Associate Professor of Conducting Shawn Smith, Director of Bands for the Department of Music, has been invited to conduct the Montana All-State Band at the 2017 Montana All-State Band, Chorus and Orchestra Festival, to be held in Bozeman, MT, October 18-20. The annual festival brings the finest high school musicians from around the state together for three days of rehearsal and a performance. Nationally-recognized conductors are chosen by the festival organizers to conduct the ensembles in a shared concert on the night of October 20. The concert is attended by music educators, parents, and the general public.
For the All-State Band performance, Dr. Smith has chosen a program of American and Brazilian music that will include a new piece by North Carolina composer Nathan Daughtrey, which was commissioned for the UNC Charlotte Wind Ensemble for performances this fall. The Montana band will also perform a piece in remembrance of David Maslanka, a well-known band composer who lived in Montana and died in August.
In high demand as a band and orchestra conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, Dr. Smith has been invited to conduct professional and educational ensembles throughout the United States and conducts regularly in South America, where he has been invited to conduct professional ensembles such as the Banda Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo (Brazil) and the Banda Sinfónica de la Província de Córdoba (Argentina).
Under Dr. Smith's direction, the UNC Charlotte Wind Ensemble will perform at the North Carolina Music Educators (NCMEA) Conference on November 13, the only university band invited to perform at the conference. Nathan Daughtrey's new composition, From the Ashes, will make its NC premiere on that program, followed by a performance at UNC Charlotte on the November 29 Wind Ensemble concert.