Music Director
David Smith
David is passionate about performing contemporary music alongside great masterpieces of the classical repertoire and the 20th century. He is Music Director of South East London Orchestra, Abbots Langley Orchestra and Oxford Reunion Wind Orchestra, and Conductor of
Hemel Symphony Orchestra.
David has worked with many orchestras in London and the south of England as a guest conductor. As an instrumentalist, he has extensive experience as a trombonist, percussionist and timpanist, with rare forays into the world of the double bass. He read Music and a
Masters in Musicology at the University of Southampton, where his tutors included David Owen Norris and Michael Finnissy. He has studied conducting with Robin Browning and Denise Ham.
Away from conducting, David is Director of Assessment Services at ABRSM (the Associated
Board of the Royal Schools of Music) and coaches junior cricket teams. In summer 2026 he
will step down from his role with SELO after 14 years as its founding Music Director.
