Stuart Saunders Smith


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

Life

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 from 1967 to 1972. He received his DMA in music composition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1977, where he studied under Herbert Brün, Salvatore Martirano, and Benjamin Johnston.
Alongside Newcomb, his other percussion teachers included Fred Budha, Al Dawson, Alexander Lepak, and Thomas Siwe.

Music

Smith has composed over 150 works. In categorizing Smith's work, four primary areas of focus have been identified: music of extreme rhythmic and melodic intricacy; musical mobiles with instrumental parts that freely interact; text-based compositions; trans-media systems for any kind of performing artist. Smith uses language as the core of each of these styles.
Smith's percussion-theater music forms the core of that literature with notable pieces includingPoems I II III, ...And Points North, Tunnels, Clay Singing and twenty-six compositions of that genre.
Smith has recorded with compositions on labels such as New World Records, Ravello Records, Centaur, Innova, 11 West Records, O.O. Discs, Equilibrium, GAC, Soundset Recordings, and Chen Li.
In addition, anthologies of new music have included his theater music, and music of rhythmic intricacy: Here and There, MacMillan Publishing, New York City; Return and Recall, Assembling Press, New York City; Faces, ASUC, New York City; and Transitions and Leaps, Mark Batty Publications, New York City. Articles on his music have been published regularly throughout the years in such journals as: Perspectives of New Music, Percussive Notes, Interface, and ex tempore.

Writings

Smith is the author of several articles on his music and the music of others. There have also been a number of articles written about Smith's music.
Perspectives of New Music
"Communications" by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 269–277
"A Portrait of Herbert Brün" by Stuart Smith and Sylvia Smith
  • Vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 56–75
"Visual Music" by Sylvia Smith and Stuart Smith
  • Volume 20, no. 1–2, pp. 75–93
"A Composer’s Mosaic" by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 22, no. 1–2, pp. 275–285
"Return and Recall at U. M. B. C." by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 22, no. 1–2, pp. 286–289
"Notes on Stuart Smith’s Return and Recall: A View From Within" by Linda Fiore
  • Vol. 22, no. 1–2, pp. 290–302
"Aussie Blue for Piano Commissioned by Chris Mann" by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 300–305
"Against Definition" by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 214–218
"To Suffer Music" by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 106–112
"Showing and Saying" by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 116–121
"Inner-views: A Conversation between Stuart Saunders Smith and Tom Goldstein" by Stuart Saunders Smith and Tom Goldstein
  • Vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 187–199
"Stuart Saunders Smith's Links No. 6 : How Can I Tell what I Think Until I See What I Sing?" by Ron Hess
  • Vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 211–232
"Interview with Stuart Saunders Smith" by Kristina Der
  • Vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 219–233
Percussive Notes
"Music Notation as Visual Art" by Sylvia Smith and Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 49–54
"Focus on Performance: The Noble Snare – A Concert of Snare Drum Solos" by Brian Johnson
  • Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 52–54
"Having Words With John Cage" by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 48–52
"Percussion in Discussion " by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 31, No. 8, pp. 71–73
