about me!

A performer with many passions, Aidan Smith is a percussionist who works in a wide breadth of genres classical and popular. He recently received his bachelor’s degree in music with an emphasis in percussion performance from the University of Utah, studying under Dr. Michael Sammons, Keith Carrick, Danny Soulier and Kelly Wallis, and is an award-winning competitor at state-wide and international competitions with the Percussive Arts Society. By the end of his undergraduate studies, Aidan had contributed his abilities to a majority of the university’s performance groups and was a core part of the Utah Percussion Group’s chamber work.

Professionally, Aidan currently serves as the principal percussionist for the Salt Lake Symphony and has had recurring involvements with long-established groups in the Salt Lake area, including the Utah Chamber Artists and Salt Lake Choral Artists. He has also worked in the field of musical theater with the Cottonwood Heights Arts Guild and with alma mater Hillcrest High School, providing percussion and drum set performances for community-led theater programs. This year, he was a part of the recently founded Park City Opera’s first major production (of Rossini’s il Barbiere di Siviglia). He is also currently working as a coach and teacher for the percussion classes at Farmington High School, under the direction of Brek Mangelson.

When he is not actively involved in performances, Aidan is an avid crossword fan, and keeps hobbies in reading, discovering new music, and a chronic café patronage.