Kalen Smith is an award-winning Canadian composer and harpist, currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in composition at McGill University. His works combine his experience as a performer on harp, tonal music structures, contemporary techniques from his academic studies, and effects from electronic music. The result is an eclectic collage, where musical meaning is created through the juxtaposition of extremes. As a composer, Kalen’s awards include third place in the national SOCAN Foundation Electroacoustic Prize and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada commission from 2022-2023.

Upon learning that he had won, Smith said: “No composition is ever written in isolation. I am eternally grateful to my harp teacher, Jennifer Swartz, who offered insightful feedback andhelped to edit and proof-read the score. I am also thankful to my composition teachers including Sean Ferguson, Chris Harman, and Jean Lesage.” About the winning piece, he said: “Bioluminescence creates musical color by exploring the extreme registers of the harp, from the abyssal wire strings to the luminous high range. A brilliant underwater collage is formed with melodic fragments and highlighted by a variety of harp techniques including près de la table, xylophonics, harmonics and fingernails.”