Jacob D. Smith, a current resident of Huntington, WV, is a native of Lavalette, WV, and attended Wayne High School. He was named director for the newly formed Choral branch of the Huntington Symphony Orchestra. Jacob earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music and Humanities, and his Master of Arts in Choral Conducting, all from Marshall University in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
While in college, Jacob worked with Upward Bound and Student Support Services as a student member, summer/academic year assistant, and head of male staff. Even among all his musical accolades, he still thinks of Upward Bound as one of his biggest successes and reasons for that success. He would especially like to recognize the late John Jay Wright, the late Jackie Hersman, Marshall SSS director Bonnie Bailey, Marshall SSS program assistant Beretta Coleman, and program alumnus Scott Robertson for their constant influence and help in his life.
Jacob is the teaching Director of the Timberwolf Theatre Company and Valley Vocals at Spring Valley High School (Huntington, WV), where he served as Faculty Senate President, Fine Arts Faculty Chair, and on the School Improvement Leadership Team. In only his second year at SVHS, he was voted by his colleagues as the Teacher of the Year. In the summer of 2023, he led a student tour across four major cities in Europe, including London, Paris, Florence, and Rome. Jacob is also the Director of Musical Ministry at Lavalette United Methodist Church and teaches private voice and piano lessons for students in the Tri-State area.