“What a success…a great concert.”
Legato, the Buffalo Guitar Society Newsletter
“…absolutely gorgeous… exquisitely controlled in phrasing, voice-leading and quiet intensity,… hearty joy in its rhythm and accent… Smith cast a wonderfully romantic spell with his expressive performance of the Mertz ‘Elegie’… fierce concentration and technical finesse… lyrical song style to rapid passage-work to symphonic turbulence… [t]he performer was equal to all of these.”
Kenneth Young, The Buffalo News
“A fine contribution, clear and concise, and above all very well played.”
Jan de Kloe, Classical Guitar Magazine
“Michael Cedric Smith opened with an exciting, bravura performance of Etude No. 7 by Villa-Lobos. Requiring, and receiving, flawless technique, this study has the elegant, sinuous lines so typical of the composer… Smith had all of the necessary sophistication.”
Lynna Sedlak, The Buffalo News
My program biography:
Michael Cedric Smith appears as a recitalist and in chamber music concerts in New York and across the country. He has performed for the prestigious Guitars International Artist’s Series in Cleveland; the Middle Tennessee State University Guitar Festival and the Springfield Guitar Society in Illinois. He has appeared twice at the National Festival of the Guitar in the Dominican Republic. He has presented solo recital in the Purcell Room in London and Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall. As a featured guest he has performed contemporary American chamber music as a guest artist with the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, and the New York University Chamber Players.
Noted for his interest in music from the 19th century he has presented works by Frédéric Chopin, Giulio Regondi, Mauro Giuliani, Fernando Sor, and Matteo Carcassi. He was among the first modern guitarists to perform works by Johan Kaspar Mertz. His CD “Celebrations”, which includes music from the Baroque to the modern era, has received critical acclaim. Mr. Smith is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, MD where he studied with Aaron Shearer``
Michael Cedric Smith currently teaches at the New York City College of Technology and the Caedmon Music School. Mr. Smith formerly taught at the Saint Louis Conservatory; Brooklyn College; the National Summer Guitar Workshop; and the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. His students have been accepted at institutions of higher learning including the Peabody Conservatory, Yale University, and the Manhattan School of Music.