Inspired in part by the energy and immediacy of contemporary pop music, Spin (2011) uses a number of elements to suggest the sensation of spinning: a circle of fifths harmonic progression, canonic passages, modal figures that loop around the tonic, and uneven rhythmic patterns. Throughout the work variations of the calm and slow moving opening theme are alternated against, and eventually combined with, extremely aggressive, driving, and energetic material.

Spin (2011) - string quartet

Performed at the Tutti International Music Festival 2024. 
Hanna Hurwitz, violin
Hana Chu, piano

Northampton's Little Chilango

Premiered at Dudley Hall by the Moores School of Music Chamber Orchestra conducted by Marcos Rangel

Sometimes So By Chance

An Iberian Fanfare

Premiered at the Bulgarian Embassy as part of the Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York City, New York 
Hyojin Ellen Kim, violin, Joseph Staten, cello, Lora Al-Ahmad, piano

Piedra y Arena

From the album 'HOMMAGES', available on double LP at Bandcamp, and streaming everywhere.

Holly Roadfeldt - Piano

Hommage a Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) – The music of Hildegard has always amazed and inspired me.  Well, EVERYTHING about Hildegard has amazed and inspired me—the things that she composed, wrote, built, and accomplished—especially in an age when women were completely oppressed.  She is quite simply one of the greatest geniuses this world has ever produced, and it’s criminal that she’s not as well known as other male geniuses from her time (or later).  When I was thinking about this Hommage, I wasn’t sure how to approach it.  Then, one day (July 11th, 2018), I was doing some completely unrelated work, and out of nowhere, the entire piece came to me all at once, as in a vision.  Yeah, I know how that sounds, especially given Hildegard’s history, but that’s what happened.  The piece was written in one afternoon.

Hommage a Hildegard von Bingen (Official Album Version)

Holly Roadfeldt - Piano

Hommage a Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) – I have been fascinated by Nadia Boulanger for a long time now. How did this person inspire and produce so many of the 20th century's greatest composers? After reading about her life, I think at least part of that dedication to composers was born out of her relationship to her younger sister Lili, and the circumstances surrounding her early death. From what I understand, Nadia was a great lover of the rigors of counterpoint, but also had the rare ability of helping composers find their own voices during a time of strict dogma in the composition landscape. This piece is inspired by Lili Boulanger's "Theme and Variations", and also by Nadia's love of counterpoint, and by her voice in my head telling me, "Just be yourself."

Buy the album!

Hommage a Nadia Boulanger (Official Album Version)

Premiered at MATCH during the Texas New Music Festival on July of 2025 by Emily Zelaya

Brown Opal

Holly Roadfeldt - Piano

Hommage a Gary Gygax (1938-2008) - Given all of the artistic and scientific people I've covered so far, why write an Hommage to Gary Gygax, the creator of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons? When I set out to write this series, I wanted to pay respects to people who inspired me to create. Gary was the first. I was introduced to D&D in the 3rd grade, and I became fascinated with it immediately. I used to sit in class drawing dungeon maps on graph paper instead of listening to my lessons. This was my first real creative outlet, and where I first encountered the mechanics of telling a story. For instance, if I drew a long hallway on the graph paper, and then drew in a secret door halfway down on the left wall, this in itself posed many questions - questions that I had to answer. Why is there a secret door here? What is it hiding? Is it an object of significance relating to the rest of the story? Is it a dangerous monster, sealed away forever? How does that relate to what the adventurers are going through? My 3rd-grade mind was sent wandering with almost endless possibilities. Through Gary's creation, I learned to craft a narrative - a skill that became invaluable in writing music. How could I not write an Hommage to Gary?

Hommage A Gary Gygax (Official Album Version)

Chaw refers to something that is chewed or the act of chewing something that is not to be swallowed, such as a wad of tobacco. The American Minstrel song "Ching-A-Ring-Chaw" (1833), one of the songs Aaron Copland arranged in his "Old American Songs", is "chewed up" in order to create this energetic and virtuosic work. The original tune, presented in the violin at the start, comes in and out of focus throughout. Chaw was written for Music from Copland House, who premiered the work in February of 2012.

Chaw (2012) for flute, clarinet, violin, cello & piano

The innovative and highly energetic music of Rob Smith is frequently performed throughout the United States and abroad. He is an Associate Professor of Music Composition and director of the AURA Contemporary Ensemble at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music.  Boosey & Hawkes, Carl Fischer, Southern Music, C-Alan Publications, and Skitter Music Publications publish his music.

Spin (2011) - string quartet

Rob Smith, composer

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