Michael Smith retires from PHS Orchestras after more than three decades conducting

Dima Yasin
eSomethin staff

Many students at Perrysburg High School do music as an extracurricular, including orchestra, band, and choir. One big part of making these classes fun is who teaches them and how, as music is a subject that takes time, effort, and love to teach it well.

The conductor instructs his Chamber Strings class during the school day. Class with Michael Smith has always been fun, with something interesting everyday; he has spent a lot of time preparing for the school year outside of his time at PHS. “Every summer I’ll plan all six high school orchestras, their music for the entire school year,” Smith explained.

Michael Smith has shown all these virtues during his years of teaching as the Perrysburg High School orchestra director. He continuously spreads joy and passion through his positivity and love for teaching music for over thirty years. This year is his last in this position, as he has decided to retire when the 2026-2027 school year is over, to the dismay of many of his students.

”I think we have the best orchestra program in the district, and that’s largely because of Mr. Smith,” explains Robinson Zhang, a senior cellist in Select Strings. “I think a lot of the times, especially in school orchestras, the director makes or breaks the program.”

So, how did Smith build one of the most competitive high school orchestra programs in the region?

Although most of his career was spent at Perrysburg High School, Smith had actually taught for a time at Notre Dame academy, where he organized the entire music program. Eventually, though, he began to get interested in public school teaching.

“Back in those days, in the nineties, they didn’t post jobs like they do now, but a friend of mine that was working in the school system at Perrysburg said that they thought there was gonna be an orchestra opening,” Smith said.

His friend was correct. Soon, Smith went through an interview process, made it as one of the the top picks for the candidate, and eventually got the job.

A student practices a scale in a private room during class. Robinson Zhang–the principal cellist for the Select Strings orchestra–has appreciated Smith’s flexibility with his students, and one of the opportunities he has offered is time in a practice room, even for groups outside of school. Zhang stated, “I’m the leader of a non-profit student organization called Musicians for Causes, and it has become as successful as it is because of Mr. Smith… he gave us practice spaces for rehearsals and gave us cut out time during class so we could get out into the community to do that stuff.”

“They wanted someone that could take the job and grow the orchestra’s programs . . . it was really small.”

Actually, it was so small that eleven people had been in the program in the beginning of Smith’s career there, and then eventually only ten.

“I was thinking, oh my gosh, I’m gonna get fired. They hired me to build a program, and someone’s quitting,” Smith said.

Despite one student unenrolling, Smith did not hesitate to get to work growing Perrysburg’s orchestra. At the beginning of his career in Perrysburg, Smith taught all grades, fifth through twelfth. The main problem he noticed with the program at the time was that kids who took it were pulled out of their academic classes, which made less kids want join orchestra because it potentially could hurt their grades. He decided to change this by making orchestra during recess time, and the result was extraordinary.

Smith explained, “the numbers just went crazy because more kids wanted to do it, because they weren’t missing their academic classes.”

The music program continued to grow, and now the group maintains over 600 students in the district. And with so many students in its program, orchestra with Mr. Smith has had a tremendous impact on the students participating.

Alexander Ban, a senior violist in Select Strings, said, “I’ve had Mr. Smith since freshman year, and he’s just been the driving factor behind why students are so motivated.”

Grinning wide, a senior poses with his viola. Alexander Ban has been in PHS orchestras for all his four years of high school, and has appreciated the tiny details Smith had put into orchestra concerts. “Even with our simple orchestra concerts, he always decorates the stage a lot,” Ban explained.

Ban also expanded on that idea by explaining how Smith’s personality is part of helping students do better.

“He always finds a way to make us laugh or make us more energized,” he said.

This was important to Ban, as he has had the class at the end of the day for the last four years, and always felt tired at that time until class started, when Smith’s positive energy would help propel him.

Ban and Zhang both mentioned Smith’s calm and flexible demeanor, whether in class or during stressful settings like a concert or competition.

“I think I broke a bow, one of the school bows, during rehearsal for honors orchestra, my freshman year. . . . He grabbed a new bow immediately, popped it out, and just let me use it,” said Zhang. “He didn’t make me feel like I did something wrong.”

They both discussed the positive atmosphere Smith created in class, and how accommodating he was during concerts or class if an accident happens or when missing an important event.

While Smith and his program has had a vital impact on students, his career has also had a huge effect on him personally.

“I think what [my career] does is, it keeps me young. So even though my age is older and I’ve been doing this a long time, but teaching students, it keeps me young,” Smith explained. “Also I really like the part of my job of seeing students when they’re younger and see them when they graduate and grow as a person and as a musician.”

Smith knows better than anyone the effect music can have on someone and how it can help someone grow. Seeing his teaching give many important virtues to students as they get older brings him lots of joy.

Smith also discusses the music itself, and how there have been many moments that he felt lots of emotion, along with the orchestra.

“There’s been two or three performances that, for some reason, the orchestra and I just really connected, like everyone in the orchestra, we were all communicating together, and we all had the same musical emotion that was happening,” he explained.

The Select Strings perform their first concert of the year, with their orchestra director conducting. While performances have been an important factor of being in orchestra, Smith still handled accidents and issues during those times with grace. Ban is also in Speech and Debate, and if he has had to miss state orchestra competitions for Speech and Debate events, Smith is always understanding.

He also noted that one of his groups performed at the 75th International Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago–a very prestigious competition– which was a meaningful experience for him.

“That’s something that I tried for at least 10 years to get accepted to perform there, it’s a really hard process,” he said.

While the orchestras have shaped his life for over thirty years, Smith is also looking forward to working on his hobbies during his retirement.

Five years ago, Smith began working part-time at Lowe’s in the gardening section–as he enjoys yard-work–and he plans to continue doing that after stepping down from his role as director. He also plays the trumpet professionally, and plans to do more performances for weddings and events, while also spending more time with his children and grandchildren.

While he enjoys his retirement, Perrysburg hopes that he knows what a significant impact he has had on all the schools and students who wanted to pursue a stringed instrument.

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