"Thinking On Tools – Touching My Trade – or – The Touch in Time Is Mine" by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 31, No. 8, pp. 74–79
"Percussion Ecology: Doing More With Less – Music for a Small Planet" by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 62–63
"Against Definition" by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 63–64
"Showing and Saying " by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 68–70
"The Links Series of Vibraphone Essays: A Personal View/A Concert Review" by Christopher Shultis
  • Vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 70–74
"An Interview with Sylvia Smith on the 30th Anniversary of Smith Publications and Sonic Arts Editions" by Carrie Rose
  • Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 74–79
"The Geography of Time: The Links Series of Vibraphone Essays " by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 58–62
"The History and Significance of The Noble Snare" by Jason Baker
  • Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 72–77
"Stuart Saunders Smith's Links No. 6 How Can I Tell What I Think Until I See What I Sing?" by Ron Hess
  • Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 42–50
"Stuart Saunders Smith’s Ground for Solo Glockenspiel: Clear Complexity" by Rob Falvo
  • Vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 42–49
"Interview with Stuart Smith: On the Formation and Early Years of the PAS New Music/Research Committee" by Dr. Eugene Novotney
  • Vol. 49, No.5, pp. 32–33
"The Silence… An Introduction to the Inner World of Stuart Saunders Smith" by Jose "Zeca" Lacerda
  • Vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 40–47
"Amidst the Noise: Stuart Saunders Smith’s Percussion Music" by Jeremy Muller
  • Vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 6–15
"Night Suite: Interviews with Stuart Saunders Smith and Berndt Thurner" by Rose Martin
  • Vol. 56, no.3, pp. 20–25
Percussive Notes Research Edition
"Music Notation as Visual Art" by Sylvia Smith and Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 7–14
"Interview with John Cage" by Dr. Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 3–7
"Stuart Smith’s Links Series" by John P. Welsh
  • Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 75–89
"Lecture by Dr. Thomas DeLio" by Dr. Thomas DeLio
  • Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 76–81
"Scribing Sound" by Sylvia Smith
  • Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 34–51
Percussionist
"Avant Garde Percussion" by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 3–4
"The Early Percussion Music of John Cage" by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 16–27
"Lou Harrison’s 'Fugue' for Percussion" by Stuart Smith
  • Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 47–56
Interface
"Music in the Air Here and There – A Radio Landscape" by John P. Welsh
  • Vol. 13, No. 4, pp. 199–223
"Viewing Mobile Minds: Stuart Smith's Gifts" by John P. Welsh
  • Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 219–245
ex tempore
"Thoughts of Stuart Saunders Smith on Quakerism, Trans-Media and Democracy" by Stuart Smith and Christine Humphries
  • Vol. 7, No. 2
"Family Portraits: 'Delbert ' and Self Interview on the Thirtieth Year of Smith Publications and Sonic Art Editions" by Sylvia Smith
  • Vol. 13, No. 2
"A Composer’s Mosaic: Selected Entries from the Composing Journals of Stuart Saunders Smith " by Stuart Saunders Smith
  • Vol. 14, No. 1
"Interview with Stuart Saunders Smith" by Jude Traxler
  • Vol. 14, No. 1
Smith is the author of two books: Twentieth Century Music Scores, an anthology,, co-edited with Thomas DeLio; Words and Spaces, an anthology,, 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. John P. Welsh's The Music of Stuart Saunders Smith is published by Greenwood Press.
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.

