwood Press (1995).

"Aussie Blue (Day in the Summer in 1985) for Piano (Pianist Also Plays Triangle and Sings) Commissioned by Chris Mann" by Stuart Saunders Smith

"A Composer’s Mosaic: Selected Entries from the Composing Journals of Stuart Saunders Smith (1985–1986)" by Stuart Saunders Smith

Smith's service works on the behalf of music includes organizing hundreds of concerts of new music, functioning as a lobbyist for the arts for the American Society of University Composers during the Reagan presidency, and as Executive Editor of Percussive Notes, Research Edition from 1982 to 1984.

"The Geography of Time: The Links Series of Vibraphone Essays (1974–1994)" by Stuart Saunders Smith

Smith was born in Portland, Maine. He started studying composition and percussion at six years old with Charles Newcomb, who was previously a vaudeville performer and exposed him to many musical styles e.g. Latin music, waltz, Dixieland. Smith has attributed a "physical" form of music composition to Newcomb. From the age of 13, Smith began performing publicly in clubs and dance venues. At the age of 18, Smith went on to Berklee School of Music where he furthered his studies in counterpoint, harmony and musical arrangements. He continued to study percussion and composition at Hartt College of Music (1967–1972) and the University of Illinois at Urbana (1973–1977). Alongside Newcomb, his other percussion teachers included Fred Budha, Al Dawson, Alexander Lepak, and Thomas Siwe.

Stuart Saunders Smith (born 16 March 1948) is an American composer and percussionist. After having studied composition and music theory at three music institutions, Smith is currently based in Vermont, United States, with his wife Sylvia. He has produced almost 200 compositions, half of which were written for percussion instruments with a focus on the vibraphone.

"An Interview with Sylvia Smith on the 30th Anniversary of Smith Publications and Sonic Arts Editions" by Carrie Rose