In this episode, composer, arranger, and musician Gregory Smith discusses his compositions for educational family concerts or Young Person’s Concerts and how they came about. Greg’s musical background in theater and commercial music field makes him ideal for these kinds of concerts that aim to bring in new audiences. Greg’s professional career began in New York City as a pianist/accompanist and copyist in the theater world, moving into production companies where he composed theme music for ads and news channels. He eventually moved to the Los Angeles recording field where he has been a session conductor, composer, and, arranger with Paramount and Disney. Thanks to the support and encouragement of a fellow session artist and rising star conductor at that time, Maron Alsop, Greg created a series of narrated orchestra pieces, many of which premiered at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.
Young Person’s Concerts (YPC) have their roots that reach back to the New York Philharmonic of 1914 but came to their apex when Leonard Bernstein became music director of the Phil. CBS broadcasted these concerts from 1958 to 1972.
https://www.gregorysmithmusic.com/
