Simon Smith (Violin)
Simon Smith is active as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher.
As a soloist he has performed with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields throughout the USA, with the Philharmonia, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. John’s Smith Square, and the City of London Chamber Orchestra. He has given recitals in the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room, as well as for Music Clubs and festivals throughout the UK.
Contemporary Music is a speciality and in 2007 – 9 he performed the complete Kurtag “Signs Games and Messages” alongside works by Paganini, and all the unaccompanied works by Bach. Future plans include further Bach series, and performances of the 10 Beethoven sonatas with pianist Mark Fielding.
As a chamber musician Simon has performed with the Fielding piano trio and Fourte string quartet. He directs the COA Ensemble, and in 2004 directed a chamber music festival in Hertfordshire, the Mundens Festival. For 8 years he was a member of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Octet, performing in concert halls and broadcasts throughout the USA, Canada, Australia, Taiwan and Germany.
He is much in demand as guest leader, performing with orchestras such as the Bournemouth Symphony and Sinfonietta, Britten Sinfonia, English Sinfonia, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Halle and Salzburg Camerata. He is leader of the Norwich based Chamber Orchestra Anglia.
Simon Smith is a visiting lecturer at the Birmingham Conservatoire. He has given numerous masterclasses, schools concerts and composers workshops. He will be running two summer courses in 2010. His research interests include the development and teaching of violin technique in the context of contemporary music.
Simon studied with David Martin, Frederick Grinke and with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School of Music, where he was awarded the Gold Medal. He received a DAAD scholarship to continue his studies in Germany with Wanda Wilkomirska.
He plays on the ex-Hirsch Rogeri violin, made in 1706.
Simon is married to the violinist Clare Hayes, (a member of the Emperor String Quartet) and has three children. Outside of music he is a school governor, has completed courses in Philosophy with the Open University, and collects LPs and vintage Hifi.