George Logie Smith was born in Ascot Vale a suburb of Melbourne, to parents David Edgar "Edgar" Smith and Margaret Jane "Maggie" (née Logie) who had migrated to Australia from Scotland before he was born. His birth registration shows the year of birth as 1913 although more usually his birth is recorded as 2 December 1914. At age 15 he conducted Handel's Messiah at a local church. He studied piano with Roy Shepherd, a pupil of Alfred Cortot. He won a number of piano competitions and gave recitals. Shepherd was appointed Director of Music at Geelong College in 1936, but had to withdraw within a year due to illness. He persuaded the headmaster, the Rev. Frank (later Sir Francis) Rolland, to appoint the 22-year-old Logie-Smith in his place, despite him having no academic qualifications or teacher training.[1] The college's annual production of Gilbert and Sullivan operas at Geelong's largest cinema, under Logie-Smith's direction, became an event in Geelong's cultural life.
In 1948 he took a year's leave from the college to study conducting in England with Sir Adrian Boult and John Barbirolli. In 1958 he was appointed director of music at Scotch College, where he was responsible for greatly expanding both the professional music staff as well as the proportion of boys studying an instrument. The school orchestra reached a standard that was considered close to professional. He led the orchestra on tours of South-East Asia and New Zealand. He also coached football, and led the college's 1st XVIII to a premiership in 1968.
At various times, he conducted the Melbourne Youth Symphonic Band, the Astra Chamber Orchestra, the Frankston Symphony Orchestra and the Grainger Wind Symphony, the last of which he founded as music director in 1986. He also founded the Astra Choir in 1958.
He conducted on a number of LP recordings of music by Australian composers, including a recording of orchestral music with solo parts for saxophone, played by Peter Clinch.
One of the Australian pianist Geoffrey Tozer's earliest public performances was in 1964, when aged about 10, with the Astra Chamber Orchestra under Logie-Smith's direction.
For some years, he was also the Victorian Universities Schools Examination Board's Chief Examiner of HSC Music A.
Honoursedit
In 1955 he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE),[2] and this was upgraded to Officer (OBE) status in 1971.[3]
His name is perpetuated in the Logie-Smith Auditorium at Geelong College, the George Logie-Smith Foundation at Scotch College, and a music room at Genazzano FCJ College, where he also taught.
Personal lifeedit
He married Enid Buchanan in 1941. She died in 2002. They were survived by three sons, seven grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Referencesedit
^Illustrated Heritage Guide to the Geelong College. Retrieved 8 June 2014
george, logie, smith, december, 1914, april, 2007, australian, orchestra, choral, conductor, music, examiner, music, educator, born2, december, 1914melbourne, australiaoriginaustraliadied19, april, 2007, aged, melbourne, australiagenresclassicaloccupation, edu. George Logie Smith OBE 2 December 1914 19 April 2007 was an Australian orchestra and choral conductor music examiner and music educator George Logie SmithBorn2 December 1914Melbourne AustraliaOriginAustraliaDied19 April 2007 aged 92 Melbourne AustraliaGenresClassicalOccupation s Educator conductorYears active1936 1990 Contents 1 Biography 2 Honours 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksBiography editGeorge Logie Smith was born in Ascot Vale a suburb of Melbourne to parents David Edgar Edgar Smith and Margaret Jane Maggie nee Logie who had migrated to Australia from Scotland before he was born His birth registration shows the year of birth as 1913 although more usually his birth is recorded as 2 December 1914 At age 15 he conducted Handel s Messiah at a local church He studied piano with Roy Shepherd a pupil of Alfred Cortot He won a number of piano competitions and gave recitals Shepherd was appointed Director of Music at Geelong College in 1936 but had to withdraw within a year due to illness He persuaded the headmaster the Rev Frank later Sir Francis Rolland to appoint the 22 year old Logie Smith in his place despite him having no academic qualifications or teacher training 1 The college s annual production of Gilbert and Sullivan operas at Geelong s largest cinema under Logie Smith s direction became an event in Geelong s cultural life In 1948 he took a year s leave from the college to study conducting in England with Sir Adrian Boult and John Barbirolli In 1958 he was appointed director of music at Scotch College where he was responsible for greatly expanding both the professional music staff as well as the proportion of boys studying an instrument The school orchestra reached a standard that was considered close to professional He led the orchestra on tours of South East Asia and New Zealand He also coached football and led the college s 1st XVIII to a premiership in 1968 At various times he conducted the Melbourne Youth Symphonic Band the Astra Chamber Orchestra the Frankston Symphony Orchestra and the Grainger Wind Symphony the last of which he founded as music director in 1986 He also founded the Astra Choir in 1958 He conducted on a number of LP recordings of music by Australian composers including a recording of orchestral music with solo parts for saxophone played by Peter Clinch One of the Australian pianist Geoffrey Tozer s earliest public performances was in 1964 when aged about 10 with the Astra Chamber Orchestra under Logie Smith s direction For some years he was also the Victorian Universities Schools Examination Board s Chief Examiner of HSC Music A Honours editIn 1955 he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE 2 and this was upgraded to Officer OBE status in 1971 3 His name is perpetuated in the Logie Smith Auditorium at Geelong College the George Logie Smith Foundation at Scotch College and a music room at Genazzano FCJ College where he also taught Personal life editHe married Enid Buchanan in 1941 She died in 2002 They were survived by three sons seven grandchildren and a great grandchild References edit Illustrated Heritage Guide to the Geelong College Retrieved 8 June 2014 It s an Honour MBE It s an Honour OBEExternal links edit George Logie Smith OBE tribute Grainger Wind Symphony Retrieved 30 May 2008 http www rootsweb ancestry com sctfif ffqrs2 html Jim Mitchell 2001 A Deepening Roar A History of Scotch College Allen amp Unwin Ian Harrison Obituary The Age 6 July 2007 http newsstore smh com au apps viewDocument ac page 1 amp sy smh amp kw George Logie smith amp pb age amp dt selectRange amp dr 10years amp so relevance amp sf text amp sf headline amp rc 10 amp rm 200 amp sp nrm amp clsPage 1 amp docID AGE070706PA6C23D6MA4 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Logie Smith amp oldid 1189312089, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
