Shawn Smith

Dr. Shawn Smith is Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Conducting at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  Smith holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in instrumental conducting from Arizona State University, and Master of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Louisiana State University and Boise State University respectively. Prior to his appointment at UNC Charlotte, Smith spent eight years as Director of Bands at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

In high demand as a band and orchestra conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, Smith has been invited to conduct professional and educational ensembles throughout the United States and conducts regularly in Brazil.  Smith has been invited to conduct professional ensembles including the State Symphonic Band of São Paulo Brazil, the Corpus Christi Symphony (Texas), and members of the Charlotte Symphony (North Carolina).  Equally at home with opera and musical theater productions, Smith has conducted pit orchestras for the Marriage of Figaro and a six-week run of Les Misérables.

Smith serves as guest conductor and visiting professor of conducting for the annual International Festival of Music of Pará, Brazil, and has conducted professional and community bands throughout Brazil, from the large cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to small towns and villages in Northern Brazil.

In the area of research, Smith has been published in the Journal of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles and in Alta Musica and he has presented his research at national and international conferences in the United States, Europe and South America. Smith has also presented numerous educational clinics, workshops and speeches, most notably at the International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois and at state music conferences throughout the United States.

As a public school teacher, Dr. Smith served as Director of Bands and Orchestra at one of the largest high schools in Idaho where he administered a comprehensive instrumental music program. While at Meridian High School, ensembles under his direction were distinguished as among the finest in the state.

An accomplished trumpeter, Smith has served as principal trumpet in the top ensembles at Louisiana State and Boise State. He has also performed with the Corpus Christi Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra (Idaho), the Acadiana Symphony (Louisiana), Keith Brion’s New Sousa Band, and with the Temptations.

During his tenure as Director of Bands at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Smith received the Texas A&M System Teaching Excellence Award twice. Smith holds honorary memberships in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Sigma Alpha Iota and Kappa Kappa Psi. He also holds memberships in the North Carolina Music Educators Association, the College Band Directors National Association, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.