础濒耻尘苍耻蝉听Matt Smiley听(DMA 鈥�22), a jazz studies lecturer at the CU 麻豆影院 College of Music, has been awarded a 鈥攐ne of the most prestigious, cross-disciplinary artist residency programs in the country. Set to take place over fall break, the fellowship aligns perfectly with Smiley鈥檚 teaching schedule, allowing him dedicated time to focus on his creative work without disrupting his commitments to students.
Smiley, who teaches a large 370-student jazz history class as well as a jazz combo, plans to use the fellowship to advance his compositional goals. His primary focus during this time will be composing a suite of octet music鈥攁 significant leap in scope from his usual compositions for smaller groups like trios, quartets and quintets. He鈥檚 looking ahead to spring 2025 when he hopes to record his new compositions with both Colorado musicians and other collaborators from across the country.
As a composer, Smiley鈥檚 work sits at the intersection of jazz and contemporary classical music, drawing on improvisational techniques that challenge the conventions of both genres. 鈥淭he music I write is always too improvisational for the contemporary classical world but utilizes modern compositional techniques that are still foreign to most of the jazz world,鈥� he explains. Smiley is inspired by composers such as Christian Wolff, known for creating compositions meant to be performed in different ways with varying orchestrations, ensuring that no performance is ever the same. This flexible, open form of composition has become a hallmark of Smiley鈥檚 approach which he鈥檚 excited to explore further.听
While Smiley is accustomed to composing for small ensembles of musicians with whom he regularly collaborates, the MacDowell Fellowship offers an opportunity to expand his creative work to larger ensembles and broader collaborations鈥攁 challenge he鈥檚 ready to embrace while maintaining the intimacy and improvisational spirit of his works for smaller ensembles.
Smiley鈥檚 path to the MacDowell Fellowship was marked by persistence and inspiration from peers. 听(BM 鈥�11, MM 鈥�20)鈥攁 CU 麻豆影院 College of Music alumna and a successful local composer, pianist, educator and entrepreneur鈥攅ncouraged him to apply for composition residencies. 鈥淚 have never had planned time off from teaching, performing and working to sit down and focus solely on writing music,鈥� Smiley notes. 鈥淚 have a lot of goals to accomplish while I鈥檓 there.鈥�
Especially, Smiley is eager to develop new compositions that embrace the unpredictability of improvisation while utilizing advanced compositional techniques. His work will undoubtedly continue to challenge the boundaries of both the jazz and contemporary classical music worlds鈥攂ringing fresh perspectives to both genres.
