Irene Britton Smith
Irene Britton Smith (born December 22, 1907 in Chicago - † February 15, 1999 ) was an American composer.
Smith attended Wendell Phillips High School and Chicago Normal School and then worked as a teacher. After taking piano and violin lessons as a child, she spent the summer holidays studying with Stella Roberts and Leo Sowerbyam at the American Conservatory of Music , where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in 1943. From 1946–47 she studied composition with Vittorio Giannini at the Juilliard School of Music , and in 1956 she completed her studies with Leon Stein at DePaul University with a master's degree.
She also took classes with Irving Fine at Berkshire Music Center and Wayne Barlow at Eastman School of Music , and in 1958 she traveled to Fontainebleau to study with Nadia Boulanger . After retiring from teaching in 1978, she taught music education for children and young people for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra . Almost forty of her compositions are known to date. Her song cycle Dream Cycle was premiered in 1947 by JoAnne Pickens , her violin sonata in 1990 by Gregory Walker and Helen Walker-Hill (released in 1995 on the CD Kaleidoscope: Music by African-American Women ).
Works
- Passacaglia and Fugue in C-sharp Minor for piano
- Invention in Two Voices for piano
- Variations on a Theme of MacDowell for piano
- Psalm 46 for choir and baritone
- Reminiscence for violin and piano
- Fairest Lord Jesus for female choir
- Sonata for Violin and Piano
- Let Us Break Bread Together , spiritual arrangement for baritone and piano
- Fairest Lord Jesus , Spiritual
- Dream Cycle , song cycle based on Paul Laurence Dunbar
- String trio
- Sinfonietta in three movements for orchestra
swell
- AfriClassical - Irene Britton Smith (1907-1999)
- Columbia College Chicago - Irene Britton Smith papers
- Vivace Press - Music by African-American Women Series - Sonata for Violin and Piano by Irene Britton Smith
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Smith, Irene Britton |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American composer |
DATE OF BIRTH | December 22, 1907 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago |
DATE OF DEATH | February 15, 1999 |