Contact
- Phone: 405-574-1288
- Email: jsmith@usao.edu
- Location: Davis Hall 234
Education
| Degree | Major Emphasis | Institution | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| MM | Conducting | Messiah University | 2020 |
| BA | Music | University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma | 1983 |
Biography
Joshua Stephen Smith is a conductor, pianist, creative collaborator, and coffee enthusiast based in Southwest Oklahoma. He brews coffee by manual pour-over, which serves as a metaphor for life: a daily ritual to remember there is no machine, just you and the simple tools in front of you. His passion for coffee comes second to his passion for music making with others. Joshua enjoys a multi-faceted and vibrant career as music director, collaborator, teacher, and conductor to ensembles such as elementary choirs, church musicians, and orchestras for musical theater and ballet. He has received critical acclaim for his “excellent and sensitive” conducting of Tchaikovsky’s beloved score, The Nutcracker, for Michael Bolger’s NUTCRACKER, a contemporary adaptation of the ballet, produced by The Complex Contemporary Ballet Company (Putnam, CT).Joshua directs the choral ensembles at USAO and teaches courses in music education, music history, aural skills, and conducting. He also currently is completing doctoral studies in conducting at The University of Oklahoma. He builds on the rich mentorship he found at Messiah University with Yoon Soo Lim and Rachel Cornacchio. When not making music, Joshua is reading about covenant epistemology, drinking coffee, and enjoying a round of board/card games with family and friends.
Research, Presentations & Publications
Publications:Symphony of Retrospect: A History of the Lawton Philharmonic, 2011Presentations:7 Tips on Choral Intonation (That I Wish I Knew in Year One), ACDA-PA Summer Conference, 2023Moravian Singing: Vocal Music for All, Choral Conductors Symposium, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2023Professional Affiliations:American Choral Directors AssociationOklahoma Choral Directors AssociationNational Association for Music EducatorsOklahoma Music Educators AssociationNational Association of Schools of Music