David Ramsay Smith
Born in Liverpool 1963 – Dave took up the violin aged 10. He was soon to appear as a soloist on the Ken Dodd Show in Southport accompanied by Charles Mitchell (QE2 Pianist). Dave also toured Germany and Israel with the MYO (Merseyside Youth Orchestra).
Dave went on to study violin and piano at the RNCM (Royal Northern College of Music). His teachers were Clifford Knowles (Leader RLPO), Peter Manning (Leader LPO), Denis Simons (Leader BBC Philharmonic) and Christopher Rowland (Leader Fitzwilliam String Quartet).
In 1984, Dave was asked to join the Scarborough Spa Orchestra working for Max Jaffa playing 13 shows a week at the Grand Hall and Spa Sun Court. He worked for Max for the next two summers and for Rostal & Shaefer in 1987. During this time Dave formed the Palm Quartet playing for promotions and functions in most of Manchester's best hotels. Dave has toured the UK as a freelance violinist playing with the Manchester Camerata and Mozart Orchestra and the Northern Chamber Orchestra. He also played in the London productions of West Side Story and Pyjama Game.
In the early 90’s, Dave took lessons from Kato Havas in Oxford and went on to qualify as a music teacher after studying at the University of Huddersfield.
He accepted a post as music teacher for Wakefield MDC – composing and directing the area string ensembles.
In April 97, Dave took up a post as Course Leader for Popular Music for Mid Kent College of Further and Higher Education. In 1998, he was invited to direct the Hazlitt Youth Theatre in productions of Godspell, The Wiz and Terry Prachet’s Mort.
Dave’s life and career took a new direction when in 1999 he moved to London to study composition with Nigel Clarke and Martin Ellerby at the LCM2 (London College of Music and Media). He qualified with a Masters Degree in Composition for TV and Film in 2000 and moved to Brighton where he now lives and works.
Much of Dave’s time is now given to composing, orchestrating, arranging and producing music. In 2000 Corda Music published his quartet for guitars Bossa Espagnola. His solo work for flute or piccolo SongFlight is published by Phylloscopus and his concert work for Wind Orchestra Fractures is published by Maecenas in their Contemporary Catalogue and sells worldwide in Japan and the USA.
In 2006 Dave launched his own music production company C21st Music. Currently, Dave is working with Patrick Wilson (BMG) on orchestral music for film trailers.