Gabriella Smith is a composer whose work invites listeners to find joy in climate action. Her music comes from a love of play, exploring new instrumental sounds, and creating musical arcs that transport audiences into sonic landscapes inspired by the natural world. An “outright sensation” (LA Times), her music "exudes inventiveness with a welcoming personality, rousing energy and torrents of joy” (NY Times).
Lost Coast, a concerto for cello and orchestra, written for her longtime collaborator Gabriel Cabezas, received its world premiere in May 2023 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. This work joins her organ concerto, Breathing Forests, written for James McVinnie also premiered by the LA Phil, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Other current projects include a large-scale work for Kronos Quartet, commissioned in celebration of their 50th anniversary season, and an album-length work for yMusic featuring underwater field recordings. In December 2023, her work Tumblebird Contrails was performed on the Nobel Prize Concert by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Her first full-length album, titled Lost Coast, was recorded with Gabriel Cabezas and producer Nadia Sirota at Greenhouse Studios in Iceland and named one of NPR Music’s “26 Favorite Albums Of 2021” and a “Classical Album to Hear Right Now” by The New York Times. Gabriel and Gabriella, as a cello-violin-voice-electronics duo, have performed together around the world, including in Reykjavík, New York City, and Paris.
Gabriella grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area playing and writing music, hiking, backpacking, and volunteering on a songbird research project.
Read More:
Gabriella Smith: Music for the Joyful Earthling—All Classical Radio Anthology, Apr.29.2024
The Cleveland Orchestra: About the Music (Breathing Forests)—The Cleveland Orchestra, Apr.4.2024
Gabriella Smith, force de la nature—Radio France, Feb.11.2024
Celebrating the joy of climate solutions with music—Adventures in Music, Jan.27.2024
Review: S.F. Symphony celebrates forests with a triumphant new orchestral masterpiece—SF Chronicle, Nov.27.2023
California Soundscapes: Composer Gabriella Smith (Breathing Forests)—San Francisco Symphony, Nov.1.2023
Gabriella Smith’s Lost Coast: Joyful Climate Action through Music—California Festival, Oct.27.2023
Gabriella Smith’s Music Marvels at Nature with Grooving Joy—New York Times, May.24.2023
California Soundscapes: Composer Gabriella Smith (Tumblebird Contrails)—San Francisco Symphony, Mar.1.2023
In a Time of Crisis, Treelogy Speaks for the Trees—San Francisco Classical Voice, Feb.21.2023
Conductor Vinay Parameswaran Stands on the Edge of a Major Career—San Francisco Classical Voice, Feb.14.2023
Salonen Spring—San Francisco Symphony, Feb.1.2023
23 for ‘23: Composers and performers to watch this year—Washington Post, Jan.20.2023
An Actually Erotic Classical Music for Sex Playlist—Van Magazine, Dec.1.2022
Oh Gabriella!—Radio France, Sep.25.2022
Review: New music and nature meet under a Green Umbrella—Los Angeles Times, Jul.8.2022
Review: Esa-Pekka Salonen makes a triumphant return to the L.A. Phil—Los Angeles Times, Feb.16.2022
Review: Ojai Music Festival begins a new era with exciting emerging talent—Los Angeles Times, Sep.21.2021
5 Classical Albums to Hear Right Now—New York Times, Jul.29.2021
26 Favorite Albums Of 2021 (So Far)—NPR Music, Jun.30.2021
Album of the Week—For the Record, Jun.25.2021
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love String Quartets—New York Times, Feb.3.2021
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love 21st-Century Composers—New York Times, Aug.5.2020
How a Pianist Salvaged His Lost Carnegie Hall Debut—New York Times, May.25.2020
New Artist of the Month: Composer Gabriella Smith—Musical America, Jun.1.2019
Review: Jeffrey Kahane returns to L.A. Chamber Orchestra…—Los Angeles Times, Mar.25.2019
Review: Philip Glass takes David Bowie and the symphony…—Los Angeles Times, Jan.11.2019
5 Questions to Gabriella Smith—I Care If You Listen, Jul.24.2018