David H. Smyth

David H. Smyth

David H. Smyth (Edward and Catherine Galante Professor and Division Chair for Music History and Music Theory) holds degrees from The Colorado College (B.A. 1974), Cornell University (M.A. 1978) and the University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D. 1985). He has taught at Louisiana State University since 1987, winning awards for outstanding teaching (1989, 1999) and the LSU Distinguished Faculty Award (2005). He participated in an NEH Summer Seminar for College Teachers at Harvard University (1989) and has attended the Mannes Institute for Advanced Studies in Music Theory three times (2001, 2004, 2006). His research has centered on studies of large-scale rhythm and meter in tonal music and analytical studies drawing upon composers’ sketches. Articles and reviews by Smyth have appeared in Music Theory Spectrum, Perspectives of New Music, Journal of Music Theory, College Music Symposium, Intégral, Beethoven Forum, Journal of the Arnold Schoenberg Institute, Theory and Practice, Indiana Theory Review, and Music Theory Online. He has presented papers at music theory conferences in Canada, England, Switzerland, Ireland, and the United States. He served on the editorial board for Music Theory Spectrum (2001-2003) and as Treasurer for the Society for Music Theory (2007-2010). He is working on a book about Stravinsky’s sketches, based on research carried out at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, Switzerland, where he has been awarded two research fellowships (1996, 2002).