Percussionist, clinician, and educator, Andy Smith has performed in the national spotlight for over two decades. 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 Kentucky PAS (Percussive Arts Society) 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. He is the percussion instructor for the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts, a state sponsored program for elite college-bound musicians.

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. He studied gyil and West African drumming and dance with Bernard Woma in the United States. Andy’s orchestral teachers include John Tafoya, Peter Tanner, Jim Ancona, Thom Hannum and Kevin Bobo.

Andy has performed with Lalo Davila, Mat Britain, Mambo Blue, Michael Spiro, 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. Other recent performances include the Jazz Education Network Convention, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Lotus Music Festival, and grant sponsored workshops with Bernard Woma, Musical Ambassador to Ghana. Andy is Assistant Director to Michael Spiro’s Indiana University Bateria, performing at Carnaval festivals in Bloomington and Indianapolis. In 2012, Andy was awarded a Tinker Foundation grant to study contemporary Brazilian Jazz drumming in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A versatile composer and arranger, Andy is published by Row-Loff Productions. His music is regularly performed all over the country. He is endorsed by Pearl/Adams, Evans drumheads and Innovative Percussion.