Cellist Miriam K. Smith (b. 2006) is rapidly gaining recognition as an immensely talented and charismatic soloist with orchestras across the United States.
Her meteoric rise has included the release of three full-length albums: Ignite, which won a 2018 Global Music Award; and Flair, recordings of works by Barber, Falla, Piazzolla, and Tchaikovsky, out now on MSR Classics and all digital platforms. Her 3rd album and latest commercial release, Momentum, on Azica Records and all digital platforms, contains works of Prokofiev, Stravinsky, and Boulanger and received immediate playlisting on Apple and Spotify. Of her playing, Maestro J.R. Cassidy, Music Director of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, said, “I would go so far as to say, I have never heard the depth of artistry at such an age. Her command and control, her shaping of phrases, dynamic range, intonation are truly beyond her years.”
Miriam made her orchestral debut at age 8 performing Haydn Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Seven Hills Sinfonietta. Since then, engagements have included her debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Louisville Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations and as featured soloist with the Wright State Chamber Orchestra. Miriam opened the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s 2019 Masterworks Series with the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto No. 1. Recent concerto appearances include performances with the Blue Ash Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, and her debut performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra in both in-person and live-streamed concerts. Miriam was featured soloist in the Youngstown Symphony’s season opening concert in September 2021.
While on tour, Miriam performs private and public community outreach concerts, as well as television and radio interviews, and has an episode featured on PBS’s Emmy-winning Showcase with Barbara Kellar. She has performed in recital at Carnegie Hall twice as first place winner of American Protégé International and American Fine Arts Festival competitions, as well as the Cleveland Orchestra’s Rainbow concerts and the 2016 and 2017 Emerging Artists series of the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Burlington, VT. In 2018, Miriam gave solo recitals in Cincinnati and Chicago and performed as concert soloist for an outdoor crowd of more than 40,000 in the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s televised Concerts on the Square. Miriam is also a highly sought-after chamber music performer, with many recitals and concerts given throughout the country. She was inducted into the Cello Museum in June 2021, and is the 2023 recipient of the MacDowell Society (Cincinnati chapter) Artist Grant.
Miriam lives with her family in Cincinnati and studies with Alan Rafferty. Outside of the concert hall, she holds a blue belt in the Israeli Defense Forces art of krav maga, and regularly participates and performs in ballet studio. Miriam plays on a 18th century cello of an unknown maker.
For worldwide bookings and professional inquiries, please contact Edna Landau, Career Consultant
For PR related inquiries, Katy Salomon – VP Public Relations, Primo Artists 212-837-8466 katy@primoartists.com
Click Here to watch and subscribe to Miriam’s YouTube Channel
Watch Miriam’s interview and episode featured on PBS’s Emmy-winning Showcase with Barbara Kellar on her Videos page.
Watch and Read more about Miriam at the Cello Museum.
“Every time I play, I think about placing a little spark in those that hear.”
- miriam k. smith
