Alex Smith

Alex Smith is a British percussionist, currently studying a masters in marimba performance at the Koninklijk Conservatoirum Antwerpen (Belgium) with the renowned marimbist Ludwig Albert. Alex graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK) with a first class honours degree in 2018. He performs regularly as a marimba soloist, chamber musician and orchestral percussionist in the UK and Europe. As a soloist, Alex has extensively performed across the UK recital circuit, and has also performed across the world with highlights including concert hall performances in Wuhan, Beijing and Tianjin. As an orchestral musician, Alex has performed in a wide variety of contexts including: symphony, chamber, baroque, contemporary and pop orchestras, with a variety of student, amateur and semi-professional orchestras. Recent performance highlights include; tuned percussion in Penderecki’s “Seven Gates of Jerusalem” conducted by the composer and the Bridgewater Hall, Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” under Sir Mark Elder, and combined timpani and percussion in Szene 12’s production of La Bohème in Dresden. He also played solo marimba and percussion for Buxton Opera Festival's production of "The Orphans of Koombu" in 2019. As a chamber musician, Alex works mainly within the contemporary music field. He plays percussion in the award winning ‘Melia Duo’, with which he performs in many recitals, workshops and family concerts. Recent highlights for the ensemble include being awarded 2nd prize in the prestigious ‘Enkor!’ international chamber competition, and giving a recital at the European Saxophone Congress in Portugal. Outside of the Melia Duo, Alex performs regularly with other instrumentalists for short term chamber music projects. Personal highlights include performing works by Tansy Davies and Harrison Birtwistle as part of a contemporary music festival at the Wigmore Hall, and having the opportunity to work with both composers prior to performance. He was also a member of the RNCM Percussion Sextet for their sell-out concert hall tour of China in 2018, where the ensemble also placed 1st in the Shanghai National Percussion Competition - Chamber Ensemble category. Originally from Hull, Alex's early musical experiences came from the brass band tradition. This ultimately led to him playing with the Black Dyke Brass Band. During his time with the band, Black Dyke recorded several albums of new and traditional music, performed concerts across the UK and overseas, and won several competitions including the European Brass Band Championships in Freiburg, Germany.