Percussionist, clinician, and educator, Andy Smith has performed in the national spotlight for over two decades. Andy grew up in Connecticut and began his performance career in Hartford, CT and Boston, MA. A former resident of Nashville, Tennessee, Andy taught as Adjunct Percussion Instructor at Middle Tennessee State University from 1999-2008. He is a regular clinician in a variety of settings for all ages across the country, including the 2011 Kentucky PAS (Percussive Arts Society) Day of Percussion, the 2011 Western North Carolina Day of Percussion, the Georgia PAS Day of Percussion, the North Alabama PAS Day of Percussion, the Indiana Percussion Association State Day of Percussion, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Mars Hill College in North Carolina, and the University of North Alabama where he also served on the faculty from 2007-2008. Since 2003, Andy has been the percussion instructor for the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, a state sponsored program for elite college-bound musicians.

Andy’s symphonic and solo percussion teachers include John Tafoya, Peter Tanner, Jim Ancona, Kevin Bobo, Lalo Davila and Thom Hannum. Andy was a featured performer in the Star of Indiana’s Brass Theater production under Thom Hannum and Colin McNutt, and later joined his teachers on the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps drumline staff. In addition, Andy has studied drum-set and Afro-Cuban Music with Michael Spiro, Lalo Davila, Ed Uribe, Victor Mendoza, Ian Froman, Alan Hall, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, Richie “Gajate” Garcia, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Jesus Diaz.  He also traveled to Ghana, West Africa where he studied West African drumming and dance with Paschal Younge, Johnson Kemeh, and others. Andy studied gyil and West African Drumming with Bernard Woma.

Andy has performed with Mambo Blue, Orkesta Eme Pe, Lalo Davila, Michael Spiro, Victor Mendoza, Mat Britain, and The Canadian Brass. He has been recorded on numerous albums and instructional videos and has performed at Tanglewood, the Hollywood Bowl and Lincoln Center. Currently living in Bloomington, IN, Andy performs with regional orchestras, including the Columbus Philharmonic Orchestra and the Carmel Symphony Orchestra. His Brazilian Jazz Quintet has been featured at local Jazz festivals and on WFHBs Local Live program. Andy regularly performs with Bernard Woma, Steel Panache, and various artists. A versatile composer and arranger, Andy is published by Row-Loff Publications. His music is regularly performed all over the country. Andy traveled to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brasil in 2012 to study contemporary Brasilian drum-set. He endorses Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, Evans drumheads and Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets.