Described as ‘Incandescent… a masterly display of skill and insight… as an apologist for contemporary music-making, you would search hard to find this young clarinettist’s equal’ (The Age), clarinettist Ashley William Smith is an internationally demanded clarinet soloist and chamber musician.

Ashley is a laureate of several of Australia’s most prestigious prizes for classical musicians including the APRA Performance of the Year, the Music Council of Australia Freedman Fellowship and an ABC Symphony International Young Performer Award and a Churchill Fellowship.

He is recognised by the world’s leading clarinet manufacturer as a Buffet-Crampon Artist. Ashley has performed throughout the USA, Europe and Asia including performances with Bang on a Can, the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center, Chamber Music Northwest, the Kennedy Center, the Beijing Modern Music Festival, and IRCAM as well as guest positions with several international orchestras.

Ashley has performed as a soloist with several of Australia’s major orchestras and his performance of Lachlan Skipworth’s Clarinet Concerto with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra was awarded the APRA 2015 Performance of the Year.

As a chamber musician, Ashley performs regularly with several of Australia’s major ensembles including the Australian String Quartet, the Syzygy Ensemble and is also the clarinet soloist of the Southern Cross Soloists.

Ashley is an Assistant Professor at the University of Western Australia where he is the Head of Winds and Contemporary Performance. A graduate of Yale University, the University of Western Australia, and a Fellow of the Australian National Academy of Music, Ashley was awarded the highest honours as the most outstanding performance graduate of each institution.