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Gregg Smith

Born: 1931. Died: 2016. Lived in: New York City, NY , United States.

I am told by various relatives that I was actually composing at the age of five. The story they tell is that when called to dinner I would always procrastinate, asking for just a few minutes more to write out some additional notes. But my real memories of myself as a composer start around the age of 17. Having heard Milhaud's Suadedos de Brazil, I wanted to write a couple of South American piano pieces of my own. The result was a suite called From the Rio. It was a very good effort for a 17 year old.

Soon after, I moved to California where I enrolled at UCLA and also joined an amateur adult choir conducted by a fine high school director named Jim Burt. He was very encouraging of me as a composer, trying out a few things of mine with his adult choir and then performing two Keats settings with his High School group. It was my first real public performance.

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Media Articles
Obituary, New York Times, Gregg Smith, Choral Leader Who Elevated Standards, Dies at 84


Arrangements | Recordings

Songbooks, Arrangements and/or Media

Displaying 1-2 of 2 items.


Gregg Smith : Doo-Wop Madrigals : Mixed 5-8 Parts : Sheet Music Collection

Gregg Smith : Doo-Wop Madrigals

The whole Doo-Wop Madrigal project started with Garrison Keillor who called to invite the Gregg Smith Singers to appear on his American Radio Company program. He was, he said, particularly interested in some "Doo-Wop" Billings -- William Billings, that is, the great American composer from the Revolutionary War era. By the next conversation, the concept had metamorphosed into "Doo-Wop Madrigals", that is, taking standard Madrigal literature and giving it new life by creating jazz interpreations which still retain all the essential musical elements which made them such great musical masterpieces in the first place. Madrigals are fun to sing, but the Jazz approach adds entirely new dimensions to some very familiar ground. While word painting is a vital element in Renaissance choral music, the substitution of scat sounds for words and the addition of vocalized percussion highlights the sometimes subtle rhythmic and contrapuntal aspects of the works, bringing a different kind of clarity to the music itself. Finally, the blues treatments added a new poignancy to the more solemn works.

Songlist: Cool April (April is in my Mistress' face), Billings in Blue (When Jesus Wept), He's Awesome (Il est bel et bon), The Revecy Band (Revecy venir du printans), Oh! That Love and Beauty (When Love and Beauty), Multiple Echoes (Echo Song), My heart is longing for your love (mon coeur se recommande a vous), Hey, Babe! (Matona, mia cara)

More details
Voicing: Mixed 5-8 Parts | 9161b | Sheet Music Collection | $16.95 | A Cappella


Gregg Smith : Christmas Time : SATB : Songbook

Gregg Smith : Christmas Time

Gregg Smith, a choral conductor and composer whose ensemble, the Gregg Smith Singers, established new standards for professional choral singing and championed the work of contemporary American composers in performance and on recordings. Here is a collection of his arrangements for Christmas.

Songlist: Christmas Time Book 1, Christmas Time Book 2

More details
Voicing: SATB | Performed by Gregg Smith Singers | 12410b | Songbook | $7.75


Individual Folios

Displaying 1-24 of 24 items.


Welcome Home (from Rip Van Winkle) : SATB : Gregg Smith : Songbook : 01450920 : 196288208020

Gregg Smith : Welcome Home (from Rip Van Winkle)new

Choral legend Greg Smith wrote his contemporary opera Rip Van Winkle for SATB choir with a Unison line for a children's chorus. Premiering in 1990, it has gone on to garner acclaim and numerous performances across the country. Welcome Home is a magical text which eases through it's 6/8 setting with an aural wonderment befitting the title character.

More details
Voicing: SATB | Sheet Music | $2.65 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| 01450920


Ave Maria : SATB : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1095A

Gregg Smith : Ave Maria

(choral score has keyboard reduction - piano 4-hands) No. 1 from A Mary Trilogy. Quietly, reverently, this setting of the classic Ave Maria text is inspired in its gentle vocal writing combined with a beautiful flugelhorn solo. No full score is available.

Duration 4:30

More details
Voicing: SATB | Sheet Music | $2.00 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1095A


Billings in Blue (When Jesus Wept) : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : CH-1061

Gregg Smith : Billings in Blue (When Jesus Wept)

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $2.00 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1061


Blow The Candles Out : SATB : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : 50312900 : 073999129007

Gregg Smith : Blow The Candles Out

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB | Sheet Music | $2.10 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| 50312900


Christmas Time Book 1 : SATB : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : 50481390 : 073999813906 : 0793512018

Gregg Smith : Christmas Time Book 1

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB | Sheet Music | $3.95 | With Piano |
50481390


Christmas Time Book 2 : SATB : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : 50481584 : 073999815849 : 079351164X

Gregg Smith : Christmas Time Book 2

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB | Sheet Music | $3.95 | With Piano |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| 50481584


Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : 50318790 : 073999187908

Gregg Smith : Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming

Selected by the National Endowment for the Arts as an one of the American Masterpieces of choral music.

