Caeli Smith is a violinist/violist with an eye towards the future. A stunning, award-winning performer, she breaches the frontiers of classical music by incorporating a variety of styles, including jazz and tango, into the traditional repertoire. She is committed to bringing classical music to all audiences.

Caeli is a fellow at Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, a two-year program for the finest young professional classical musicians in the United States. In addition to concertizing throughout the US, Caeli is a New York Philharmonic Teaching Artist working with children in New York City public schools. She is on the violin/viola faculty of HeifetzPEG, an innovative three-week intensive summer program for gifted young string musicians, ages 9-13. She is the Associate director and violist of Frisson, a nine-piece chamber ensemble featuring NYC’s finest young classical musicians. She is also a member of Noree Chamber Soloists and the New York Classical Players. 

She has collaborated with a wide range of musicians in recital and chamber music settings, including Leon Fleisher, André Watts, Ani Kavafian, Carmit Zori, Natasha Brofsky, Donald Weilerstein, Roger Tapping, Catherine Cho, Christopher O’Riley, Tim Ribchester, Julianne Baird, and didgeridoo artist Howard E. Smith.

As a soloist and recitalist, she performs in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and BBC Proms. Caeli has written for radio, TV, and print, and her articles have appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, as well as Strings and Symphony magazines. She is also on the editorial staff of Cleaver Magazine. As a teen, Caeli was often featured on From The Top, a national radio and TV program dedicated to the discovery of young musicians. She is also known to Philadelphia audiences as the street violinist starring in Robert Downey Sr.’s documentary Rittenhouse Square. Caeli is passionate about bringing music into the community. She holds two degrees from The Juilliard School: a bachelor’s degree in violin performance and a master’s degree in viola performance.