Grigory Smirnov
Piano Faculty, Composition
Grigory Smirnov is a New York-based composer and pianist. His music has been performed around the globe in major venues, such as Lincoln Center, Tanglewood Festival, Merkin Concert Hall, Moscow Philharmonic Society and The Copenhagen Opera House. Among his recent works is a large-scale song cycle “Dowson Songs”, commissioned by The ASCAP Foundation, premiered at Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center in New York and to be released as a CD on Naxos label. As a pianist Grigory Smirnov actively performs classical, contemporary and improvisational music. He is also an adjunct lecturer at Rutgers University.
Born in Novosibirsk, Russia, Grigory Smirnov studied at the Novosibirsk Music College and at Glinka Novosibirsk Conservatory, with distinguished Russian composer Yuri Yukechev. Since moving to the United States in 2009, he has received his Master of Music degree in composition from The Juilliard School, where he was a full scholarship student under the guidance of Christopher Rouse.
More information at www.grigorysmirnov.com.
“Since an early age, I heard music around me and it started to live in my heart. At some point I realized that, among the music I could hear inside me, there was a certain kind of music that did not exist in the outer world yet; so I decided that I must do everything possible to write it down and perform, otherwise it would be lost forever. That was how I became a musician. In my teaching I try to open the music for my students, so that it can live deep in their hearts. I believe this is the most fundamental goal for a music teacher, because when students have music living in their hearts, it will guide them in the right direction and will definitely find its way to life.”