Jonathan Smith

Bio

Award-winning guitarist and music producer Jonathan Smith continues to earn recognition as a superior artist through collaborative work, individualized pedagogy, and modern production technologies.
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Jonathan has received awards in a number of competitions including 1st place “James Stroud All-Ohio Guitar Competition 2014;” 1st Prize “Southern Guitar Festival 2014, chamber division;” 3rd Prizes in both the Classical and Blues/Rock categories of the “Wilson Center Guitar Festival and Competition 2013;” and highly commended for the Stetson University Concerto Competition in 2010.
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Though trained as a classical guitarist, Jonathan is equally at home with jazz, pop, rock and fusion styles. He performs both solo and collaborative works, with one, in particular, being a flute and guitar ensemble, GS Duo. With flutist Angela Galestro, the award-winning duo has delighted audiences across the entire United States and in concert as far away as Argentina and Italy. Other collaborations include Shenandoah Conservatory’s Edge Ensemble, Shenandoah Summer Music Theater, Carbone-Smith Duo and Florida hit rock band, Run Rhino. Jonathan’s contribution to new music with Shenandoah Conservatory’s Edge Ensemble includes performances of works by and for David Lang, Oscar Bettison, Jonathan Newman, and David T. Little. Jonathan has featured his versatility, notably with Shenandoah Summer Music Theater, on many fretted instruments like banjo, mandolin, and steel-string guitar.
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Teaching music and developing his own pedagogical methods is at the forefront of Jonathan’s career. He manages and teaches at Sarasota Music Conservatory which holds a network of talented students and faculty members. Through a foundation of classical studies mixed with an upbringing in popular culture, Jonathan’s teaching methods cater to all ages and learning styles. Jonathan regularly teaches classical guitar, fingerstyle guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, trumpet, and beginning piano. Further, the genre focus is specific to the student’s strengths, background, and ambitions. Being a well-adversed teacher would not come without Jonathan’s teachers and mentors. These mentors include Dr. Stephen Robinson, Stephen Aron, and Julian Gray.

Jonathan received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Performance at Shenandoah Conservatory, a Master of Music from The University of Akron and a Bachelor of Music from Stetson University. In addition to being a performer, teacher, and recording artist, he is a music producer and sound engineer at Glaize Avenue Studios and Church of the Palms of Sarasota.