ANGELA SMART, VIOLIN

Angela Smart is a Calgary-based violinist and pianist who has been an active part in the music community for the past decade. Having earned both her Master of Music (MMus) and Bachelor of Music (BMus) specializing in performance from the University of Calgary, Angela has a diverse skillset of both teaching and performing experience on multiple instruments. 

During her studies at the University of Calgary, Angela served as concertmaster for the University Orchestra, as well as the second violin in the U of C faculty String Quartet. In addition to her experience performing locally, Angela has also frequently toured both in North America and in Europe as both a classical and electric violinist. In 2017 and 2019, Angela was invited to play in the Academia Europea dell’Opera Orchestra in productions of several Mozart operas. Angela has also participated in many prestigious Summer music festivals including the Orford Summer Music Academy, Domaine Forget International Summer Festival. Angela was also a winner of the 2020 Calgary Philharmonic Concerto Competition. As an electric violinist, Angela has performed with Michael Buble, Il Divo, 2Cellos and numerous local DJ’s for various events. 

As a teacher, Angela has maintained a private studio of around 30 students since 2014 when she began teaching. She seeks to maintain high technical and learning standards for her students, while above all making music enjoyable and rewarding. Students are educated in a range of methods including Suzuki, Kodaly and RCM but are also encouraged to seek other pieces genres to learn from. 

Prior to devoting her studies exclusively to music, Angela was a highly trained ballerina; giving her a unique performance background and familiarity with kinesiology and movement which she incorporates into her teaching and performing. During her graduate studies, Angela received the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Grant from the Government of Canada for her research in how movement affects violin performance and pedagogy.