English composer, conductor and guitarist Reginald Smith Brindle, was born on January 5, 1917 in Bamber Bridge, England. He studied architecture at the University of Wales, and taught himself to play the clarinet, organ, saxophone, double bass and jazz guitar. After his tour of duty with the army, Brindle began studying the classical guitar under the influence of Segovia and Llobet, composition at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, and dodecaphonic composition with the famous composer Luigi Dallapiccola. Brindle has written over 60 works for guitar, composed numerous scores for films and documentaries, has conducted, and was a music critic.
Smith Brindle's compositions for guitar mark an important contribution to the instrument's 20th-century repertoire. In addition, a wide variety of choral, vocal and instrumental works show the diversity of contemporary styles he has explored. Though technically eclectic, his music shows a strongly personal voice in its emphasis on melody and direct appeal to the emotions - a legacy, perhaps, of his early training in Italy with Pizzetti and Dallapiccola.