Kara Smith

Owner and Director

Voice and Piano Instructor

Kara loves working with students of all ages to help them improve their singing and piano techniques as well as proficiency in reading music. You or your child will have an uplifting and positive experience in Kara’s studio to achieve your or your child’s goals. Kara is passionate about helping students gain confidence in themselves and develop a love of music that lasts a lifetime.

Kara Smith is a graduate of The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies with Voice concentration. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the proud owner of the Bucks County School of Music. Kara is currently a candidate for the Master of Voice Pedagogy program at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.

Kara began teaching in 2010 while attending University of the Arts where she received the Voice Faculty Award and Promising Artist scholarship studying with world class faculty such as Paul Adkins, Reginald Pindel, Justin Binekl and Dr. Annie Sciolla. Upon graduating, she accepted a teaching position at Music Training Center outside of Philadelphia. Kara relocated to Jacksonville, FL in 2015 and taught at the Jacksonville School of Music and sang with the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus. In 2018, she moved to Doylestown, PA to open the Bucks County School of Music!

Kara began playing classical piano at the age of eight. She has performed in various piano recitals and focuses on self-accompaniment. She specializes in crossover singing and her focuses are classical, popular and jazz music. In 2009, Kara was mentioned in DownBeat Magazine for an outstanding recording by Daniel Blanck of Blanck Studios in Los Angeles, CA.

In the summer of 2012, Kara was accepted into the Franco-American Vocal Academy and toured the southwest of France performing three operatic roles. She was Pistache in Bagatelle, Finette in Bagatelle and Denise in Le Mariage aux Lanternes by Offenbach. Kara has sung at various jazz festivals and, most recently, the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Connecticut and Jazz in the Park in Fayetteville, In 2007, she sang backup vocals for the Kenny Rogers’ Christmas Tour and has performed at the Kimmel Center with Peter Nero and the Philly POPS and the Academy of Music in Philadelphia opening for Sting with the University of the Arts Chorus.

Kara is a regular performer at Northminster Presbyterian Church. She also performed at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church in Syracuse, NY for many years. She has sung at the Jazz Vespers Series at Pebble Hill. She recorded a Christmas album entitled A Holiday Vespers with the CNY Jazz Orchestra, her father Peter Shidemantle and the Pebble Hill Congregational Singers. Her selections are entitled “A Child is Born” as a soloist and “God’s Love Made Visible” as a duet with her dad. She has also performed in Messiah and The Met Meets Broadway with the Germantown Oratorio Choir and excerpts from Die Fledermaus with the UArts Opera/Oratorio Ensemble.

Start your musical journey with Kara today!

Check out some of Kara’s performances: