Susan L. Smith

Susan L. Smith has taught general, choral, and instrumental music at the elementary through collegiate level in Florida, Virginia, and Alabama and has served as an author, clinician, conductor, and adjudicator across the United States. She is currently the President of the National Association of Music Education Southern Division. She most recently was the Associate Conductor of the Alabama Winds and Education Coordinator for the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. Her previous appointment was as an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Troy University and Director of Bands at the Saint James School in Montgomery, Alabama. She is the Past President of the Alabama Music Educators Association and faculty advisor for the Troy Collegiate NAfME Chapter. The Saint James Band consistently received Superior ratings in Concert, Jazz and Marching Band events including the Alabama Music Performance Assessment, Smokey Mountain Music Festival and Bands of America Super Regionals and Grand National Championships. In March 2026 she was inducted into the Music for All Hall of Fame.

Smith has presented clinics at many state and NAfME national and regional conferences. Smith has presented at the Midwest Clinic multiple times and performed as a member of the Alabama Winds, an adult community band comprised of Alabama music educators. She created the Chamber Music portion of the Music for All National Concert Band Festival and is a co-founder of the Mind the Gap Webinar and Podcast for young and preservice music educators. Her professional affiliations include Phi Beta Mu, National Association for Music Education, Sigma Alpha Iota, Phi Beta Kappa, and the National Band Association.

In September 2023, she became President and CEO of the RWS Music Publishing Company after the sudden passing of her husband of 30 years, composer and educator Robert W. Smith. Susan is committed to honoring the legacy of her late husband and continuing his goal of providing quality music curriculum materials for teachers and students and supporting the development of emerging young writers. (2026)