Gregory Smith, a Texas native, began his piano studies at age 5. He graduated summa cum laude from Brigham Young University, receiving his BM in Piano Performance in 2021. While at BYU, Gregory assisted the opera, concert choir, wind symphony, symphonic band, and various instrumental and vocal studios as a collaborative pianist.

Gregory’s awards and honors include 1st place in the 2021 Utah Young Collaborative Pianists Competition, Eastman’s Barbara M. H. Koeng Award for Vocal Accompanying, Eastman’s Barr Award for Accompanying, and 2nd and 3rd place pianist in the 2022 and 2023 Eastman Kneisel Lieder Competitions. He has participated with full fellowships at SongFest (2022, 2023) and Toronto Summer Music’s Art of Song program (2023), learning from such esteemed artists as Martin Katz, Graham Johnson, Roger Vignoles, and Craig Terry. In 2024, he attended the Aspen Music Festival as an opera coaching fellow (Hänsel und Gretel). In 2025, he studied with Margo Garrett at Cincinnati Song Initiative’s Fellowship of the Song, returned to Aspen in his role as opera coaching fellow (La bohème), and, as pianist of the Vantage Trio, advanced to the semifinal round of the Plowman Chamber Music Competition and the quarterfinal round of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.

Under the direction of Dr. Andrew Harley, Gregory completed his MM in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music at Eastman in 2023, and he is currently pursuing his DMA studies in the same program. Equally passionate about music theory, he is also a candidate for the Advanced Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy and serves as a teaching assistant in Eastman’s theory department.