Gregg Smith Singers

Variant names

Dates:

Nationality: Americans,

Biographical notes:

The Gregg Smith Singers were founded by Gregg Smith in 1955, who remains their director, program designer and conductor today (2011). The group's mission, as articulated on their website, is "to encourage the development and preservation of American choral music, with an emphasis on new works of the 20th and 21st centuries, through performances, recordings, workshops and publications."

The Gregg Smith Singers have won numerous awards over the course of their career, and are internationally known for their intepretations of contemporary music and performances of works by living composers. The group had a strong working relationship with Igor Stravinsky for more than a decade and performed at his funeral. Among other achievements, in 1973 the group initiated both a New York City concert series and the Adirondack Festival of American Music (AFAM) in Saranac Lake, N.Y., both of which continue today (2011). They have won three Grammy Awards, two Montreux Awards, and the Stereo Review 1966 Record of the Year award for their Columbia recording of the music of the Revolutionary American composer, William Billings. Gregg Smith has also received a number of individual awards recognizing his contribution to the field of American choral music.

From the guide to the Gregg Smith Singers Recordings, circa 1974-1992, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)