In addition to his active conducting career, Steven C. Smith is an ASCAP award-winning composer. His works have been performed by numerous orchestras including the Cleveland Orchestra, which performed his La Chasse at the Blossom Festival under the direction of Jahja Ling and his One to One A Round for educational concerts at Severance Hall. The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra performed his Water in the 2001-02 season. His newest orchestral work, Tane Mahuta, commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra was premiered by that group in April, 2006. Recently named Ohio Composer of the Year by the Ohio Music Teachers Association, he received a commission from that organization for a String Quartet which was premiered in November, 2008. He has also received commissions from the Cleveland Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Eugene Youth Symphony and solo artists, and has had performances by the Chautauqua Symphony, Colorado Springs Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Eugene Youth Symphony and Colorado Springs Youth Symphony. In addition to orchestral music, Steven Smith has composed for numerous smaller ensembles and recently completed a chamber opera Lady Clare, and a work for bassoon quintet Enchanted Chamisa for the Bosque Bassoon Band of Albuquerque, NM, premiered in June, 2009.
In December, 1995, Steven Smith’s Shake, Rattle and Roar, an interactive work for young audience and orchestra, was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic; it had previously been given ten performances by the National Symphony on the Kennedy Center’s Educational Concerts. Featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and Performance Today, Shake, Rattle and Roar is designed to allow a large group of children to experience the excitement of participation in music through the building of several basic instruments and playing them with a symphony orchestra. Originally commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra, the piece has also been presented by the Indianapolis, Colorado Springs, Columbus and Grand Rapids Symphony orchestras.
Steven Smith has held the position of Music Director of the Santa Fe Symphony & Chorus since 1999, and is a frequent guest conductor throughout the world. He also serves as Music Director of the Grammy award-winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony, an ensemble devoted to the performance of contemporary music. From 2002-05, he served on the faculty of the Oberlin Conservatory, leading both orchestral and operatic performances.
From 1997 to 2003, Steven Smith served as the Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, conducting subscription concerts, summer concerts at the Blossom Music Festival and holiday programs. Particularly interested in the role of orchestras in arts education, he assisted in the planning and conducting of the Cleveland Orchestra's educational and family concerts and hosted the orchestra’s annual broadcast videoconference, which won an Emmy Award in 2001. For five seasons, he also served as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. During his tenure, they were invited by Carnegie Hall to perform in that institution’s famed Isaac Stern Auditorium, an appearance that took place in March, 2000.
A native of Toledo, Ohio, Steven Smith earned masters degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Mr. Smith is the recipient of the CIM Alumni Association 1999 Alumni Achievement Award.