Stephanie Cheng Smith
Curriculum vitae
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Education
2007 |
B.A. with Honors, Music. The University of Chicago. |
Awards & Recognition
Olga and Paul Menn Foundation Prize. Composition, Tortured by anxious hopes of salvation (the velvety ears were already cold). Regarded as the best music composition by a graduating senior of the University of Chicago. 2007.
First prize,“Sounds” category of the Sights and Sounds of Science Competition sponsored by the Chicago Materials Research Center at the University of Chicago. Composition, The Princess and the Pea. 2007.
Visiting Committee Performance stipend. Awarded by the University of Chicago’s Department of Music for violin studies. 2006, 2007.
Phi Beta Kappa. Elected as a member in 2007.
Deans List. Four out of four years. 2003-2007.
Works
Tortured by anxious hopes of salvation (the velvety ears were already cold) (2007)
for bass clarinet, harpsichord, nine strings and computer
The computer music elements of this piece were created from several distinct sonic events synthesized in Modalys and subsequently arranged into 6-channel sound environments. Additionally, the harpsichord was amplified and underwent real-time audio processing in Max/MSP.
Leise zieht durch mein Gemüt (2007)
for vocalist and piano
SS-01 (2006)
for two flutes and four strings
The Princess and the Pea (2006)
for computer
Materials used include the recorded sounds of a pepper grinder, bells, simple violin melodies, and samples of FM synthesis. These sound objects were processed through Max/MSP and ProTools, of which the latter was used to arrange the piece in its final form.
In the forest. (2006)
for harp and harpsichord
Myxine glutinosa (2005)
for tenor, bassoon and piano
The Louse and the Flea (2005)
for computer and typist
The performance of The Louse and the Flea, originally a Grimm Brothers fairy tale, requires only the performer typing out the story in full. As he or she does so, the text of the story is displayed to the audience and accompanied by a developing sonic field dependent upon the typist’s input. The computer keyboard, via Max/MSP, is the sole source and cause of events both in aural and visual developments. Done as an exercise, I sought to explore the possibilities in Max/MSP using a limited amount of objects.
Little Beasties (2005)
for piano
Performances
Tortured by anxious hopes of salvation (May 29, 2007)
Conductor: William White
Computer: Stephanie Smith
Bass Clarinet: Katherine Szadziewicz
Harpsichord: Timothy Splain
Violin: Elinor Flanders, Andrew Sumitani, Carlos Villarreal, Alyssa Mathias
Viola: Patricia Wu, Alice Xu
Cello: Tiffany Choong, Ariel Weiser
Contrabass: Adam Hubbell
The Princess and the Pea (May 29, 2007)
Computer: Stephanie Smith
SS-01 (May 30, 2006)
Conductor: William White
Flute: Stephen Todd, Jennifer Kennedy
Violin: Benjamin Parker, Stephanie Smith
Viola: Julia Berian
Cello: Nicholas Baer
Myxine glutinosa (December 8, 2005; May 30, 2006)
Conductor: Stephanie Smith
Tenor: William White
Bassoon: Tim Calkins
Piano: Kotoka Suzuki; Timothy Splain, 2006
The Princess and the Pea (April 11, 2006)
Computer: Stephanie Smith
Little Beasties (December 8, 2005)
Piano: Kotoka Suzuki
Works in Progress
Flute Duet (currently untitled). Short piece for flute and alto flute.
Wouo+Nui. An opera. Story in development stages.
Untitled. Currently completing a six-channel surround sound piece using Modalys and ProTools
Fireworks (working title). A six-channel surround sound piece based on the sound of “fireworks” created from synthesized sound in Modalys combined with processed audio in ProTools.
Workshops / Performance groups / Activities
Composition Master Class with Mark Anthony Turnage. Presented SS-01. 2006.
Violinist. Bailiwick Repertory Theatre’s The Kiss of the Spider Woman. 2006.
Violinist. The Side Project Theatre’s Galileo. 2005.
Violinist. Strawdog Theatre’s The True Ballad of Fall’s Blessings. 2005.
Violinist. The Dead Superheroes Orchestra. 2004 (ongoing).
Violinist. The University Symphony Orchestra. 2003 (ongoing).
Violin studies. Instructors: Elinor Flanders (2005-07), Julie Lundgren (1997-2003), Sheryl Lafayette (1993-97).
Relevant Coursework
Senior Research: Music composition (one year). Kotoka Suzuki, Howard Sandroff.
Studies in Computer Music. Howard Sandroff.
Introduction to Computer Music I-II. Howard Sandroff.
Composition Lessons (one year). Kotoka Suzuki.
Contemporary Opera. Marta Ptaszynska.
18th Century Counterpoint. Marta Ptaszynska.
The String Quartet. Easley Blackwood.
Instrumentation & Orchestration. Easley Blackwood.
Introduction to Composition. Kotoka Suzuki.
Cognitive Science & Music Analysis. Lawrence Zbikowski.
Analysis of 18th Century Music. Thomas Christensen.
Analysis of 19th Century Music. David Bashwiner.
Analysis of 20th Century Music. Steven Rings.
Jazz Theory and Analysis. Mwata Bowden.
Harmony and Voice Leading I-III. Lawrence Zbikowski, Richard Cohn, Joshua Tucker.
Topics in the History of Western Music I-III. Anne Robertson, Patricia Firca, David Patterson.
Musicianship Skills. Ilya Levinson.
Employment
The University of Chicago, Web Services. Assistant Site Developer; design and maintenance of high-profile University websites. 2005 (ongoing).
Skills
Computer music. Max/MSP, Modalys, Audiosculpt, ProTools, Sibelius, Finale
Other computer skills. CSS, X/HTML, Dreamweaver, Adobe Creative Suite, and Microsoft Office. Flexible on both Windows and Mac platforms.
Violin. 14 years of experience and ongoing private instruction.
Piano. 1 year of private instruction (2003), basic keyboarding skills.
Languages. Chinese and German.
References
Available upon request.