Dr. Evan Smith
Dr. Evan Smith is a versatile performer and dedicated educator whose work across multiple woodwind instruments spans many musical genres. Evan’s work encompasses the deep history of the saxophone and embraces his study of classical, improvised, and popular music styles. Evan brings this knowledge to the stage as both a skilled interpreter and fearless improviser. He is a passionate advocate for new music whose own works bring forth this diverse musical heritage while blurring the line between composition and improvisation.
Since moving to Seattle in 2011, Evan has centered himself as a focal point on the city’s musical landscape. Most visible performing on woodwinds as a founding member of the acclaimed Seattle R&B outfit The Dip, his recordings have been streamed millions of times through the group’s four studio albums. Evan’s travels with the band often total over fifty concerts annually while touring throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Highlights include famous venues like San Francisco’s Fillmore and the Blue Note Tokyo, notable festivals such as Bonnaroo and Outside Lands, and appearances on CBS Saturday Morning and NPR’s World Café.
Evan is also an avid participant in Seattle’s improvising and new music community. A longtime supporter of the storied Racer Sessions gatherings, Evan has been a frequent collaborator on new music and has curated the series several times premiering his own solo and ensemble works. He also regularly performs for the long-running Wayward Concert Series that focuses on modern and experimental music styles. More broadly, Evan’s stylistic flexibility often places him in diverse musical settings. His background in symphonic playing and theatre work has seen him perform with keystone Seattle ensembles such as the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, and Seattle Men’s Chorus.
In 2015, Evan co-founded the Seattle Saxophone Institute, a two-week intensive summer camp that has established itself as a unique, original educational offering that showcases the instrument’s expressive range. A non-profit dedicated to expanding music education access opportunities, the camp has brought hundreds of students together from across the country to study in Seattle with an accomplished roster of diverse saxophonists. Evan is also a frequent clinician at area colleges and schools, and maintains a bustling roster of students in his Seattle teaching studio.
Academically, Evan’s doctoral studies brought him to Seattle and culminated in his dissertation – Compositional Techniques in the Saxophone Works of Yusef Lateef – which investigates the lesser-known compositions of this luminary musician. He has gone on to perform and promote Lateef’s music regularly and lecture on his work, including at conferences held by the North American Saxophone Alliance. Previously, Evan completed degrees in Music Education and Saxophone Performance at the University of Northern Iowa and James Madison University. During this time he also was a frequent performer traveling the world as a musician for several cruise lines and taught music in Caracas, Venezuela while studying the country’s music education systems.
Away from music Evan is an obsessive baseball fan, a fervent long-distance runner, and always enjoys a nice cup of coffee!