Executive Director, Hot Springs Concert Band
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CLAUDE SMITH
Claude graduated in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Arkansas Polytechnic College. In 1985, he graduated with a Master's degree in Music Education from Arkansas Tech University, and in 1993, he received his Arkansas Secondary Principal's Certification from the University of Central Arkansas. Claude served as Junior High Band Director and High School Band Director at Searcy from 1976 to 2004, and from 2004 until his retirement in 2017, he was the Assistant Principal of Searcy Junior High School and the Principal of Searcy High School. Claude is a member of the Phi Beta Mu National Band Fraternity and member Emeritus of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators. He has served as past president of the Arkansas Bandmasters Association and past president of the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association. Claude has been the recipient of several prestigious honors: 2003 Arkansas Bandmaster of the Year, 2009 Principal of the Year – Arkansas Scholastic Press Association, and he has served as Band Clinician/Adjudicator in Tennessee, South Carolina, and all nine band regions of Arkansas. Along with having served on the band’s board of directors and playing French horn in the band, Claude also serves as one of the associate conductors and is now the band’s Executive Director. As you can see, Claude brings a wealth of credentials, talent and experience to the Hot Springs Concert Band, and we are very fortunate and pleased that he shares it with us. |