Nicholas Michael Smith

Nicholas Michael Smith OBE (born 1967, also known as Nick Smith, ) is a British conductor, composer, and music educator.

Since 1994, Smith has lived and worked in the People's Republic of China. His contributions to classical music performance and education in China have been the subject of documentaries and interviews on Chinese television and radio.

In 2011, Smith was awarded an OBE in recognition of his "services to music and to UK/China relations".

Biography

After relocating to Beijing in 1995, Smith worked with the Beijing Concert Hall on educational concerts to foster interest in western classical music with Chinese audiences. In 1997, Smith founded the Peking Sinfonietta and, in 2002, the Beijing International Festival Chorus.

Smith has worked with Chinese author Hong Ying composing incidental music for her children’s book The Girl from the French Fort, premiering the work at Beijing Concert Hall in 2016. Smith has also translated several of Hong Ying’s children’s books into English.

In 2019, Smith's recording of the oratorio Corona Divinae Misericordiae by David Braid with soprano Patricia O'Callaghan was nominated for a Juno Award for 'Classical Album of the Year'.

In 2020, his recording of works by British composer Ed Hughes with The New Music Players, Ed Hughes: Time, Space & Change, was nominated by The Sunday Times as one of their 'Best Albums of 2020'.

Smith's first opera "The Stone God" had its premiere at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London, in November 2024, with musical direction by Justin Lavender.

Appointments In 2007, Smith was appointed an honorary professor of conducting at the China Conservatory of Music. In 2012, he was appointed an honorary professor of the Tianjin Conservatory of Music. He also served as a governor of Harrow School, Beijing.

Personal life Smith lives in Beijing with his wife, pianist Shen Yue, and their son.

Arrangements Xian Xinghai Music Collection I for Band, 2022, music by Xian Xinghai, arr. for symphonic wind band by Nicholas M Smith

Discography Title Year Details British Celebration 2016 Released: 8 April 2016 Label: Heritage Catalogue No: HTGCD203 Artists: RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Alisdair Hogarth Composers: Nicholas Smith et al. (compilation) Conductor: Gavin Sutherland British Celebration 2 2017 Released: 1 December 2017 Label: Heritage Catalogue No: HTGCD192 Artists: Royal Ballet Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra Composers: Nicholas Smith et al. (compilation) Conductors: Gavin Sutherland, Barry Wordsworth David Braid: Corona Divinae Misericordiae 2018 Released: 1 November 2018 Label: K52 Music Artists: Epoque Chamber Orchestra, Patricia O'Callaghan, The Elmer Iseler Singers & Sinfonia UK Collective Composer: David Braid Conductors: Nicholas Michael Smith, Shawn Grenke Ed Hughes: Time, Space, and Change 2020 Released: March 2020 Label: Divine Art Catalogue No: MSV 28597 EAN/UPC: 809730859724 Artists: New Music Players, Orchestra of Sound and Light Composer: Ed Hughes Conductors: Nicholas Michael Smith, Ed Hughes Nicholas Michael Smith: The Girl from the French Fort 2026 Released: 13 February 2026 Label: Métier Catalogue No: MEX77142 EAN/UPC: 809730714221 Artists: Gerry Cornelius, New Music Players, Niki Yan, Tim Bentinck Composer: Nicholas Michael Smith Conductor: Gerry Cornelius