Stefan L. Smith was born in Joliet, IL. Since moving to Los Angeles in 2008, Stefan studied at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music on a full tuition scholarship for a Masters Degree in Viola Performance with Professor Donald McInnes. His two Bachelors of Music Cum Laude degrees are in Viola Performance and Music Composition from DePaul University’s School of Music in Chicago.
In LA, Stefan has branched into composition avenues of concert music, film/TV and video game music, pop and R&B song writing, as well as extensive professional symphonic playing. Stefan has been principal violist of the Dream Orchestra, South East Symphony Orchestra, Torrance Symphony Orchestra, Glendale Philharmonic, USC Symphony Orchestra, Center Stage Opera Orchestra, Henry Mancini Institute Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, DePaul Symphony Orchestra, Oistrach Chamber Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago (the training orchestra of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra), and many others in the Chicago area. He is also a sought after violist in the film industry as well as for film/TV projects such as Modern Family, The Voice, Glee, 90210, and the BET Awards. In 2013, Stefan was appointed to the Viola Section of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
Stefan is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Award of Merit at the National Fine Arts Festival of 2000. In 2013, Smith was invited to the UC Berkeley Young Musicians Program Faculty where he taught Violin, Viola, and Music Composition. He is also a William Harris Lee Performing Artist who plays on a 2003 Bronek Cison and is also a former Maestro Foundation Performing Artist. He is also the artistic director of Fever Up’s “Candlelight” chamber series in Los Angeles, as well as the Metropolis Chamber Musicians.
Smith was commissioned to write a symphonic work for the Chicago Sinfonietta, which premiered at Orchestra Hall in Chicago in October of 2019. He keeps himself active as a professional lead composer for film, TV and video games and as a performer in the symphonic and recording industries of Los Angeles, CA.
