Elijah Daniel Smith is an American contemporary composer whose music has been described as “gnashing and relentless” (Chicago Tribune), “Seductive” (Gramophone), and as “an ingenious study in clarity and distortion” (San Francisco Classical Voice). His music ranges from orchestral compositions to multimedia and interdisciplinary collaborations and his affinity for dense and complex textures, rhythmic ambiguity and fluidity, and rich gravitational harmonies shines through in all of his creations. His music has been premiered and performed by world renowned ensembles including The Chicago Symphony Orchestra for MusicNOW, the American Composers Orchestra, the New England Philharmonic, the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, Contemporaneous, JACK Quartet, Mivos Quartet, Bergamot Quartet, Icarus Quartet, Sō Percussion, Sandbox Percussion, ~Nois, TAK Ensemble, Hub New Music, Lorelei Ensemble, NEXT Ensemble, Yarn / Wire, DITHER, Copland House, Ensemble Linea, Ecce Ensemble, the Lea Mattson Collective, and Earspace. Upcoming projects include a new orchestral work for the American Composers Orchestra and a new octet for Sō Percussion and ~Nois.
In addition to his notated compositions, Elijah is also an electronic musician and sound artist, working primarily with modular synthesizers.
Elijah is Instructional Faculty and the Manager of New Music Activities at The Curtis Institute of Music. He holds a PhD from Princeton University, a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Boston Conservatory, all in Music Composition. Elijah’s music is published by Project Schott New York.