Dr. Jerry Neil Smith, Named Interim Director

of the UCO School of Music

September 5, 2006

Dr. Jerry Neil Smith, well known music educator and composer, has been selected as the interim director of the School of Music at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Neil Smith has been an adjunct professor at UCO since retiring from the University of Oklahoma in 1997, where he was director of the School of Music from 1975-1984.

Neil Smith says his relationship with Dr. John Clinton, Interim Dean of the UCO College of Arts, Media & Design, attracted him to the position.

“I have known Dr. Clinton since 1975,” said Neil Smith. “His leadership and the excellence of the UCO School of Music and its faculty, made it easy to join in the preparation of some of the region’s most outstanding musicians.”

Neil Smith earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Music from the University of Texas, and a Ph.D. degree from the Eastman School of Music.

In addition to OU, he has taught at the University of Florida and the University of Colorado.

Neil Smith is the founding conductor of the Norman Chamber Orchestra and is a former Coordinator of Music for the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain.

He also is an active performer, having played as principal clarinetist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic for nine years, as well as in solo recitals and chamber music performances throughout the country.

In December 1991, Neil Smith was the recipient of the Governor’s Arts Award for outstanding contributions to the arts and education in the state of Oklahoma.

Neil Smith takes over the UCO position from Dr. Kathleen Wilson, who remains at the university teaching voice.

Page updated 9/05/06