Ellen Dinwiddie Smith

Born in West Point New York, the daughter of a former West Point Cadet and U.S Army Lieutenant Colonel, Ellen Dinwiddie Smith began life traveling the world with her parents and five siblings.  At the age of ten, while her father was stationed in Hawaii, she heard her first orchestra concert performed by the Honolulu Symphony.  At that point she put down her ukulele and moved to Texas (dad’s job, again) where she fell in love with music, practiced in the garage, and drove an hour and a half (thanks, mom) to weekly horn lessons. 

After graduating from Killeen High School, Ellen started college on a full academic scholarship at the University of Texas at Austin, studying with Wayne Barrington. While there, she won both the Sigma Alpha Iota and Concerto Competitions.  Feeling a bit restless in Texas, Ellen moved to New York to study at the Julliard School with Myron Bloom.  After a year of New York, she transferred once again and took the train to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.  She was a member of the Curtis Wind Quintet, a top prizewinner at the 1987 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. In addition, Ellen favored summer music festivals in picturesque locations including the National Repertory Orchestra (Evergreen & Keystone), Spoleto, Waterloo, Chautauqua, and the Aspen Music Festival. In the fall of her last year at Curtis, Ellen won the third horn job in the Charleston, South Carolina Symphony.  

After two seasons, she won the second horn job in the Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra.   Soon after, she was promoted to Co-Principal Horn.  Greg Hustis was a teacher and mentor during these Texas years.  In 1993, Ellen won the second horn position in the Minnesota Orchestra and in 2000 she was named third horn. Still active in chamber music, Smith is a founding member of the Second Wind Quintet. In 1999 Ellen toured the Midwest with the Dale Warland Singers playing Aharon Harlap’s Bat Yiftach (Jephthah’s Daughter) for Solo Horn and Chorus.  The work was then recorded by the American Choral Catalog on the Dale Warland Singers Bernstein and Britten CD.

In addition to her performing career, Smith maintains a private teaching studio.  She is married to Mark Russell Smith, Director of New Music Projects, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra: Music Director and Conductor of the Quad City Symphony: and Artistic Director of Orchestra Activities at the University of Minnesota . The Smiths have two teenage sons, Alexander and Noah. Ellen’s hobbies include biking, scuba diving, and reading.

Ellen joined the KBHC faculty in 2001 and returned in 2006, 2007 and 2009.  We welcome her again for week 2 in 2011!