Soul Searching with Conductor Herb Smith
This article was originally featured in the Winter 2025 issue of Behind the Music, the digital magazine of the Sarasota Orchestra Friends. The Sarasota Orchestra Friends are a passionate group of dedicated advocates and ambassadors for the Orchestra, Sarasota Youth Orchestras, and the Sarasota Music Festival. Click here to learn more about this longstanding local arts and cultural collective.
Soul searching ... what exactly does that mean? Soul searching can look like figuring out what may need to change in order to live in greater alignment with your true self. In other words, it’s a reaction to feeling out of touch with yourself or like something is missing. And maybe, just maybe what’s missing is a certain kind of music—SOUL music!
If you’re thinking, Ah, but that’s not my thing, then you might want to hear what trumpeter, conductor, and composer Herb Smith has to say about what makes soul music so appealing:
Image: Courtesy Photo
“Soul music was created based on the ideal of the American Dream, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression. The themes of love, heartbreak, struggle, and celebration are the backbone of this music. Regardless of one’s race, place, or station, as humans, we all feel these universal emotions. Soul music was one way, rooted in the African American experience, to express those emotions.”
THE PROGRAM
On January 24 and 25, Smith will take to the podium as guest conductor for Sarasota Orchestra’s Kings of Soul Pops concert. The program showcases the music of legendary artists such as Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Barry White, and Curtis Mayfield. Singers Darren Lorenzo, Michael Lynche, and Jesse Nager—all consummate musicians and brilliant interpreters—will honor classic soul royalty with their powerful voices.
Image: Courtesy Photo
AN EXCITING PERFORMER
Smith is widely known in both the classical and jazz worlds as an artist who inspires musicians and audiences wherever he goes. Whether performing, conducting, teaching, or composing, Smith’s expression of music draws from his multifaceted and dynamic musical experiences from around the world. He currently holds the third trumpet position in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the principal trumpet position in the Gateways Festival Orchestra, which made its Carnegie Hall debut in April 2022. Being a highly sought-after lead trumpeter has afforded Smith the opportunity to play with such notable musicians as Jeff Beck, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, and Doc Severinsen.
We connected with Smith to ask him about the upcoming concert.
This will be your Sarasota debut—what excites you most about coming to conduct Sarasota Orchestra?
Herb Smith: Besides having a chance to conduct in the beautiful and unique Van Wezel—I love that whole Frank Lloyd Wright school of architecture—what really excites me the most about my conducting debut with Sarasota Orchestra is the musicians—connecting with a new set of musicians and having those musical conversations. Conversations, that although we have never spoken before, we all have a common language.
Can you tell us a little something about the featured vocalists and what they will bring to the performance?
HS: Over time, archetypes of male soul singers have emerged. For example, there is the high tenor, the raspy lead voice, the bass, the harmonizer—to name a few. Most successful men’s soul groups have these naturally ingrained in them: the Four Tops, the Temptations, New Edition, and Boyz II Men all have these characteristics. The great thing about Mike, Darren, and Jesse is that they seamlessly flow through these different roles as the concert unfolds. Whether it is Jesse hitting the high note on “My Girl,” Mike singing Teddy Pendergrass’ “Close The Door,” or Darren at the foundation on Lou Rawls’ “You’re Gonna Miss My Love,” these three gentlemen deliver the full spectrum of soul music.
Image: Courtesy Photo
Image: Courtesy Photo
Why should someone who may not currently have an appreciation for soul music reconsider its listening value as a bonafide classic musical genre?
HS: Soul music—like bourbon and jazz—is something that is uniquely American. It was born and bred in the U.S. out of the American experience, specifically the African American experience. This is on the same level of creation as the church music of Bach, the folk music of indigenous people, or the throat singing of Tuva. All uniquely created in specific areas by specific people during a specific time period. Soul music may not be one’s music of choice, but given its significance in world history and its uniqueness when it was born, it is worth an objective look for the creative art genre that it represents or the historical significance that it holds.
If you are feeling a bit out of touch with yourself or like something is missing, try refurbishing your soul—with music!
Kings of Soul will be presented in three performances on January 24-25 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. To learn more and purchase tickets, visit Sarasota Orchestra’s website or call the Box Office at 941-953-3434. All programs and featured artists are subject to change.