Biography

James Smith, associate professor, chairs the classical guitar department, regarded as one of the finest in the world.  His students include prize winners in international competitions and two ensembles trained at the university, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) and the Falla Trio, have successful professional careers. He has given master classes at the Manhattan School of Music, Eastman, Yale and the New England and San Francisco Conservatories, to name a few. Mr. Smith is very active as a performer, and plays throughout the Americas and Asia. He is a dedicated chamber musician, and performs with the Bel Arts Trio (David Shostac, flute, John Walz, cello), Canto Claro (Sun Young Kim, soprano), Windwood (Douglas Masek, winds) and with guitarist Dusan Bogdanovic and violinist Endre Balogh. Mr. Smith has performed concertos and solos with the Glendale, Marina del Rey, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Topanga, Brentwood, Los Angeles Opera and New Orleans Orchestras.

A skilled arranger, several of his works have been recorded by the LAGQ and other ensembles. Recordings with David Shostac on Excelsior and Douglas Masek on Massax include numerous arrangements by Mr. Smith. An ardent supporter of new music, he has given the premieres of works by Bogdanovic, Reich, Johanson, Musgrave, Leisner and Lesemann, to name a few, and his recordings for Orion and Protone records have first recordings of works by Schickele, Crockett and others. His solo playing is featured in the acclaimed movie Sleepy Time Gal (1996) and the starring Jacqueline Bisset. He served as president of the GFA and the advisory committee of the First American Guitar Congress, and now as a board member of ASTA-LA. Mr. Smith has also judged  many international guitar competitions. He organized the Celebration of Pepe Romero at USC (2003), the First Stotsenberg Guitar Competition and the Andres Segovia Commemorative (1986), the last a two-week long tribute to the Maestro. Smith runs the school’s weekly recital series, Music at Noon.