Aaron Smith is an active freelance trumpet player based in Los Angeles, CA. He also writes, arranges, and publishes music through his small business, TrumpetSmith Publishing (ASCAP). In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 47 and is a member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). From 2023-26, Smith served on the Hearing Board for AFM Local 47 and on the Board of Directors for the Recording Musicians Association Los Angeles.
Smith performs regularly for live orchestral events, musical theatre, films, independent recording projects, streaming, television, and video games. He has recorded on film/tv projects for celebrated composers including Alan Menken, Bear McCreary, Branford Marsalis, Germaine Franco, Heitor Pereira, Kris Bowers, Rob Simonsen, and Terence Blanchard; on sound recordings for Adrian Younge, Austin Wintory, Charles Gaines, Dr. Dre, Joachim Horsley, and John Daversa. He has performed as a sideman in bands on the Academy Awards, Dancing with the Stars, Disney’s Encore!, Ellen, the LATE LATE Show, and The Voice. He's also appeared as a sideman onscreen for films including Babylon, Behemoth!, and Joker: Folie à Deux; and tv commercials for Capital One and Microsoft. He's backed major artists including Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Common, Danny Elfman, Jennifer Holliday, Josh Groban, Kelly Clarkson, Labrinth, Lady Gaga, Sigur Rós, Steve Lacy, and more. He has also performed for contemporary/new music ensembles and series including Alarm Will Sound, the Industry’s Hopscotch Opera, Jacaranda, Southwest Chamber Music, wasteLAnd, WildUp, Green Umbrella, Monday Evening concert series, and Noon to Midnight Festival. In the L.A. theater world, Smith performs regularly at the Hollywood Pantages. Some notable shows with Smith on solo trumpet include Back to the Future, Beauty & the Beast, Beetlejuice, Color Purple, Les Misérables, Moulin Rouge, Spamalot, Wicked, and the Wiz.
As a composer, Smith strives to curate a top-tier experience for brass players especially. The primary focus is exploring boundaries while expressing a story; both through adapted arrangements structurally sound to the composer's intent and through his own original compositions. His work has been performed internationally. Smith has also created original chamber music commissioned by Marissa Benedict for University of Minnesota, Jim Self for University of Southern California, also by the Interlochen Center for the Arts, and Stomvi-USA.
Smith's training as a music performance major includes a Master of Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts where he studied with Edward Carroll and John Fumo; and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music with professor James Thompson. He is also a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy with Stanley Friedman.
