Clarence Smith

Associate director

Clarence Smith, associate director, is an instructor of music at MCC-Penn Valley where he directs a jazz combo and jazz ensemble, and teaches Percussion, Music Appreciation and Jazz History.   He holds degrees from Central Methodist University and Lesley University.  Prior to his appointment at MCC, Mr. Smith taught band in the Marshall, MO, public schools and at Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts High School in Kansas City.  His Paseo bands earned countless I ratings and won many regional and national jazz competitions.   In 2000, Mr. Smith was named “High School Educator of the Year” by Downbeat Magazine and was selected as a Music Fellow at Northwestern University’s School of Music in 2003. Mr. Smith has performed throughout much of the US and Canada and currently performs with the Kansas City Wind Symphony, The Joe Athon Groups, and singer-songwriter Toni Gates. He currently serves as the Chairman of Multicultural Awareness for Missouri Music Educators.  His professional affiliations include IAJE, MENC, Phi Beta Mu, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.