Mark Smythe, Los Angeles Composer and Educator, Dies at 53 After Mt. Wilson Hike

Mark Smythe, the New Zealand-born composer whose work on The Reef: Stalked brought him Society of Composers and Lyricists and World Soundtrack Award nominations in 2023, died on May 9 after collapsing while hiking on Mt. Wilson in Los Angeles. He was 53.

Smythe had become a familiar figure in the film and television composing world, but his career extended well beyond writing for screen. He also held leadership and administrative roles within the Society of Composers and Lyricists, where he served as chief operating officer from 2018 to 2021 after previously working as the organization’s Los Angeles administrator.

“To say that his loss comes as a profound shock to our community, especially to his students, collaborators, and friends, is an understatement,” SCL president Ashley Irwin said.

Born in New Zealand, Smythe later moved to Australia before relocating to Los Angeles in 2013. His credits included three Hollywood Music in Media Award nominations for the scores to Unfallen, Flying South and The Things She Did. Earlier, his score for Daddy’s Little Girl won him the Australian Screen Industry Network award for best composer in 2012.

Irwin also pointed to the personal imprint Smythe left on the community. “Beyond his professional accomplishments, people genuinely enjoyed Mark’s company, as evidenced by the current outpouring of love for him on social media,” he said. “He had a wry sense of humor and an infectious laugh that could light up a room. Exceptionally generous with his time and energy, he had a way of making everyone feel welcome, whether they were longtime SCL members or attending their initial event. For many, Mark was the first friend they made at the SCL. Those who knew Mark will never forget being greeted with his favorite line: ‘I’m all the better for seeing your smiling face.’”

Tributes also came from APRA AMCOS, the Australian music rights management organization, which posted on its Instagram page that Smythe “became an APRA member in 2004 and was also a beloved colleague to many in our Melbourne office, where he worked as client and legal liaison for four years in the early 2000s before heading to Los Angeles to pursue film and concert composing full-time.”

APRA AMCOS CEO Dean Ormston added, “Mark’s passing is a great loss to the screen composing world and to the musical communities he was such a meaningful part of. He is remembered very fondly by his former APRA AMCOS colleagues for the positive spirit he brought to work every day both at the office and in his music.”

At the time of his death, Smythe was teaching media composition at California State University, Northridge, and serving as Department Head of Composing for Visual Media at the Los Angeles College of Music. “Many composers in our community had the privilege of learning from Mark, and remember him not only as a great teacher, but as someone who believed in them personally,” Irwin said.

He was also writing choral music and had worked with the LA Choral Lab on several projects. Among the survivors is his sister, Kate Ward-Smythe.