Smallwood, Gabriel
Gabe Smallwood
A native of South Carolina, American-born harpsichordist and organist Gabriel Smallwood (*1997) began his musical studies at age three on the piano. He made his concerto debut in 2012 with the Florence Symphony Orchestra (SC). In 2016, Gabriel moved to Germany to pursue his musical studies in Leipzig, followed by studies in Hamburg. Currently he is based in Basel, Switzerland.
Gabriel has fostered a deep passion for historical keyboard instruments ever since his first encounter with the harpsichord at age 12. During his teenage years, his fascination with early music led him to pursue various research projects and performances on the harpsichord while being self-taught, including performances with the South Carolina Bach Society as a soloist and continuo player. In 2019, Gabriel began his formal training as a harpsichordist near the end of his Bachelor studies and has since wholeheartedly devoted himself to the study of early music and early keyboard instruments.
Gabriel has been a prize winner at multiple international harpsichord competitions, including the International Harpsichord Competition “Wanda Landowska in Memoriam” in Poznań, Poland (1st Prize) and the Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges, Belgium (3rd Prize and Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini Prize for the best interpretation of early Italian music). His affinity for historical keyboard instruments has led to performances in significant collections in Greenville (SC), Hamburg (DE), and Bologna (IT). Gabriel appears regularly as a soloist and is also highly sought after as a continuo player, having performed with various early music ensembles throughout Europe. Additionally, he has recorded with the NDR Philharmonie and Diana Damrau for Warner Classics.
As a composer, Gabriel has been a prize winner at multiple national competitions within the United States. His compositions have been performed by members of the nation’s most esteemed orchestras, including a performance by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in Carnegie Hall in 2012 as part of the Carmina Burana Choral Project.
Gabriel studied harpsichord with Tobias Schade, Mitzi Meyerson and Menno van Delft, organ with Wolfgang Zerer, and piano with Alexander Meinel. He received further instruction in masterclasses with Christophe Rousset, Pierre Hantai, Frédérick Haas, Skip Sempe, Carole Cerasi, Ketil Haugsand and Catalina Vicens. Gabriel currently studies harpsichord with Francesco Corti and basso continuo with Jörg Andreas Bötticher at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland. Additionally, he studies medieval and Renaissance keyboard music in the class of Corina Marti.