Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith is a conductor and oboist from Louisiana, currently based in New York City. She is a multi-faceted artist deeply committed to fostering experiences of unity through music. Smith is a 2026 Conducting Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Recent conducting debuts include Les Violons du Roy and AXIOM, conducting works by Mozart and Stravinsky respectively. Smith is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School, where she studies Orchestral Conducting with David Robertson. Expanding upon her passion for music-driven community engagement, Smith founded and directs the Louisiana Art Music Collective, a grassroots initiative centered around presenting free musical performances to the south Louisiana community. She previously participated in festivals such as the Yale School of Music Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, the Chautauqua Institution, and Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix. Additionally, as an oboist, Smith has performed in numerous ensembles including the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, and she is the former Adjunct Instructor of Oboe at Houghton University. Smith earned a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Richard Killmer, and a bachelor’s from Louisiana State University Ogden Honors College and School of Music. Her additional instructors include Brad Lubman, Johanna Cox Pennington, and Titus Underwood. Beyond music, Lauren is family-oriented, an avid writer, and an amateur connoisseur of Louisiana cuisine.