Caeli Smith

About Caeli

Caeli Smith, called “intense, precise, and full of personality,” is a chamber musician, educator, and facilitator in high demand across New York City and beyond. She has performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia as a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and her quintet Sybarite5; and with the New York Philharmonic, The Knights, Sejong Soloists, and the Verbier Chamber Orchestra.

Known among students and colleagues for her exuberance and curiosity, Caeli (pronounced “Chay-lee”) is on the faculty of the Heifetz International Music Institute and Kinhaven Music School. She works weekly with pre-college, college, and graduate students at The Juilliard School and the Manhattan School of Music as a teaching assistant/adjunct professor for several viola studios. Caeli is the former interim viola professor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is an alum of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, the post-graduate performance, education, and leadership program of Carnegie Hall and The Juilliard School. She has led educational workshops for the fellows of Ensemble Connect and the teachers of Musical Mentors Collaborative.

Caeli holds two degrees from The Juilliard School: a bachelor’s degree in violin performance and a master’s degree in viola performance. Upon graduating, she received the William Schuman Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music. In 2022, Caeli graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education with a Masters in Education, Leadership, Organizations, and Entrepreneurship; with a concentration in Arts and Learning. As a teenager, Caeli was a reporter and regular cast member on NPR’s “From The Top.” Caeli has written for radio, TV, and print, and her articles have appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as Strings, Teen Strings, and Symphony magazines.