by Melissa Brisco
Staff Writer

The stage is her home. When she sings, she comes to life. For senior Dinah Smith, her music is her passion and her life.

Smith is one student who will not give up on her passions. Smith has been singing since she could walk and has been in choir since middle school and plans to stay in choir for her next four years in college.

photo by Katie Quill

Come this fall, Smith will move to Nashville to attend Belmont University and major in Church Music.

“I chose Belmont because it has a really prestigious music program and it had my specific Church Music major,” Smith said. “I really love the atmosphere of Nashville; it’s the Christian Music Capitol of the world. People say that Nashville is the friendliest city in the world, and it has proven true based on my experiences.”

Smith has been fortunate enough to already have experience in her major.

“Sophomore year, I started leading worship with the high school band at my church, Irving Baptist Church,” Smith said. “I really enjoyed it, and was asked to start leading the adult worship team. It was then that I realized that this is what I want to do. I think I’m lucky that I’m already getting to do what I want to do as an adult when I am 17 and 18.”

For Smith, choosing a major involving religion was an easy decision, as her faith is the core of all she does.

“My faith is my guiding force,” Smith said. “It is my belief that every person is put on this Earth to use their gifts for God. I feel like I owe God this, and I love leading worship. I get to have my own worship experience while leading others in their own experience, it’s very special.”

In high school, Smith has been involved in the concert choir, select women’s choir, Madrigals, the acapella choir and the varsity women’s choir. In theatre, Smith has been in the musicals all four years. Smith has also been a member of the National Honor Society for all three years at CHS.

“[My high school involvement] has hugely helped me grow as an individual musician,” Smith said. “It has allowed me to experience every side of music, and expand my knowledge of music. The theatre side of my music has taught me about performance. If I ever decide to pursue being a musical artist, I will know how to sell it. Choir has taught me how to be a leader and part of a team; before being a leader while being captain, I was a team member.”

Of all of her high school accomplishments, one distinct achievement stands out in Smith’s eyes.

“Absolutely without a doubt, I am most proud of my captainship of Madrigals and particularly our success at the Madrigals Festival,” Smith said.

On March 6, the Madrigals competed in the Madrigal festival and received the honor of first runner up.

“Dinah is an extremely talented musician that knows how to lead the choir and help make it the best it can be,” fellow senior Madrigal captain Chris Scoular said. “For the most part, working with Dinah was extremely enjoyable.”

Dinah’s parents share in the pride of her accomplishments and character.
“She is a woman of integrity and honesty, she holds her core principles very dear, and allows herself to be guided by them in all her decisions,” Dinah’s father Whitney Smith said. “She’s creative, passionate and talented; she has a really sharp sense of humor, she’s a natural born leader, she’s wise beyond her years, and she is as good a friend as anyone will ever have. Besides her musical talents, she’s also a natural actress and has amazing writing skills.”

Her friends, peers and all who know her can attest to her character.

“Dinah’s one of those people that everyone wishes they were friends with,” senior Mary Beth Walker said. “She’s definitely going to go as far as she wants in life with her talent and goofy personality.”

Smith has already had the privilege to record some of her music.

“For Christmas freshman year, my dad got me some time in a recording studio,” Dinah said. “At that time, I hadn’t written any songs yet. After that, we bought some computes to do some amateur recordings to record songs I have written.”

With all of the opportunities and success that Dinah has come in contact with, her parents do their best to be supportive and open as many doors as possible for her.