"His work is informed by a deep personal commitment
and understanding of art and contemporary culture."
- Matthew Nicholl, Berklee
"Oleg is an excellent collaborator and a true wizard
when it comes to scoring to picture"
- Natalia Stoltidis, film director
Oleg Smirnov is a composer, arranger, and music producer, a voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammy Awards) and the Society for Composers and Lyricists. Oleg is currently an assistant chair of the Screen Scoring department at Berklee College of Music.
A multi-instrumentalist and descendant of the Eastern European music tradition, Oleg is a versatile composer and music producer whose work combines stylistic diversity with deep insight, sensitivity, and attention to detail. His music is featured in film, TV, radio, and theater productions, showcased at 16 national and international music festivals, and reviewed in major music media (e.g. Billboard). Oleg's work ranges widely across various media and genres - from pilot-scoring animation series for Disney to advertisement campaigns for major brands.
The 2020 EP AMRITA, a collaboration with Indian traditional kirtan singer Kamini Natarajan was running for the 63rd Grammy Awards in the Best New Age Album category alongside Trent Reznor and Brian Eno. In 2021 Oleg was commissioned to compose a full-length soundtrack album for a live theater production FISH DON'T MELT. The same year Oleg produced a contemporary jazz fusion album KINDNESS featuring an array of smooth jazz legends such as Dave Koz, Michael Lington, and Sergey Chipenko alongside 23 other international musicians. Both works were submitted for Grammy Awards® in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album and Best Arranging Instruments and Vocals categories. 2012 saw the release of a multimedia project SON CHERISHED MOST embracing music, visual arts, philosophy, and documentary film. In 2011 his arranging of John Zorn's piece Meholalot was welcomed by the New York avant-garde guru himself. Oleg Smirnov was also featured on the British synth-pop icon Mark Almond's album ORPHEUS IN EXILE (2009), composed and produced several albums for an instrumental collective EXIT project, which were released on the Eastern European major record labels CD Land and Soyuz Records with the overall circulation of the CDs exceeding one million copies. Oleg's latest work is a chamber piece PLACH recorded by LA Philharmonic and Riverside Philarmonic strings in Los Angeles's iconic The Village Studios.
Oleg's work received a few notable industry awards, including the Hollywood Music in Media Award (2021) for the single Africa from the album Kindness (as a music producer), as well as the Outstanding Musicianship Award (2016) from Berklee's Professional Writing and Music Technology Division.
In addition to the degree with honors from Boston's Berklee College of Music Oleg Smirnov's background highlights a Master of Arts in Psychology and Education.
Oleg Smirnov's teaching engagements include a faculty position at Los Angeles College of Music and assistant chair of Screen Scoring at Berklee College of Music. Oleg has been a member of a few remarkable professional organizations, including The Recording Academy (Grammy Awards), the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Academy of Scoring Arts (Los Angeles), as well as a music production expert and judge for the Coliseum Music Convention (Eastern Europe).
Please view the selected portfolio here
SELECTED INTERVIEWS:
Interview for Vents Magazine (English)
Interview for Radio Mediametrics (Russian)
Interview for Jazz Convention Magazine (Italian)
AWARDS:
HOLLYWOOD MUSIC IN MEDIA AWARD 2021
Official nomination in the Jazz category for the single "Africa" from the album "Kindness" (music producer)
BERKLEE Outstanding Musicianship Award 2016
in Music Preparation
by Berklee Professional Writing Division
FILM / THEATER
"FISH DON'T MELT"
The New Theater
Jef Aertz, playwright
"GOD RIDES A BICYCLE"
The New Theater
Victoria Shalamova, director
"ANCESTORS' DAY"
Drama, Thriller
Natalia Stoltidis, director
"SON CHERISHED MOST"
NOOM Films
Zhenya Lutsenko, director
TELEVISION / ADVERTISEMENT:
"THE CHICKEN SQUAD"
Disney Junior, pilot scoring
"HONOR YOUR DAYS"
Advertisement campaign by Reebok
"A TICKET TO THE BOLSHOY"
TV Kultura network
"NATIONAL PARKS OF SIBERIA"
Documentary series by Greenpeace
"EARTH HOUR"
Advertisement campaign by WWF
"GREEN FINGER"
Advertisement campaign by WWF
DISCOGRAPHY:
2023
- "PLACH" acoustic chamber work feat. LA Philarmonic and Riverside Philharmonic strings
2021
- "KINDNESS" for Sergey Chipenko and various artists
2021
- "FISH DON'T MELT" original theater soundtrack
2020
- “AMRITA” by Oleg Smirnov & Kamini Natarajan, EP
2015
- “COLOR SPLASHES” by EXIT project, (CD, Vykhod Records)
2012
- “SON CHERISHED MOST” by Oleg Smirnov & Kirill Parenchuk,
(CD, Tunguska EMS, 3plet publishing)
2011
- “LIVE AT GOLDEN MASK” by EXIT project feat. Sergey Letov (CD, Soyuz Records)
2011
- “LIVESPLASHES” by EXIT project (CD, Soyuz Records, 3plet Publishing)
2009
- “ORPHEUS IN EXILE” by Mark Almond (CD, Strike Force Entertainment UK)
2008
- “LIVE AT O2 TV" by EXIT project (DVD, O2TV Publishing)
2008
- "ZHIVU LIVE" by Personal EXIT (CD, Sonic Space Records)
2007
- “A MYSTERY JOURNEY...” by EXIT project (CD, Digital, Free! Music Publishing)
PRESS CLIPPINGS:
"Oleg writes in a wide variety of styles authentically and with deep understanding. His writing and production are first-rate. His background, coupled with his deep study of a wide variety of music from around the world, makes him uniquely poised to deliver a highly personal yet universal artistic statement. "
- Matthew Nicholl, Berklee
“This artistic band sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before. Sephardic grooves and jazz-based compositions mix the energy of a rock show with the subtlety of a performance recital...”
– Alex Brown, SplintersAndCandy.com
“EXIT project delivers cosmic musical harmony with an eclectic approach. Where else can you hear a funked-out dub version of John Zorn’s “Meholalot” complete with heavy bass and screeching violins?”
– WVKR FM Poughkeepsie, NY Radio Review
“The genre-bending styles and musical exploits of the EXIT project traverse the world of nu-jazz, electronica, downtempo, fusion, and experimental realms. Tangerine Dream-like percussion displays and ambient washes combine with evocative club-beats and groovy melodies to provide an extremely engaging result; ...morsel-filled with scrumptious delights of ear candy for the heart, soul, and everything in-between.”
– Matthew Forss, World Music News Network
“The globally inflicted music, dubbed “art-fusion,” belongs to the underground scene happening in the Eastern Europe. Their extended live pieces take you on a journey, twisting and turning with violin, saxophones, flute, didgeridoo, guitar, keyboards, bass, drums and tabla, displaying a wide range of musical influences...”
– Review, WVKR FM, NY Radio
“...The art scene pops up and draws on all the international down tempo touchstones as well as an Art of Noise meets AEC vibe. Suppose Ibiza was closer to Siberia. This crew is an amalgam of hot players from other crews and the super jam yields a soundtrack for art chicks everywhere...”
– Midwest Records
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