Biography

Biography (600 Words)

Award-winning conductor Jordan Randall Smith believes in music's transcendent power to bring people together, to challenge, and to uplift the human spirit.

Jordan's leadership of Mahler's Fourth Symphony was praised by the Baltimore Sun's Tim Smith: "The third movement, in particular, was quite sensitively molded." Jordan was the recipient of a prestigious Bruno Walter Fellowship at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. He currently serves on the faculty of Messiah University and as Music Director of the award-winning Symphony Number One.

Jordan believes in the power of community, volunteerism, and gift through music. He has served as Assistant Conductor of the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Hopkins Concert Orchestra, where he developed and led new musical initiatives and partnerships across Baltimore. He also has an established history as a successful church music director and professional chorister and singer. He was named a Baltimore Social Innovation Fellow for his community work with Symphony Number One.

Smith has mentored hundreds of young musicians in ensembles across the country including the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra, Cross Timbers Youth Orchestra, and the Frederick Regional Youth Orchestra, with invitations to conduct All-Region and All-County Orchestras across the US. He is also a frequent invited speaker and clinician to other conductors and music educators at national and regional conferences.

An ardent supporter of diversity in concert programming, Smith co-founded the International Florence Price Festival where he served as a Creative Director for four years. He also serves on the Executive Council for the Institute for Composer Diversity at SUNY-Fredonia. Jordan received grants from Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy on three occasions with three different orchestras for his commitment to programming the music of women composers.

As an active promoter and performer of new music, Jordan has a discography spanning four critically-acclaimed commercial releases. “Conductor Jordan Randall Smith whips up a fine head of urgency, as the music veers from gesture to near-primal cry,” said Colin Clarke about Symphony Number One's More from 2016. Jordan's history of commissions spans over 50 world premieres.

He previously served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Orchestras at Susquehanna University and was the Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, Gr. Assistant Conductor at Peabody Opera Theater. Jordan is also a student of early music, having formerly served as Apprentice Conductor of and Tenor with the Dallas Bach Society Orchestra and Chorus.

Jordan was invited to give a TED Talk at TEDxMidatlantic 2017 and regularly speaks with groups across the country. Recent presentations have included talks and panels at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME - Eastern Division), The College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA), the International Conductors Guild, and numerous state and local events as well as universities and public schools. Jordan has also written as a contributor for Baltimore Magazine and contributed peer-reviewed scholarship to prominent music journals.

Jordan is a trained percussionist, placing third in the 2003 Percussive Arts Society's Keyboard Percussion Competition. Smith remains active in the percussion community and in the commissioning of new works for marimba. Smith pursues a Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting at the Peabody Conservatory - Johns Hopkins University, where he is a student of Marin Alsop and the inaugural recipient of a unique scholarship.

Biography (300 Words)

Award-winning conductor Jordan Randall Smith is the Music Director of Symphony Number One (2019 Winner of the American Prize) and former Director of Orchestras at Susquehanna University. Smith was previously the Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, Gr. Assistant Conductor at Peabody Opera Theater, and Conductor of the Hopkins Concert Orchestra.

Smith was lauded for being "an attentive partner" by the Baltimore Sun. His leadership of Mahler's fourth symphony was praised by the Sun's Tim Smith: "The third movement, in particular, was quite sensitively molded."

In 2016, Jordan was named a Baltimore Social Innovation Fellow for his work with Symphony Number One. He was the recipient of a Bruno Walter Fellowship at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and received 2nd Place in the 2019 American Prize in Conducting. An active supporter of new music, Jordan has a discography spanning four commercial releases and a history of over 50 world premieres.

Jordan is a Co-Founder and former Creative Director of the International Florence Price Festival and was named to the Executive Council for the Institute for Composer Diversity at SUNY-Fredonia in 2020. He will serve a visiting faculty appointment at Messiah University in 2024.

Smith has mentored hundreds of young musicians in youth orchestras, all-region/all-county orchestras, and public school ensembles across the country. He is in demand as a clinician and presenter, including at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, ASTA, NAfME, CODA, the International Conductors Guild, and the Music Educators Associations in numerous states. His recent scholarship has focused on orchestral rehearsal technique, recently published in the Journal of the College Orchestra Directors Association. Jordan was invited to give a TED Talk at TEDxMidatlantic 2017 and has been a contributor to Baltimore Magazine.

A Doctor of Musical Arts student in Conducting at the Peabody Conservatory, Smith is a student of Marin Alsop.

Biography (150 Words)

Jordan Randall Smith has led groundbreaking performances as Music Director of Symphony Number One (the 2019 American Prize Winner), and is the former Director of Orchestras at Susquehanna University, and a co-founder and Creative Director of the International Florence Price Festival. Jordan's leadership of Mahler's fourth symphony was praised by the Baltimore Sun: "The third movement, in particular, was quite sensitively molded."

A former Bruno Walter Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Smith recently received 2nd Place in the American Prize in Conducting. He has recorded four critically-acclaimed albums and led over 50 world premieres.

Jordan is a student of Marin Alsop. He has mentored hundreds of young musicians across the country as a conductor of youth orchestras and public school ensembles. Jordan gave a TED Talk at TEDxMidatlantic 2017 and was a contributor to Baltimore Magazine. Jordan lives with his wife Erin and their two cats, Cookie and Cala. Cala is 20 years old!

Biography (50 Words)

Award-winning conductor Jordan Randall Smith is Music Director of Symphony Number One (2019 Winner of the American Prize) and the former Director of Orchestras at Susquehanna University and Conductor of the Hopkins Concert Orchestra, and a co-founder at Price Fest. Jordan has led 50 world premieres, recorded four albums, spoken at TEDxMidatlantic, and has contributed to Baltimore Magazine.