Canadian violinist Gillian Smith is an enthusiastic advocate for new music and is excited to collaborate with composers of today whenever possible. She released her debut solo album, Into the Stone, which features works for solo violin by Kati Agócs, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Veronika Krausas, Chantale Laplante, and Ana Sokolović, on the Leaf Music label in 2019. This album was nominated for the 2020 Classical Recording of the Year by the East Coast Music Association (ECMA). David Olds of The WholeNote magazine called Into the Stone “a stunning debut album by a rising star”, and La Scena Musicale wrote, “Gillian Smith demonstrates a great skill and mastery…magnificently appropriates Canadian repertoire”. Gillian can also be heard on a recording of the chamber music of Carmen Braden, Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars. The American Record Guide wrote of Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars, “exquisitely and beautifully performed, this is a gem”. Songs of the Invisible Summer Stars was nominated for an ECMA for Classical Recording of the Year in 2020. Gillian will release an album on the Leaf Music label, titled En Route, which features five new works for solo violin commissioned from Canadian composers Amy Brandon, Carmen Braden, Derek Charke, Corie Rose Soumah, and Hsiu-Ping Patrick Wu, on November 3, 2023. Gillian is grateful for the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for this project.