Dr. Smith attended the University of Hawaii, Loma Linda University at Riverside, and the University of Southern California. A student of Ladd Thomas at USC, he completed his Bachelor and Master degrees, magna cum laude, in Organ Performance. He was selected to receive the Organ Department Outstanding Achievement Award on both occasions. He received his D.M.A. in Organ Performance from the University of California at Los Angeles. He has been a faculty member in the department since 1990.

Dr. Smith is currently a member of the Brandstater Ensemble. He is also organist at the First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood and the University Church of Seventh-Day Adventists in Loma Linda.

D.M.A. in Organ Performance from the University of California at Los Angeles

Dr. Smith is a past winner of several competitions sponsored by the American Guild of Organists and Music Teachers National Association.

His professional music activities also include a great deal of accompanying which has taken him throughout the United States and Europe with touring groups and solo artists. He is a member of the USC chapter of Pi Kappa Lambda, a national music honor society, and is listed in Outstanding Young Men of America.