Message from Mark's family in New Zealand:
Vale to Mark Smythe, who died suddenly in May 2026 while hiking near his home in Los Angeles, USA.
Nelson-born, and based in Melbourne, Australia for 14 years, then in LA for 13 years, Mark was an award-winning composer, conductor and college professor who was much loved and will be greatly missed by many.
His spirit lives on through his uniquely beautiful music...
BIO
Mark is a New Zealand-born composer of film and concert music, based in LA. His dichotomously beautiful and brutal score for The Reef: Stalked was nominated in the 2023 World Soundtrack Awards and SCL Awards. In the last 2 years, Mark has composed and performed 14 chamber works for 9 concert collaborations: LA Choral Lab (2), Choral Arts Initiative (1) and The Night Temple (6), and performed a selection of his choir & electric guitar works with Belgium's Lassenne Vocale.
