Sir George Thomas Smart by William Bradley

Sir George Thomas Smart (10 May 1776 – 23 February 1867) was an English musician. Smart was born in London, his father being a music-seller. He was a

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

-boy at the

Chapel Royal A chapel royal is an establishment in the British and Canadian royal households serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the royal family. Historically, the chapel royal was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarc ...

, and was educated in music, becoming an expert violinist, organist, teacher of singing and conductor. He taught for many years at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

where his notable pupils included Elizabeth Greenfield,

John Orlando Parry John Orlando Parry (3 January 1810 – 20 February 1879) was an English actor, pianist, artist, comedian, songwriter and singer. Biography Early career Parry, the only son of Welsh musician John Parry (known as ''Bardd Alaw''), was born in ...

, Mary Shaw, and

Willoughby Weiss Willoughby Hunter Weiss (2 April 1820, Liverpool - 24 October 1867, London) was an English oratorio and opera singer and composer. He became one of the most celebrated bass singers of the 19th century, and sang in the premieres of many English wor ...

. In 1811 he was knighted by the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

, having conducted a number of successful concerts in Dublin. On 1 April 1822 he was appointed organist at the Chapel Royal. From that time onwards, Sir George Smart was one of the chief musical leaders and organizers in England, directing the music for the opening of the

Great Exhibition of 1851 Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

, conducting at the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, the provincial festivals, etc., and in 1838 being appointed composer to the Chapel Royal. He was a master of the Handelian traditions, was personally acquainted with

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and a close friend of Weber, who died in his house. Some of his

church music Church music is a genre of Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian musi ...

and glees became well known. He died in London and is buried in

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of North Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in P ...

. His brother Henry (1778–1823), father of the composers Harriet Anne Smart and

Henry Smart Henry Thomas Smart (26 October 1813 – 6 July 1879) was an English organist and composer. Biography Smart was born in London, a nephew of the conductor Sir George Smart and son of a music publisher, orchestra director and accomplished violin ...

, was a well-known violinist. Smart wrote a journal, ''Leaves from the Journals of Sir George Smart'', that was published in 1907.

References

External links

''Leaves from the Journals of Sir George Smart''
on

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

1776 births 1867 deaths English Romantic composers English classical organists Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery English conductors (music) English male conductors (music) Knights Bachelor Musicians awarded knighthoods Musicians from London Chairpersons of the Royal Philharmonic Society English male classical organists {{England-musician-stub