Michael Lawrence Smith

American-born violinist Michael Lawrence Smith is a rising classical musician hailed in The Oberlin Review as playing with “overwhelming grace and control.” He served as concertmaster of the New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and was an inaugural member of the NextGen Symphony at the Tianjin Juilliard Orchestral Symposium. Professionally, he is a member of the Boulder Bach Festival’s Compass Resonance Ensemble and previously held the associate concertmaster position at the Longmont Symphony Orchestra. He was awarded First Prize at the 2025 New Albany Symphony Concerto Competition, Senior Division. Festival appearances include the Harpa International Music Academy, Meadowmount School of Music, Zephyr Music Festival, Rocky Ridge Music Center Programs, and Vilacello String and Piano Festival, the latter of which he served as teaching fellow. He also held a fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. He is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree at Oberlin College and Conservatory under Sigurbjörn Bernharðsson.