Claude T. Smith

rdf:langString Claude T. Smith

rdf:langString Claude Thomas Smith

rdf:langString Claude Thomas Smith

rdf:langString Cornet, french horn

rdf:langString Conductor, composer, educator

rdf:langString Claude Thomas Smith Collection, Special Collections in Performing Arts at the University of Maryland, College Park

rdf:langString His pitch language is essentially analogous to Western common practice traditions, with particular emphasis on striking melodic material and bass lines that articulate functional harmonic progressions. Multiple scholars have noted, however, that toward the end of his life, Smith was using “dissonances” with increasing frequency and postulated that had he continued writing, this aspect would have become a more pervasive characteristic of his music. Smith is perhaps best known for his rhythmic practice, particularly introducing asymmetrical meters into the band idiom in 1964 with the 7/8 and oddly subdivided 9/8 measures of Emperata Overture. Some of Smith’s other compositions feature continually changing meters, such as the 3/4 – 6/8 – 1/4 – 7/8 – 3/4 metrical sequence found in Acclamation. Smith is also recognized for using triplet quarter notes and hemiola techniques in many of his pieces. Taking these two facets in combination, it is apparent that through the majority of his career, Smith’s use of pitch was firmly rooted in 19th-century practice, while his rhythmic syntax owed much to certain composers of the early to mid 20th-century such as Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. A final notion that is frequently cited regarding Smith’s music is his attention to all ensemble lines; partly stemming from his pedagogical perspective, Smith continually strove to write engaging parts for each member of the ensembles for which he composed, a facet that is particularly apparent in his percussion writing.

rdf:langString Claude Thomas Smith (March 14, 1932 – December 13, 1987) was an American band conductor, composer, and music educator. His compositions include Flight, adopted as the "Official March" of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, and Eternal Father, Strong to Save, commissioned in 1975, that premiered at a Kennedy Center celebration of the 50th anniversary of the United States Navy Band.