Oleg Smirnov
Faculty
Songwriting & General Music
Oleg Smirnov is a Los Angeles-based composer, arranger, and music producer, a voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammy Awards) and the Society for Composers and Lyricists.A multi-instrumentalist and descendant of the 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). From scoring animation pilots for Disney to advertisement campaigns for Reebok, Oleg’s work ranges widely across various media and genres.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 composed a full-length soundtrack album for an over-seas theater production FISH DON’T MELT commissioned by The New Theater. 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 (2023) 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 is an experienced and sought-after educator in various fields of music and has mentored hundreds of students across the world.
EDUCATION:
Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Writing and Production | Berklee College of Music
Masters of Arts in Psychology | Russian State University for Humanities
OTHER ACCOLADES:
Hollywood Music in Media Award 2021Official NominationBerklee Outstanding Musicianship Award 2016by Berklee Professional Writing Division