Awards

His awards and honors include three UMBC Research Grants, The Hartt College Distinguished Alumni Award, East/West Artist Award, three Maryland State Artists Fellowships, the National Endowment for the Arts Composer's Fellowship, Percussive Arts Society Service Award and the Atlantic Center's Master Artist Award.

Testimonials

When Smith chose the title "Links" for his ongoing series of compositions for vibraphone, he provided us with the most suggestive mode of biographical entry and subsequent inquiry, for his links are not only intra- and inter-compositional, but between and among his vocations as composer, performer, teacher, writer, anthologist, editor, entrepreneur, philomath, and musical activist.
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 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.
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.

Compositions

1970Poems I, II, III for five brake drums and narratorOne for Syl for solo vibraphone
1971
  • One for Two for alto saxophone and organ
  • A Gift for Bessie for violin, piano, bassoon, and percussion
1972
  • Here and There for shortwave radio, piano interior and any melody instrument or voice
  • Legacy Variations No. 1 for any three sustaining melody instruments
  • Legacy Variations No. 99 for any three sustaining melody instruments
  • Three for Two for violin and viola
  • Two for Four for percussion quartet.
1973
  • Rock Garden for organ and two percussion
1974
  • Faces for oboe and clarinet
  • Gifts for keyboard and any two melody instruments
  • Links for solo vibraphone
1975
  • Links no. 2 for solo vibraphone
  • Links no. 3 for solo vibraphone
1976
  • Return and Recall / Initiatives and Reactions: Studies in the Concept of Group Composition performance systems for actors, dancers, musicians, mimes, etc.
1977Pinetop for solo piano
1978Flight for flute and piano
1979Blue for trumpet, drum set and double bass
1980Notebook for any instruments in any combinationNotebook, Part II for one or two pianos
1981Songs I–IX for percussionist-actor
1982Tunnels a solo music-text-theater composition for keyboard, string, or multiple percussionLinks No. 4 for solo vibraphone
1983Blue Too for solo drum setBy Language Embellished: I percussion / theater opera for speaking voice
1984Some Household Words I–XVI for solo speaking voice
1985Aussie Blue for solo pianoIn Bingham for solo speaker/narrator
1987Links No. 5 for solo vibraphone with offstage orchestra bells and chimes
1988The Noble Snare for solo snare drum
1989Links No. 6 for vibraphone and pianoLinks No. 7 for solo vibraphone
1990...And Points North a music-theater work for solo percussionist/narrator Transitions and Leaps for two or more performers performing any sounds/actions
1991"as if time would heal by its passing for solo marimbaFamily Portraits: Sylvia for solo pianoFamily Portraits: Ivy for solo pianoFamily Portraits: Earle for solo pianoHawk for solo oboeIn Common for flute and vibraphoneLinks No. 8 for vibraphone with fluteNightshade for violin or medium voice and two percussionists, each playing orchestra bells, tam-tam or gong, two cymbals, two triangles
1992Good Night for solo marimbaLinks No. 9 for solo vibraphoneMeetings for flute, vibraphone and piano
1993Each Moment and Ending for keyboard percussion quintetPart for flute, piano, and celloThaw for solo orchestra bells Links No. 10 for solo vibraphone
1994Family Portraits: Brenda for solo pianoLinks No. 11 for three vibraphonesWind in the Channel for solo tenor recorder
1995Family Portraits: Delbert for percussionist/narrator Strays for xylophone and tenor recorder or flute
1996Family Portraits: Cubba for trumpet, flute, and five percussion Family Portraits: Mom and Dad Together for solo double bassPolka in Treblinka for percussion trio
1997Family Portrait: Self for solo pianoThe Night is Never Long for piccolo and xylophone
1998Closing for solo guitarFences in Three Tragedies for solo pianoWhen Music is Missing, Music Sings for two percussionists playing five "found" instruments each
1999All That is Left orchestra bells duetAnd Sometimes the Ears for solo tenor steel drumEven Song for solo orchestra bells Leaving for solo marimba
2000Books of Flutes for solo fluteBones for percussion, piano, and 3 or 4 melody instrumentsEndless for two flutes and two vibraphonesThe Geography of Streams for percussion trio Thinking About Anne Sexton duo for vibraphone and speaking voice
2001Breath for mezzo-soprano and orchestra bells Family Portraits: Ligeia for soprano voice and pianoLight A Dew for solo double bassMinor for solo violin
2002
  • Asleep in Thorns for guitar and flute
  • Brush for solo drum set
  • Dad's Time Had Come for solo xylophone
  • Dead Reckoning for tenor recorder trio
  • Things That Grow Smaller for flute, clarinet, bassoon, piano, and percussion
  • Two Lights for solo drum set
2003Family Portraits: Embden Pond for solo alto flute with two vibraphonesWillow for solo celloWounded an antiphonal composition for 3 or 4 xylophones
2004
  • Hearts for solo violin
  • Ground for solo orchestra bells
  • Plenty thirty-four movements for solo vibraphone
