Conductor
Artistic Director
Countertenor Producer
Current Positions:
Barnaby Smith is a Grammy-nominated conductor, countertenor, Artistic Director and producer of the internationally renowned ensemble VOCES8, the VOCES8 Foundation in the UK and USA, and the LIVE From London digital festivals. He is in demand worldwide as a performer, conductor, presenter, arranger, producer, filmmaker and educator.
With VOCES8 and the Foundation, Barnaby has created one of the most influential choral platforms of the 21st century, combining global touring, recording, education, and innovation. The Foundation’s education programmes now reach tens of thousands of participants annually, whilst the LIVE From London digital festivals, which Barnaby curates and presents, have reached audiences in more than 180 countries.
As a conductor, Barnaby has led distinguished choirs and orchestras across the world, from the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic and Academy of Ancient Music to major ensembles in Europe, Australia and Asia. Recent and upcoming projects include directing the Philharmonia at Abbey Road Studios, James Macmillan’s Seven Last Words On The Cross with Voices of Ascension New York, Houston Chamber Choir, Edvard Grieg Kor, conducting two programmes for his Rheingau Musik Festival Residency ‘26, two appearances with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and premieres of major new works such as Christopher Tin’s The Lost Birds and Taylor Scott Davis’s Requiem and To Sing of Love. Collaborations span composers and artists such as Paul Simon, Jacob Collier, Eric Whitacre, Ola Gjeilo, Jonathan Dove, Rachel Podger, Christina Pluhar, and Roderick Williams.
As a soloist/singer, Barnaby has appeared at leading venues and festivals worldwide, from the BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre, and Wigmore Hall to Sydney Opera House, Vienna Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, La Seine Musicale in Paris, Tokyo Opera City, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. His solo albums of Handel and Bach have received critical acclaim, with Gramophone noting the “refined beauty and sheer skill” of his singing. Barnaby trained in Specialist Early Music Performance at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under Andreas Scholl and Ulrich Messthaler, and began his career as a treble in the Choir of Westminster Abbey.
A passionate educator, Barnaby has taught and led workshops at universities and academies worldwide. As a producer, engineer, and filmmaker, Barnaby holds Dolby Atmos accreditation and has overseen a wide range of immersive audio and broadcast projects including major albums, live recordings, and the LIVE From London digital festival, acclaimed as “a digital lifeline for the arts.” Barnaby also creates and directs VOCES8’s media output, which has been central to building the group’s global online presence, with millions of listeners and viewers around the world.
“Smith’s instrument is sweet, intense and bursting with colours… shapely phrases, like his blistering speed and crisp passage in ‘Venti turbini’ (Rinaldo), are indebted to muscle and musicianship alike” – BBC Music Magazine
“’The Messiah’ which went with a swing both fresh and joyous — VOCES8 as Artists in Residence more than put their stamp on the festival… led by Barnaby Smith, a musical general who spearheaded all the musical endeavours and thus ensured quality in a class of its own… Jubilation and standing ovations at the close.” – Kultur, Graz
Conductor
Artistic Director
Countertenor Producer
Current Positions:
Barnaby Smith is a Grammy-nominated conductor, countertenor, Artistic Director and producer of the internationally renowned ensemble VOCES8, the VOCES8 Foundation in the UK and USA, and the LIVE From London digital festivals. He is in demand worldwide as a performer, conductor, presenter, arranger, producer, filmmaker and educator.
With VOCES8 and the Foundation, Barnaby has created one of the most influential choral platforms of the 21st century, combining global touring, recording, education, and innovation. The Foundation’s education programmes now reach tens of thousands of participants annually, whilst the LIVE From London digital festivals, which Barnaby curates and presents, have reached audiences in more than 180 countries.
As a conductor, Barnaby has led distinguished choirs and orchestras across the world, from the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic and Academy of Ancient Music to major ensembles in Europe, Australia and Asia. Recent and upcoming projects include directing the Philharmonia at Abbey Road Studios, James Macmillan’s Seven Last Words On The Cross with Voices of Ascension New York, Houston Chamber Choir, Edvard Grieg Kor, conducting two programmes for his Rheingau Musik Festival Residency ‘26, two appearances with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, and premieres of major new works such as Christopher Tin’s The Lost Birds and Taylor Scott Davis’s Requiem and To Sing of Love. Collaborations span composers and artists such as Paul Simon, Jacob Collier, Eric Whitacre, Ola Gjeilo, Jonathan Dove, Rachel Podger, Christina Pluhar, and Roderick Williams.
As a soloist/singer, Barnaby has appeared at leading venues and festivals worldwide, from the BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centre, and Wigmore Hall to Sydney Opera House, Vienna Konzerthaus, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, La Seine Musicale in Paris, Tokyo Opera City, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. His solo albums of Handel and Bach have received critical acclaim, with Gramophone noting the “refined beauty and sheer skill” of his singing. Barnaby trained in Specialist Early Music Performance at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under Andreas Scholl and Ulrich Messthaler, and began his career as a treble in the Choir of Westminster Abbey.
A passionate educator, Barnaby has taught and led workshops at universities and academies worldwide. As a producer, engineer, and filmmaker, Barnaby holds Dolby Atmos accreditation and has overseen a wide range of immersive audio and broadcast projects including major albums, live recordings, and the LIVE From London digital festival, acclaimed as “a digital lifeline for the arts.” Barnaby also creates and directs VOCES8’s media output, which has been central to building the group’s global online presence, with millions of listeners and viewers around the world.
“Smith’s instrument is sweet, intense and bursting with colours… shapely phrases, like his blistering speed and crisp passage in ‘Venti turbini’ (Rinaldo), are indebted to muscle and musicianship alike” – BBC Music Magazine
“’The Messiah’ which went with a swing both fresh and joyous — VOCES8 as Artists in Residence more than put their stamp on the festival… led by Barnaby Smith, a musical general who spearheaded all the musical endeavours and thus ensured quality in a class of its own… Jubilation and standing ovations at the close.” – Kultur, Graz