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $1.90 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| 50318790


Concert Rounds on Old Sayings : Unison : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1234

Gregg Smith : Concert Rounds on Old Sayings

These 16 Concert Rounds are a perfect addition to the concert repertoire of advanced children's choirs, middle and high school choirs, college choirs and adult community choirs. In true Gregg Smith fashion, they are filled with sharp dynamic contgrasts, hormonic layering and rhythmic srprises ringing through tongue-in-cheek settings of old sayings. Performance suggestions are included for each round. Contents: 1. Birds of a Feather 2. Don't Counmt Your Chickens 3. Big Oaks! 4. It's All Water 5. The Oak and the Ash 6. A Rolling Stone 7. If You Can't Say Anything Nice 8. A Penny Saved 9. The Grass is Greener 10. A Bird in the Hand 11. Too Many Cooks 12. It's Six of One 13. Give 'em and Inch 14. If At first 15. Two's Company 16. Every Dog

Duration Various - 16 different rounds

More details
Voicing: Unison | Sheet Music | $2.50 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1234


Cool April (April is in my Mistress' face) : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : CH-1057

Gregg Smith : Cool April (April is in my Mistress' face)

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $1.75 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1057


Green Grows the Holly from Holiday Harmonies : SA : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1088B

Gregg Smith : Green Grows the Holly from Holiday Harmonies

More details
Voicing: SA | Sheet Music | $1.75 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1088B


He's Awesome (Il est bel et bon) : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : CH-1058

Gregg Smith : He's Awesome (Il est bel et bon)

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $2.00 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1058


Heilig (Holy) : SSAATTBB : Gregg Smith : Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy : Sheet Music : W2163

Gregg Smith : Heilig (Holy)

Set for double choir, this work is wonderful for the larger high school or community choir. German and English texts.

Composer: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

More details
Voicing: SSAATTBB | Sheet Music | $2.60 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| W2163


Hey, Babe! (Matona, mia cara) : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : CH-1062

Gregg Smith : Hey, Babe! (Matona, mia cara)

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $2.70 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1062


Holiday Harmonies : SA : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1088D

Gregg Smith : Holiday Harmonies

Commissioned for the 1993 Children's Choral Festival at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Barbara Tagg, artistic director.

Includes:
1. In Praise of Christmas
2. Green Grows the Holly
3. On Christmas Eve the Bells Were Rung.

Percussion includes Glock & Chimes (or 5 octave Handbells), Celeste. Duration 5:00

More details
Voicing: SA | Sheet Music | $1.75 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1088D


In Praise of Christmas from Holiday Harmonies : SA : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1088A

Gregg Smith : In Praise of Christmas from Holiday Harmonies

More details
Voicing: SA | Sheet Music | $1.75 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1088A


Merry Christmas from Holiday Harmonies : SA : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1088C

Gregg Smith : Merry Christmas from Holiday Harmonies

More details
Voicing: SA | Sheet Music | $1.75 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1088C


Multiple Echoes (Echo Song) : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : CH-1071

Gregg Smith : Multiple Echoes (Echo Song)

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $2.70 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1071


My heart is longing for your love (mon coeur se recommande a vous) : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : CH-1059

Gregg Smith : My heart is longing for your love (mon coeur se recommande a vous)

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $1.95 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1059


O Magnum Mysterium : SATB : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1402

Gregg Smith : O Magnum Mysterium

O Magnum Mysterium is one of the greatest texts for choral music from the Renais-sance to the present day but has some variations used by composers from Victoria to Poulenc. Gregg has chosen the version of the text that includes Dominum Jesum Christum and includes a final Alleluia instead of Amen. The image of the oxen and donkey next to the crib is found in Isaiah and is traditionally related to the nativity scene at the birth of Jesus in Luke 2. The image continued to spread from the 13th century onwards becoming the most popular symbol for the mystery. The second part of the responsory relates to the words with which Elizabeth welcomes Mary, mother of Jesus on her visitation. Gregg uses a mixture of notation styles in this piece with dissonant harmonies and instances of polytonal chords with a challenging piano part. The entire piece is based on the O Magnum Mysterium of Tomas Luis de Victoria. There is a wonderful "insider joke" on page 16 in the piano part at the beginnin

More details
Voicing: SATB | Sheet Music | $3.50 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1402


O, What a Beautiful City : SATB : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1385

Gregg Smith : O, What a Beautiful City

This "O, What a Beautiful City" arrangement was originally written when the Gregg Smith Singers was doing a lot of work in the NYC schools for Arts Connection. In the beginning performances the school children sang the melody while GSS sang the harmonic parts. Flexibility is encouraged, especially when working with diverse forces. Featuring the children's voices and the soprano solo is paramount; however, if no children's chorus is available, it is perfectly acceptable to use all SATB voicing. Part of the Gregg Smith Folksong Series.

More details
Voicing: SATB | Sheet Music | $1.95 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1385


Oh! That Love and Beauty (When Love and Beauty) : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : CH-1056

Gregg Smith : Oh! That Love and Beauty (When Love and Beauty)

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $1.90 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1056


S'vivon (The Dreydl Song) : 2-Part : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : 50314920 : 073999149203

Gregg Smith : S'vivon (The Dreydl Song)

The imagery of the spinning dreidle is aptly portrayed in the agile accompaniment while the voices sing the familiar folk melody in Hebrew or English. Ideal for 2-Part treble or mixed voices. Available: 2-Part only.

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: 2-Part | Sheet Music | $1.95 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| 50314920


The Revecy Band (Revecy venir du printans) : SATB divisi : Gregg Smith : Gregg Smith Singers : Sheet Music : CH-1060

Gregg Smith : The Revecy Band (Revecy venir du printans)

Performed By: Gregg Smith Singers

More details
Voicing: SATB divisi | Sheet Music | $2.75 | A Cappella |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1060


Two Whitman Songs : SATB : Gregg Smith : Sheet Music : CH-1104

Gregg Smith : Two Whitman Songs

Commissioned for the 1994 New York Choral Festival. It is the first movement of a Choral symphony for young performers on Whitman texts. The entire cycle is comprised of Two Whitman Songs, On the Beach at Night and I Hear America Singing.

More details
Voicing: SATB | Sheet Music | $6.50 |
(Minimum order 4 copies)
| CH-1104

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