2005Clay Singing for solo percussion with spoken textFamily Portraits: Erika for vibraphone and violinIn Hours Like These for soprano voice and orchestra bells A River, Rose for violin and vibraphoneWhen The Body Betrays for tenor voice and double seconds steel drumsWomen in Meeting flute duet
2006The Authors for solo marimba with spoken textBig Falls, Little Falls for percussion quartet and off-stage percussion ensemble Castine for marimba with offstage voiceMagdalene for soprano saxophone and two percussionOver for solo orchestra bells Rose for flute with spoken text and movementA Vietnam Memorial opera for speaking voice and vibraphone
2007Among Us for solo pianoLight for two voicesLight in Each One for solo alto fluteThe Lines of Ageing for solo vibraphoneThe Narrow Path trio for two vibraphones and orchestra bells Quilt for vibraphone and orchestra bellsSeven Seasons for contralto voice and vibraphoneAngels for percussion trio, three triangles eachas the days get shorter for solo bass clarinet
2008Mornings for solo vibraphoneApart for 2 orchestra bells and vibraphoneThe Narrow Path for 2 vibraphones and orchestra bellsFamily Portraits: Justin for vibraphone/voiceShine for piccolo and orchestra bells
2009The Home of the Brave for percussionist/actor performing on a 2X4, 3 bottles, and 5 metal objectsTo Freshen the Moment for cello and vibraphoneFar Away for solo chimesWait for solo marimbaGodSongs for actor singer and orchestra bells
2010Time Comes Full Circle for cello and violinThicket for orchestra bells or pianoAll Too Human for soprano and clarinetWinter, Knee Deep for flute/theaterThey Looked Like Strangers for solo vibraphoneWinter Songs for violin/theater
2011Three Winter Carols for orchestra bells/voiceWinter for any winds, strings, keyboard, mallet percussionNew England for vibraphone
2012Palm Sunday for pianoA Liturgy of the Hours for fluteOur Father for sopranoHeaven and Earth for organFive Books for orchestra bells
2013Blessings for soprano and clarinetA Good Friday for clarinetBy Hand for bongosThe Lilies of the Field for vibraphone and female voiceAcross: Lines for orchestra bells/xylophone/vibraphone/marimba/chimes/voice, one playerMy Friend Gita Said: for marimba/voiceLyric for percussion theaterThe Shapes Beneath the Ground for marimba
2014Crystal Night for violin and percussion quartetMemory for any soloistLazarus for piano or vibraphone/actor/singerPast Regrets for double bass/singer/actor or celloLady Slippers for harp, viola, alto fluteQueen Anne's Lace for vibraphoneThe Deep for vibraphone
2015Re:Verse trans-media work for any two performance artistsWellspring for orchestra bellsEcho for 1–8 singersEvening Primrose for vibraphone solo with two drumsetsCommune, vibraphone concerto with small chamber ensembleMeadow Sweet for marimba and clarinetHere's the Sun for cello solo
2016Inner Light for solo violinHalo for solo vibraphoneThe Circle of Light for flute solo and eight luminists/actorsFamily Portraits: Our Home for soprano voice and vibraphoneEaster in Bingham for alto saxophone and actor/vibraphoneMilk and Honey for vibraphone and harpAlone for solo vibraphoneMen's Culture for soprano saxophone and xylophone, two actorsMy Romance for solo orchestra bells or vibraphone or pianoAlone in a Room for solo orchestra bells and percussion quartet
2017Emily for jazz/electric guitar and pianoMercy for large percussion orchestraDignity for soprano voice, vibraphone, and actorHistory for marimba, vibraphone, and pianoWhen We Were Giants for guitar The Untold Range for 3–5 percussionists, chimes, and pre-recorded environmental soundsLace for orchestra bells duet and soprano
2018as the days get shorter for solo bass clarinetEnvelope Poems for vibraphonist / vocalist and offstage melody instrumentWinter Taps for 2 actors and vibraphone duetLace for orchestra bells duet and sopranoHonesty for flute and vibraphoneFamily Portraits: Harriet for vibraphoneFamily Portraits: Harpreet for violin and vibraphoneHoly Week for vibraphoneCompassion for vibraphoneMy Better Angel for vibraphoneFamily Portraits: Self at 70 for flute, double bass, and drumsetFamily Portraits: Sylvia at 70 for pian
2019Afterlife concerto for marimba with large percussion orchestraPoetry for marimba and actor/actressA Friend's End for actor/actress and offstage flute and chimesRegrets for double bass and sopranoOlder Years for alto flute and actorThe Vibraphone Poems for vibraphone and voice Peace for bass flute, flute, piccolo Eternity for solo vibraphoneLove for violin and piano
2020Shattered for solo drum setRenoir's Piano for piano, vibraphone, and flutePast for marimba soloEast of Eden for soprano saxophone and drum setInner Light for violin, piano, and vibraphoneDusk for steel bandCries and Whispers for vibraphone and speaking/singing voice Shoreline for viola and vibraphoneEmotion for large percussion ensembleHappy Hour for solo vibraphone
2021Sadness for double bass and soprano voiceLife for piano and voice Sadness for double bass and sopranoSome Household Words for sound text percussion duoTears for vibraphone and string quartetLetters for guitar and voice Past for solo marimbaAnother Echo for any wind or string instrument and piano or vibraphoneTo All of Those for any string or woodwind instrumentVermont Chimes for chimes, two glockenspiels, two bass drums, and two trianglesViolets for solo drum set

