Madeline Smith
composer
Madeline Smith is a composer and violist from Kettering, Ohio. She began her musical career in her local middle school orchestra, where her passion for the viola was ignited. By thirteen, she booked solo gigs for herself. She developed an interest in music composition after writing incidental music for her high school’s radio drama. She was accepted into both the Dayton Philharmonic Youth Strings and Youth Orchestra, where she thrived. Her experience in these ensembles, as well as her private studies with Sheridan Currie (principal violist of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra), gave her the confidence to audition at the collegiate level.
Madeline’s formal composition studies began at Butler University. There, she explored new techniques and genres, dipping her toes in the world of the avant-garde. Her professors inspired her and encouraged her to push out of her comfort zone. She studied with Dr. Michael Schelle, Dr. Frank Felice, and Richard Auldon Clark, who quickly became fierce advocates for her and her work.
Health problems brought her back to her hometown in 2017. After a year on medical leave, she returned to school to earn her Associate’s in Music at Sinclair Community College. She transferred to the University of Dayton Department of Music at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. There, she put on the university’s first senior composition recital in nearly a decade, creating a multimedia experience with music, film, dance, electronics, and spoken word. Under the tutelage of Dr. Toby Rush, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition in the spring of 2022.
Right after graduation, the University of Dayton’s marketing department commissioned Madeline to create original music for their historic new marketing campaign, We Soar. Her music is featured in the video that formally launched the campaign, which can be found on the university’s YouTube channel. Since then, she has been working as a freelance composer, arranger and music engraver while balancing day jobs in office work and retail operations.
Madeline is a member of ASCAP and a frequent submitter to the Composers of Ohio Collaborative Organization for Acoustic Music (COCOA). This local nonprofit puts on bi-yearly new music concerts and supports local composers by giving them a collaborative, non-competitive environment to share their works. She began performing in the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra in the summer of 2023, and now she is a formal member of the group. She is also a performing member of the Dayton Music Club and a part-time gigging musician with Viva La Strings.
Madeline loves to read, take walks, knit, and create visual art. She hopes to create a career where she can connect with others and explore her internal world through a variety of mediums. She would also like to cause a bit of trouble (just a little).