Garth Smith was born 8 June 1960 in Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah, United States to Gibson Raymond Smith (1931-2015) and JoAnne Petty (living) .
Garth William Smith (born August 6, 1960) is an musician /pianist/composer in accomplished in several styles of music including rock, country, classical and jazz. He currently resides in Oceanside, California where as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints he specializes in original piano arrangements of popular LDS hymns. [1]
Early Life & Education
Garth was born in Brigham City, Utah, the son of a senior executive chemical engineer working at Thiokol, G. Ray Smith and his wife JoAnne. [2]
After taking a short break to serve a mission to the Navajo people of Northern Arizona, Garth completed a college degree in Design Engineering Technology from Brigham Young University, graduating in the class of 1988. After graduation, Garth accepted a position at Intergraph Corporation in Huntsville, Alabama. Later he moved to Carlsbad, California to accept a design position with Callaway Golf.
While at BYU, the Bishop of his ward called Garth to team-teach a Sunday School class that focused on "Social Relations and Marriage Preparation" with a lovely young co-ed from Erin, New York, Diane Pruyne. They eventually fell in love and got married.
Music Career
Sacred Hymns - First soundtrack recording by Garth Smith
Garth began his classical musical training on the piano at the age of 5. In his bio on his official website he states, “Melodies and composing are both something that have come very natural to me." As a missionary and college student he would entertain many with his piano skills, including a special performance of Beethoven's Sonata to a very large audience at his college graduation.
Nashville Era
While living in Alabama, Garth was introduced "Writers in the Round" at the famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee, a club famous for intimate, acoustic music performed by its composers. Soon, Garth was active participant there, performing his own original compositions.
Garth also participated as both a rehearsal and performance pianist in the local community theaters of Huntsville. He also joined in various local bands touring throughout Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee, playing different styles including rock, country, and jazz. They also participated in local music festivals including Huntsville's annual Panoply Arts Festival.
California Era
After moving to California in 1996, Garth continued playing in country bands, as well as developing his songwriting abilities. He entered and won the 1998 California Country Music Association "Song of the Year" with the song "Last Call". His bands played throughout Southern California, including popular venues such as the Viejas Casino and the San Diego County Fair.
LDS Hymns
Recently Garth has turned his attention to recording original arraignments of popular LDS Hymns, releasing this first album in 2014 titled "Sacred Hymns Arranged and Performed on the Piano". This has received great acclaim and wide national distribution. [3]
His second album, "How Beautiful Thy Temples, Sacred Hymns, Volume 2" was released in 2015, and again met with more critical success from LDS media such as Deseret News, Meridian Magazine, and respected LDS Bloggers. Crawford Gates, famous LDS composer, has called “How Beautiful Thy Temples” a “fabulous recording.” Smith’s arrangement of Gates’ beloved Easter hymn “He is Not Here” (from “The Choirbook”) is included as track 8 on the album.[4]
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Garth Smith (1960) | 8 June 1960 Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah, United States | ||
Ancestry
Garth is a direct descendant of the following:
- John Rodman (1615-1686) - early colonial Barbados plantation owner
- Hyrum Harrison Smith (1836-1893) - Veteran US Civil War, 46th Ohio and 188th Ohio Regiments
- Daniel Smith (1791-1869) - Veteran of War of 1812
- Moses Ogden (1762-1825) - Veteran of American Revolutionary War - when his father, Issac Ogden (1722-1776) was killed by British soldiers raiding their family home in New Jersey, young 14 year old Moses joined Washington's army and fought with them for the duration of the war.
- William Henry Petty (1874-1964) - Early American Dentist practicing at the end of the 19th century and afterwards.
External Links
- GarthSmithMusic.com - Official Website
- GarthSmithMusic - Facebook
- Music Channel - YouTube Channel
- Garth W Smith - Bio on MormonMusic.org
- Garth Smith - MormonArts Wikia
References
Footnotes (including sources)
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