Gareth Dylan Smith is an English drummer and writer, based in Boston, MA and East Stroudsburg, PA, USA. He drums with Welsh alt rock artist Stephen Wheel, in electro-fusion outfit Build a Fort with Zack Moir, with eco-conscious songwriter Dan Sheehan, as half of drum duo MUD Drums, in new wave band Black Light Bastards and with Blondie covers band Dirty Blond. He delights in making music in nature, especially among streams and trees. Gareth recently completed an eclectic album of duets – Permission Granted – comprising conversations with diverse musicians and spoken-word artists. Gareth’s publications include A Philosophy of Playing Drum Kit: Magical Nexus (Cambridge), Sound Advice for Drummers (F Flat) and I Drum, Therefore I Am: Being and Becoming a Drummer (Routledge). Gareth works as Assistant Professor of Music at Boston University where he supervises doctoral dissertations and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in psychology, sociology and scholarly writing.

Keynote Lecture

DIY Drumming Installations in Democratized University Timespace: Spirituality, Creativity and Correspondence

Publications

Davis, V.W., & Smith, G.D. (proposal in process). Authentic drum kit pedagogy for music teachers. Oxford University Press.

Smith, G.D. (in press). Magical Nexus: A Philosophy of Playing Drum Kit. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cremata, R., Pignato, J., Powell, B. & Smith, G.D. (2018). The Music Learning Profiles Project. New York, NY: Routledge.

Smith, G.D. & Silverman, M. (eds.) (2020). Eudaimonia: Perspectives for Music Learning. New York, NY: Routledge.