Dr. Cahill Smith
Dr. Cahill Smith, assistant professor of music at Lee, will present a preview of his upcoming Carnegie Hall piano recital for the School of Music faculty recital on Friday, Feb. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in Squires Recital Hall.
Dr. Smith’s upcoming performance, which will mark his third appearance at Carnegie, will take place in March. The program is titled “Forgotten Melodies” and is presented by the Eastman School of Music in a series called “Eastman in New York.” Dr. Smith’s program includes pieces by well-known as well as rare composers, including Scarlatti, Mozart, and Liszt alongside Sebastian Currier and Nikolai Medtner.
"I never dreamed that I would have the privilege to perform at a venue like Carnegie,” said Dr. Smith. “It is something that many musicians dream about, and after many years of practicing, it is a tremendous opportunity to share music in a space like this. As I make my new home here at Lee, I’m delighted to offer the program here as my first faculty recital. It allows me to contribute in my own small way to the rich musical environment here at Lee University.”
Dr. Smith was born and raised in rural Alabama and began playing piano at age 10. He made his orchestral debut with a local orchestra at the age of 16, and he has since performed at venues around the United States and abroad. He made his first tour of China in August 2014, giving recitals and masterclasses in Beijing and Chongqing.
Dr. Smith has also been featured as a concerto soloist with the National Ukrainian Symphony Orchestra in Kiev, the Eastman Philharmonia, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, the Shoals Symphony Orchestra, and others. He has presented solo performances at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s Calderwood Hall in Boston, Rice University in Houston, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Royal Dublin Society’s concert hall, and the Aspen Music Festival’s Harris Hall, among others.
Dr. Smith is particularly known by audiences and critics for his performances of works by little-known Russian composer Nikolai Medtner. He presented a program dedicated to Medtner’s compositions in Carnegie last season, and gave a lecture on the composer at Yale University.
Dr. Smith holds a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music, a master’s from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor’s from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. While at the Eastman School of Music, he served as the teaching assistant to Natalya Antonova and was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda honor society for his academic achievements and contributions to the musical community.
Dr. Smith currently serves on the piano faculty at Lee in addition to performing and teaching as a festival artist for the annual Lee University International Piano Festival and Competition in the summer.
The faculty recital is free and open to the public. For more information about Dr. Smith, visit www.cahillsmith.com.
For more information about the recital or Lee’s School of Music, visit www.leeuniversity.edu/academics/music/ or call 614-8240.