Like an elegant reprise, the piano is a recurring theme in Amanda Smith’s story.
Mrs. Smith, Mus’08, came to Queen’s as a piano student, but after “seeing the competition around me and knowing the importance of receiving scholarships and being in the forefront, to be honest, I switched to saxophone.”
Today she is president and CEO of the Honens International Piano Competition, a Calgary-based organization with an annual prize package that exceeds $500,000. She says the international Honens and other national Canadian competitions, including Queen’s own Bader & Overton Canadian Piano Competition, are essential for young artists.
“These artists need meaningful opportunities to train and work alongside internationally renowned musicians, experiences that help them grow and ultimately become internationally recognized themselves. National competitions like the Bader & Overton Competitions serve as an important stepping stone toward the global stage. The accompanying cash prizes also play a vital role, helping artists afford tuition, private lessons, and the additional training they need to continue developing.”
Back in 2008, Mrs. Smith, with diploma in hand, was set to be a high-school music teacher, but after a year realized “teaching wasn’t going to be my passion.” She had grown fond of communications and marketing while at Queen’s, so she decided to change course again.
“My passion was not-for-profit, to help charitable organizations be sustainable, to make hard business choices so they can continue to deliver on their purpose, their mission, vision, and values.”
Accordingly, she entered the MBA program at Trinity Western University in British Columbia and, after working in the private sector, became director of marketing at Honens, a competition that was first held in 1992 with a $5-million endowment by Esther Honens. Last year, Mrs. Smith was promoted to president and CEO. She had returned to piano but was now working in administration that’s essential to artistic success.
“It is incredibly difficult to make a career in performance, and that’s now what I’ve given my life to helping people do.”
Today, she remembers the people at Queen’s who helped her, including business professor Terry Beckman, PhD’12 (now associate dean of research and accreditation at Athabasca University).
“The business school at Queen’s was my outlet when I needed a break from the saxophone. I would go to the business school and meet with business students, and we would talk about communication, psychology, and I would say it changed the trajectory of my life, having access to these incredible programs [and] professors who believed in me.”
