Joshua Smith was hailed by the Cleveland press as a "flute phenomenon" upon his appointment, at age 20, as Principal Flutist of the Cleveland Orchestra under Maestro Christoph von Dohnányi. A frequent soloist, he has made acclaimed performances of a wide repertoire ranging from Bach to Takemitsu, including the concertos of Mozart, Penderecki, and Nielsen. The Cleveland Orchestra is commissioning a work for Mr. Smith to be premiered in the 2010–11 season.

His recording of the Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp with Maestro Dohnányi and harpist Lisa Wellbaum on the Decca/London label was chosen by National Public Radio's Performance Today as "The recording of this piece to own." Mr. Smith can be heard in over 25 recordings by the Orchestra on the Deutsche Grammophon, London/Decca, Nonesuch, and Teldec labels, including featured performances in works such as Debussy's Prelude L'apres-Midi d'un Faune, on the Deutsche Grammophon label, where his solo work is hailed as "luminous" and "exquisite" by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Several of Mr. Smith's live recordings are available for download on this page.

Committed to chamber music, Mr. Smith performs regularly as a chamber musician and recitalist around the country and abroad. Since making his New York recital debut in 1999, he has collaborated with such eminent artists as the Miami and the Guarneri Quartets, members of the Brentano Quartet, soprano Lucy Shelton, harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, and pianists Kathryn Brown, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Emma Tahmizian, and Christina Dahl. In the spring of 2007, Mr. Smith served as guest curator of music for the Cleveland Museum of Art, creating a series of chamber music concerts which were presented in the galleries of the museum's special exhibit, "Monet in Normandy." Upcoming projects include a program devoted to the Telemann solo fantasies for flute.

In great demand as a teacher, Mr. Smith serves as head of the flute department of the Cleveland Institute of Music and is a faculty member and head of woodwinds at Kent/Blossom Music's professional training program. He has served on the faculty of the Domaine Forget Summer Festival in Québec and the Bowdoin International Music Festival in Maine, and as a guest artist-coach for the New World Symphony. He is frequently invited to present master classes and workshops at conservatories, flute associations, and major universities around the world, including the Paris Conservatory, the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and other leading institutions in New York, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, and Hong Kong.

Mr. Smith is a Powell Artist, and performs on a Powell flute, often with a Folkers and Powell wooden headjoint. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Smith worked closely with renowned pedagogue Frank Bowen before attending Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Julius Baker and Jeffrey Khaner.

Visit Mr. Smith's Blog at www.soloflute.blogspot.com
 
For more information visit http://soloflute.com