Ian Freebairn-Smith

Ian Freebairn-Smith (born 4 March 1932) is an American composer, arranger, conductor and group singer in film and TV. He spans from classical to popular music, jazz, choral music, and new music.

Ian Freebairn-Smith
Born	March 4, 1932[1] Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	musician singer, composer, arranger
Years active	1960-present
Known for	Charade (1963 film)[1]
Style	Classical, choral, popular and new music, jazz

Early life and education

Ian Freebairn-Smith was born in Seattle, Washington.[1] He began studying composition in high school. He then attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, the University of Pennsylvania, and UCLA. He later studied film scoring with Leith Stevens.[2]

Career

Freebairn-Smith began as a group singer with the California Dreamers, followed by choral arranging, orchestra arranging, and composed for motion pictures. In 1978, he won a Grammy Award for best arrangement accompanying a vocalist, for "Evergreen" sung by Barbra Streisand. He arranged and conducted for The Hi-Lo's, The Four Freshmen, Liza Minnelli, Frederica von Stade, Andy Williams, Anthony Newly, Stephen Bishop, Harry Nilsson, Phil Ochs, Paul Williams, Jeff Beck, and others.[2]

As late as April 2018, Freebairn-Smith has given a master class at LA Valley College.[3]

Personal life

As of 2018, he was married to Shari Zippert with one daughter, Vanessa, who are both musicians in Los Angeles. He has three daughters from his first marriage, two of whom, Alison and Jennifer, are singer/songwriters.[2]

References

1. Ian Freebairn-Smith IMDb.com, Inc., accessed 8 June 2018
2. American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers Ian Freebairn-Smith, Board of Directors ASMAC.org, accessed 8 June 2018
3. Charles Fernandez Ian Freebairn-Smith Master Class – It’s a Wrap! 2 May 2018, Blog, Master Class Highlights, ASMAC.org