Dr. Ashley Smith

Described as ‘Incandescent... a masterly display of skill and insight... as an apologist for contemporary musicmaking, you would search hard to find this clarinettist's equal’ (The Age), Ashley William Smith performs as a clarinet soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician across Australia, the USA and Asia.

A laureate of major Australian awards, he has received the Music Council of Australia Freedman Fellowship, an ABC Symphony International Young Performer Award, a Churchill Fellowship, and the APRA Performance of the Year. He is recognised by leading instrument makers  as a Backun and D’Addario Artist.

Committed to the creation and performance of new music, more than 30 major solo works have been written for him, including concertos by Lachlan Skipworth and James Ledger. As a chamber musician, Ashley has appeared worldwide with ensembles including the Calder Quartet, Dover Quartet, the Australian String Quartet and the Southern Cross Soloists, and with organisations including Bang on a Can, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centre, Chamber Music Northwest, the Kennedy Centre, and the Beijing Modern Music Festival.

Ashley is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia, where he is Chair of Woodwind and Deputy Head of School. A graduate of Yale University and the University of Western Australia, and a Fellow of the Australian National Academy of Music, he received prizes as the most outstanding performance graduate of each institution. In 2020, he completed a doctorate in music analysis.

Alongside performance, he works in artistic leadership as an artistic director and is a sought-after public speaker and music educator. He contributes to the Australian music sector through mentorship, programming, advisory work and board leadership.