Books

  • Smith, Stuart Saunders. Twentieth Century Scores. Prentice-Hall.
  • Smith, Stuart Saunders, and Thomas DeLio. Words and Spaces: An Anthology of Twentieth Century Musical Experiments in Language and Sonic Environments. University Press of America...

Discography

  • Wind in the Channel, O.O. Disc
  • *1. Hawk, solo oboe
  • *2. Family Portraits: Brenda, solo piano
  • *3. California Driving, solo voice
  • *4. Return and Recall
  • *5. Notebook, 2-piano version
  • *6. Wind in the Channel, tenor recorder/voice/percussion
  • *7. Gifts, flute, vibraphone, piano
  • *8. Pinetop, solo piano
  • *9. In Bingham, solo voice
  • *10. Aussie Blue, solo piano
  • Music/Theater, Centaur
  • *1. by Language Embellished: I, solo voice/percussion
  • The Year Begins to Be Ripe, 11 West Records/Smith Publications
  • *1. Poems I, II, III, 5 brake drums, narrator
  • *2. In Hours Like These, soprano, orchestra bells
  • *3. Family Portraits: Delbert, percussion/voice
  • *4. Xylophone Poems No. 1: Went Forth, xylophone/voice
  • *5. Thinking About Anne Sexton, vibraphone, narrator
  • The Noble Snare, 11 West Records/Smith Publications
  • *1. The Noble Snare, solo snare drum
  • Breath, 11 West Records/Smith Publications
  • *1. Each Moment An Ending, marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, orchestra bells, chimes
  • *2. Blue Too, solo drumset
  • *3....And Points North, percussion/voice
  • *4. Links No. 11, 3 vibraphones
  • *5. Breath, mezzo-soprano, orchestra bells
  • *6. Polka in Treblinka, xylophone, snare drum, high-hat, bass drum
  • *7. Thaw, orchestra bells
  • *8. Family Portraits: Cubba, trumpet, percussion, flute
  • Withered Leaves – New Birth, Disques Christal
  • *1. Links, vibraphone
  • *2. Links No. 2, vibraphone
  • *3. Links No. 3, vibraphone
  • In Common, Equilibrium
  • *1. In Common, flute, vibraphone
  • Book of Horizons, New World Records
  • *1. Fences, In Three Tragedies, solo piano
  • When Still, Soundset Recordings
  • *1. Links No. 2, vibraphone
  • *2. The Starving Month, vibraphone
  • McCormick Percussion Group, Ravello Records
  • *1. Nightshade, violin, 2 percussion
  • Trio Spectra, GAC
  • *1. Polka in Treblinka, xylophone, snare drum, high-hat, bass drum
  • At Sixty , 11 West Records/Smith Publications
  • *CD#1
  • **1. Women in Meeting, flute duo
  • **2. Polka in Treblinka, xylophone, snare drum, high-hat, bass drum
  • **3. Over, orchestra bells
  • **4. Wounded, xylophone
  • **5. Magdalene, soprano sax, 2 percussion
  • **6. Notebook, any instruments
  • *CD#2
  • **1. In Bingham, solo voice
  • **2. Rose, flute/dancer/actor
  • **3. Family Portraits: Embden Pond, alto flute, 2 vibraphones
  • **4. A River, Rose, violin, vibraphone
  • **5. Hearts, violin
  • **6. Good Night, marimba/voice
  • Books of Flutes, 11 West Records/Smith Publications
  • *1. Books of Flutes, solo flute
  • *2. Legacy Variations No. 1, any three melody instruments
  • *3. Legacy Variations No. 99, any three melody instruments
  • *4. Family Portraits: Embden Pond, alto flute, 2 vibraphones
  • Crux, Chen Li Music
  • *1. Notebook, any instruments
  • *2. Family Portraits: Ivy, Earle, Sylvia, solo piano
  • *3. Here and There, short-wave radio, piano interior, any melody instruments
  • *4. Strays, tenor recorder and xylophone
  • Strange Paths, Innova
  • *1. They Looked Like Strangers, vibraphone
  • Music for Keyboard Percussions, Ravello
  • *1. Apart, 2 orchestra bells, vibraphone
