Division of Jazz Studies | College of Music

Graduate Jazz Vocalist, Ashleigh Smith, has been selected as a finalist in the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition to be held in Newark, NJ on October 21, 2012 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

Ashleigh, along with four other finalists, will get the chance to perform in front a panel of judges consisting of: Jon Hendricks, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Larry Rosen, Michael Bourne, and Melissa Walker.

More information on the competition can be found here: http://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/sarah-vaughan-international-jazz-vocal-competition.

Ashleigh Smith (Lewisville, TX) was awarded the prestigious Downbeat Student Award for Best Undergraduate Jazz Vocal Performance in 2011 and the Outstanding Undergraduate Vocal Jazz Soloist in 2012. She is a member of the world renowned Jazz Singers, with whom she also won a 2012 Downbeat Award. Ashleigh has traveled and performed as a soloist and chorister in Washington D.C, Northern Ireland, Orlando, Florida, and New York City, and recently shared the stage with The Manhattan Transfer and Jon Hendricks during the Kennedy Center’s “Swing, Swing, Swing” concert series. She is currently on scholarship as a vocal jazz major at the University of North Texas.