OUR CONDUCTOR – MARTIN SMITH
Passion never dies, it grows
Martin Smith was an Exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music Junior Department winning a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, where he studied violin and conducting.
Active as a professional violinist for many years, he began as a member of the Duke String Quartet, performing throughout Britain and Europe, and he has also appeared with the Allegri and Bridge Quartets. Currently, Martin performs with the Ellerdale Piano Trio, which he founded in 1992, the Cirrus String Quartet and the Primavera Ensemble.
Working with many of the country’s foremost chamber orchestras, such as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the English Chamber Orchestra, a member of the London Mozart Players for many years, and one of the Directors of the orchestra, he leads the New London Sinfonia and Orchestra Nova, appearing as guest leader with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra, Brunel Ensemble and London Concertante.
With Nova he has led many premières and recordings by British composers. Martin has made solo appearances around the UK and in France, Germany, Holland and the United States, many as leader of the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, which he led and directed for over ten years.
In recent years, Martin has returned to conducting, buoyed by success in concerts for the London Mozart Players and London Soloists Chamber Orchestra in 2007. He has conducted the LMP on a number of occasions and has led orchestral workshops for them and for the European String Teachers’ Association. He has been Artistic Director of Enfield Chamber Orchestra since 2008, and of The Richmond Orchestra since 2016, and is in increasing demand as a guest conductor.
Martin’s hobbies include Roman roads, the outdoors in general, and the avoidance of housework. He lives in St. Albans with his lawyer wife Margaret, and hopes one day to understand his daughters.