The Yuma Evening Sun, Arizona
Smith gave Chopin’s popular Ballade in G Minor, Op. 23, new meaning as he experimented with phrasing, nuance, rubato and tempi. The entire composition was breathtakingly beautiful as the haunting and romantic melodies soared under the guidance of Smith’s authoritative control…The dazzling, agile fingerwork left the hearers in utter awe of [his] advanced technical skill and beauty of tone… His quiet, sincere, straightforward manner relies on an economy of movement and energy that allows him introspection into the core of the music.