  • The Isle is Full of Noises, Centaur
  • *1. Family Portraits: Embden Pond, alto flute, 2 vibraphones
  • The Links Series of Vibraphone Essays, New World Records
  • *The Links Series
  • **Links-Links 11, vibraphone
  • A River Rose, New World Records
  • *1. Hearts, violin
  • *2. Three for Two, violin and viola
  • *3. A Gift for Bessie, violin, piano, bassoon, percussion
  • *4. Minor, violin
  • *5. A River Rose, violin, vibraphone
  • *6. I've Been Here Before, violin and piano
  • Hawk – The Saxophone Music of Stuart Saunders Smith, Chen Li Music
  • *1. Notebook, any instruments
  • *2. Magdalene, soprano sax and 2 percussion
  • *3. Husbands and Wives, alto sax duet
  • *4. Hawk, soprano sax solo
  • *5. One for Two, alto sax and organ
  • Plot: Music for Unspecified Instrumentation, Ravello Records
  • *1. Bones, for any musicians and piano
  • *2. Winter, any instruments and voices
  • Full Circle – NOISE Plays the Music of Stuart Saunders Smith, Centaur Records
  • *1. Flight, for flute and piano
  • *2. Notebook, any instruments
  • *3. Time Comes Full Circle, for violin and cello
  • *4. Asleep in Thorns, for flute and guitar
  • *5. Women in Meeting, for two flutes
  • Pluralities, Chen Li Music
  • *1. Lazarus, for piano and voice
  • Lisa Cella – Shine, Chen Li Music
  • *4. Light in Each One, for solo flute
  • *5. Shine, for flute and orchestra bells
  • New England, Kairos
  • *1–11. New England, for solo vibraphone
  • Palm Sunday, New World Records
  • *1. Thicket, for solo piano or orchestra bells
  • *2. Pinetop, for solo piano
  • *3. Family Portraits: Self, for solo piano
  • *4. Palm Sunday, for solo piano
  • *5. Among Us, for solo piano
  • At Seventy: The Percussion Music of Stuart Saunders Smith, Chen Li Music
  • *CD#1
  • **1. Blue Too, for solo drumset
  • **2. Brush, for solo drumset
  • **3. Two Lights, for solo drumset
  • **4. Family Portraits: Erika, for vibraphone and violin
  • **5. Dad's Time Had Come, for solo xylophone
  • **6. Far Away, for solo chimes
  • **7. Good Night, for solo marimba
  • *CD#2
  • **1. Queen Anne Lace, for solo vibraphone
  • **2. The Narrow Path, for orchestra bells, and two vibraphones
  • **3. Mercy, for large percussion orchestra
  • *CD#3
  • **1. Home of the Brave, for spoken voice and junk
  • **2. Links No. 4, for solo vibraphone
  • **3. Wait, for solo marimba
  • **4. Songs I–IX, for spoken voice and junk
  • **5. Poems I, II, III, for brake drums and spoken voice
  • **6. Quilt, for vibraphone and orchestra bells
  • **7. One For Syl, for solo vibraphone
  • **7. Wellspring, for solo orchestra bells
  • *CD#4
  • **1. by Language Embellished: I, for solo percussion theater
  • **2. The Lilies of the Field, for soprano and vibraphone
  • **3. A Vietnam Memorial, for speaking voice and vibraphone
  • *CD#5
  • **1. The Authors, for solo marimba with spoken text
  • **2. Angels, for percussion trio
  • **3. Geography of Streams, for percussion trio
  • **4. Two for Four, for percussion quartet
  • **5. Rockgarden, for organ and two percussion
  • *CD#6 Wind in the Channel
  • **1. Hawk, solo oboe
  • **2. Family Portraits: Brenda, solo piano
  • **3. California Driving, solo voice
  • **4. Return and Recall
  • **5. Notebook, 2-piano version
  • **6. Wind in the Channel, tenor recorder/voice/percussion
  • **7. Gifts, flute, vibraphone, piano
  • **8. Pinetop, solo piano
  • **9. In Bingham, solo voice
  • **10. Aussie Blue, solo piano