Gabriel Smallwood

A native of South Carolina, Gabriel Smallwood has established himself as a distinctive voice among a new generation of historical keyboard players. A prizewinner at several prestigious international harpsichord competitions—including the MA Competition in Bruges (BE), the “Wanda Landowska in Memoriam” International Harpsichord Competition in Poznań (PL) and the International Harpsichord Competition in Milan (IT)—he has captivated listeners with „remarkable expressiveness“ (Total Baroque) and with „captivating interpretation that is […] musically vivid and distinctly personal“ (RONDO Magazine).

As a soloist and in ensemble, Gabriel has appeared at major festivals and venues including the MA Festival (BE), AMUZ (BE), Stockholm Early Music (SE), Roma Festival Barocco (IT), Wratislavia Cantans (PL), the National Centre for Early Music (UK). His debut solo album, Juvenilia: Music by and surrounding the young Bach (Outhere Music, 2026), received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. Further recordings include collaborations with the NDR Radiophilharmonie and Diana Damrau (Warner Classics) and with Le Sommeil (Pentatone). As a specialist in medieval keyboard music, he has performed with Pedro Memelsdorff and Mala Punica, the Newberry Consort, Trobár and La Figuièra.

Gabriel completed his studies in Basel, Hamburg and Leipzig with Francesco Corti, Andrea Marcon, Corina Marti and Menno van Delft. He currently teaches as assistant to Francesco Corti at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, the worldwide leading institution for the study and performance of early music, in Basel, Switzerland.