Mark Smythe obit

Mark Smythe, Los Angeles-Based Composer, Dies at 53

The New Zealand-born musician also served as an executive and educator.

 He was not on the list.

Composer Mark Smythe, who was nominated in 2023 for a Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) Award and World Soundtrack Award for scoring The Reef: Stalked, died May 9 after collapsing while hiking on Mt. Wilson in Los Angeles. He was 53.

Smythe was a beloved member of the film and TV composing community and in addition to his work as a musician, he served as the Society of Composers and Lyricists’ chief operating officer from 2018-2021, after a stint as Los Angeles administrator.

“To say that his loss comes as a profound shock to our community, especially to his students, collaborators, and friends, is an understatement,” said SCL president Ashley Irwin.

Smythe was born in New Zealand, then moved to Australia before coming to Los Angeles in 2013. In addition to the SCL and World Soundtrack nominations, he received three Hollywood Music in Media Award nominations for scoring films Unfallen, Flying South and The Things She Did. His score for Daddy’s Little Girl earned him the Australian Screen Industry Network award for best composer in 2012.

“Beyond his professional accomplishments, people genuinely enjoyed Mark’s company, as evidenced by the current outpouring of love for him on social media,” said SCL president Ashley Irwin. “He had a wry sense of humor and an infectious laugh that could light up a room. Exceptionally generous with his time and energy, he had a way of making everyone feel welcome, whether they were longtime SCL members or attending their initial event. For many, Mark was the first friend they made at the SCL. Those who knew Mark will never forget being greeted with his favorite line: ‘I’m all the better for seeing your smiling face.’”

Australian music rights management organization APRA AMCOS also paid tribute to Smythe on its Instagram page. Smythe “became an APRA member in 2004 and was also a beloved colleague to many in our Melbourne office, where he worked as client and legal liaison for four years in the early 2000s before heading to Los Angeles to pursue film and concert composing full-time,” posted the organization.”

APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston added, “Mark’s passing is a great loss to the screen composing world and to the musical communities he was such a meaningful part of. He is remembered very fondly by his former APRA AMCOS colleagues for the positive spirit he brought to work every day – both at the office and in his music.

In addition to composing, at the time of his death, Smythe was teaching media composition at California State University, Northridge, as well as Department Head of Composing for Visual Media at the Los Angeles College of Music.

“Many composers in our community had the privilege of learning from Mark, and remember him not only as a great teacher, but as someone who believed in them personally,” Irwin said.

Smythe was also composing choral works and had collaborated with the LA Choral Lab on several projects.

Among the survivors are Smythe’s sister, Kate Ward-Smythe.

Composer

The Darkside Downunder

Composer

Post-productionTV Series

 

Ontogenesis: First Ascent

composer

FilmingVideo Game

 

Fatally Yours

composer

Post-production

 

Dark Moon

composer

Pre-production

 

The Reef: Stalked (2022)

The Reef: Stalked

4.2

Composer

2022

 

The Possessed (2021)

The Possessed

4.4

music bymusic composed and produced by

2021

 

Love You Like That (2021)

Love You Like That

5.1

Composer

2021

 

Boar (2017)

Boar

5.1

Composer

2017

 

Michael Madsen, James Hong, Rebekah Kochan, and James Nasimi in Unfallen (2017)

Unfallen

5.2

Composer

2017

 

Flying South (2015)

Flying South

Short

Composer

2015

 

Tara Reid, Nathan Jones, Dean Kirkright, Allira Jaques, and Sam Coward in Charlie's Farm (2014)

Charlie's Farm

4.6

Composer (as Mark Cyprian Smythe)

2014

 

Starring Esther (2014)

Starring Esther

Short

Composer

2014

 

A Hundred Eighty Degrees (2014)

A Hundred Eighty Degrees

Short

Composer

2014

 

Living Life Forwards: Culture and Sustainable Development in the South Pacific

Composer

2014

 

Daddy's Little Girl (2014)

Daddy's Little Girl

5.8

Composer

2014

 

The Things She Did (2013)

The Things She Did

Short

Composer

2013

 

These Empty Streets (2011)

These Empty Streets

9.6

Short

Composer

2011

 

Frank & Jerry (2011)

Frank & Jerry

9.1

intro music

2011

 

Locked In

Short

Composer

2010

 

There Once Was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho (2010)

There Once Was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho

7.6

Composer

2010

 

Not So Straight

Composer

2010

 

This Is How You'll Make Your Bed in Prison

Short

Composer

2010

 

Nero's (2009)

Nero's

Short

Composer

2009

 

Grind Girls

Video

Composer

2007

 

Terminal Bliss (2006)

Terminal Bliss

7.6

Composer

2006

 

Music Department

Sean Diediker in Canvasing the World with Sean Diediker (2020)

Canvasing the World with Sean Diediker

8.7

TV Series

main title theme

2020

13 episodes

 

Boar (2017)

Boar

5.1

score producer

2017

 

Flying South (2015)

Flying South

Short

orchestrator

2015

 

Daddy's Little Girl (2014)

Daddy's Little Girl

5.8

music supervisor

2014

 

Actor

Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story (2001)

Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story

6.2

TV Movie

Bar Patron

2001

 

Lucy Lawless in Xena: Warrior Princess (1995)

Xena: Warrior Princess

6.8

TV Series

Centaur (uncredited)

1998

1 episode

 

Soundtrack

Daddy's Little Girl (2014)

Daddy's Little Girl

5.8

writer: "UMBRA ANIMAE"

2014

 

Self

Michael Boddicker, Kenny G, Péter Gerendás, Georgiana Tarjan, Chris Tedesco, Barnabás Wodala, Michael O'Neill, Erik Kovacs, Andras Mach, Peter Sutto, Laszlo Pete, Sophie Cairo, Gabor Molnar, Tamas Meszaros, Eva Bognar, Gabor Feher, Dániel Gerendás, Jamie Lee Wilson, Nathalie Bonin, Tamás Pál, Gergely Parádi, Imre Czomba, Erika Miklósa, Imre Szentmártoni, Sara Andon, Arthur Valentin Grósz, Mark Smythe, Adonis Tsilimparis, Philippe Falliex, Akira Komatsu, Bence Gazda, Tamás Keller, Stefano Sacchi, Laszlo Mezo, Tina Wang, Ferenc Csiszar, Matias Piegari, Ed Calle, Igor Kogan, Alphonso Johnson, Gergely Kolta, Omar El-Deeb, Tamara Miller, Fanni Sarkozy, Vavra Bence, Miklos Nemeth, Andrew Kesler, and Erika Kadi in Quarantine Music Chain (2020)

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Video

Self

2020