Chad Smith

Saxophones

Chad Smith first developed his interest in Rudy Wiedoeft while studying with Wiedoeft protege, Ted Hegvik at West Chester University in 1992. As a "direct descendent" to the Wiedoeft style, Chad is continuing the tradition of keeping Wiedoeft's genius alive.

Since moving to New York City in 2001, Chad's talent with multiple woodwind instruments has made him a sought after Broadway musician, currently performing in the smash hit, Wicked. Prior to that he was a member of the Legally Blonde orchestra and has substituted for countless shows including 42nd St., Spamalot, A Chorus Line, The Producers and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Chad has performed with numerous prestigious orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Albany Symphony and L' Opera Francais. He has also shared the stage with Johnny Mathis, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Pizzarelli, Frankie Valli, Bernadette Peters and Audra Macdonald to name a few.

His movie credits include The Informant!, with music by Marvin Hamlisch. Mr. Smith has been featured on television in Legally Blonde on MTV, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC and the Tony Awards on CBS.

An award winning musician in various competitions, Chad has performed at music festivals all over the world, most recently the 15th World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok, where he premiered Sax-O-Philm. Some others include the North American Saxophone Alliance, Delaware Recital Series, Clarion University, West Chester Saxophone Festival, Newark Concert Series and the 14th World Saxophone Congress in Slovenia where he performed with the New Jersey Saxophone Quartet. He has taught saxophone and woodwinds at Messiah College, Nazareth College and West Morris Central High School.

Chad E. Smith earned a B.S. in Music Education from West Chester University where he was a student of Ted Hegvik. He later pursued a Master's in Saxophone and Woodwind Performance from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Ramon Ricker.