Biography

Christian Smith has been on faculty at the BYU School of Music since 1997. In addition to his responsibilities as the bassoon professor, he teaches instrumental conducting, directs the woodwind chamber music program, and regularly performs with Orpheus Winds, the resident faculty wind quintet. An active orchestral musician, Dr. Smith has played under such conductors as Robert Shaw, Raymond Leppard, John Williams, Joseph Silverstein, Maxim Shostakovich, Keith Lockhart, and others. Likewise, he has performed with the Utah Symphony, Utah Opera, Ballet West Orchestra, Toledo Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Flint (Michigan) Symphony, Michigan Chamber Players, Utah Chamber Artists, Colors of the Baroque, and the Canyon Winds woodwind quintet. Currently he is principal bassoonist with the Orchestra at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. As a studio musician, he has recorded under the Telarc, Biddulph, Prima, Shadow Mountain, and Mormon Tabernacle Choir record labels, as well as for numerous film and television scores. From 1993-1997 he served as Coordinator of Woodwind Studies at Ricks College (Rexburg, Idaho) where he founded the Ricks College Chamber Winds ensemble and frequently conducted the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. His most influential teachers/mentors have been Clyn Barrus (BYU), Glenn Williams (BYU), and Richard Beene (University of Michigan). He is married to Patricia Bonney Smith; they are the parents of seven children.

Education

D.M.A., Performance, University of Michigan, 2006
M.M., Performance/Pedagogy, Brigham Young University, 1993.
B.M., Performance, Brigham Young University, 1991.

Courses Taught

M101 (Introduction to Music)
M135 (Basic Conducting)
M235 (Instrumental Conducting)
M200 (Elements of Music)
M160 (Applied Bassoon)
M260 (Applied Bassoon)
M360 (Applied Bassoon)
M460 (Applied Bassoon)
M660 (Applied Bassoon)
M348 (Woodwind Chamber Music)
M648 (Woodwind Chamber Music)