Rachel Denise Smith

Violin Teacher

Rachel Denise Smith

Contact

Fort Worth, TX
[javascript protected email address]
www.racheldsmith.com

Dallas – based violinist Rachel D. Smith has performed across the U.S. and internationally in diverse venues ranging from hospitals within the Texas Medical Center to the famed Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany. She currently performs with the Los Colinas, Garland, and Arlington Symphony Orchestras, and has performed as an orchestral and chamber musician in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and China. She was a finalist in the Texas Tech University School of Music Concerto Competition in 2008, and has participated in several music festivals both abroad and in the U.S., including the Charles Castleman Quartet Program, the National Orchestral Institute, the International Music Academy Plzn (now Cambridge International String Academy), the Great Wall International Music Academy, and the Texas Music Festival, where she served as principal second under conductor Rossen Milanov. Additionally, she has performed on master classes with Yair Kless, Sally O’Reilly, Charles Castleman, Elisabeth Adkins, and Emmanuelle Boisvert, among others.

Committed to engaging with her community, Ms. Smith often performs for churches, and, in 2012, organized a chamber performance at the Ronald McDonald House in the Texas Medical Center. She continued to perform as a volunteer throughout the Texas Medical Center until her move to Dallas.

Ms. Smith is a 2011 Recipient of a Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship and also received multiple merit scholarships as both a graduate and undergraduate. She holds membership in the honor societies of Phi Kappa Phi, the Golden Key International Honor Society, and Pi Kappa Lambda. In addition to her instrumental work at the Moores School, Ms. Smith served as a Graduate Assistant in the Music Literature Department. She was first introduced to writing program notes as a member of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra, where she was offered the opportunity to produce a set of notes on Elgar’s Enigma Variations under the direction of Dallas Symphony Orchestra program note writer, Laurie Shulman. Ms. Smith has subsequently written notes for a faculty recital of Dr. Kirsten Yon at Texas Tech University, as well as a chamber performance for the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra (Houston, TX).

Her interest in teaching, and specifically in Suzuki training, was sparked by her undergraduate participation in the Texas Tech University String Project, which is a Suzuki-curriculum-based string education program for elementary-age students. Prior to moving to Dallas, Ms. Smith maintained a private studio of over twenty students in Houston, TX, and taught at the British International School of Houston.

Ms. Smith holds a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, where she studied with Dr. Kirsten Yon. She also graduated summa cum laude from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Music in Performance. Additionally, she has studied with Jan Mark Sloman (Dallas Symphony Orchestra) and Elisabeth Adkins (National Symphony, Texas Christian University), and has worked with Charles Castleman (Eastman School of Music).