Hayden Smith

Hi there! I am a professionally performing American tenor and voice teacher based in Brooklyn, NY, offering private voice lessons in-person and online. I hold a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music (2023), where I studied with the world-reknown soprano Ana María Martínez and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Temple University (2021), where I built a deep foundation across bel canto, early music, and contemporary repertoire.

My performing career spans opera houses and concert stages across the country. Most recently I was praised by Parterre Box for my portrayal of Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia with Opera Baltimore, where my acting "brought electricity to the space." The 2025–2026 season includes a role debut as Alfredo in La traviata with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Le Prince Charmant in Viardot's Cendrillon with Opera Modesto, a workshop of Weiser's Tevye's Daughters with American Lyric Theater, and covering Ford in Salieri's Falstaff with Chicago Opera Theater. Previous seasons have included house debuts with Annapolis Opera and Indianapolis Opera as Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Young Artist residencies at The Glimmerglass Festival (2023), Wolf Trap Opera (2020–2022), Des Moines Metro Opera (2024), Music Academy of the West (2019), and Houston Grand Opera's Young Artist Vocal Academy (2019), and a performance at Carnegie Hall as tenor soloist in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with MidAmerica Productions.

On the competition circuit, I was the 2023 Houston District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, received the Encouragement Award in the New Orleans District in 2022, was awarded the Carolyn Bailey Argento Fellowship through the National Opera Association (2022–2023), and was the 1st Place Winner of the NATS TBB Upper College Division in 2021. Alongside my performing career, I teach private voice lessons to intermediate and advanced singers aged 13 and up — including pre-college students preparing for conservatory and college auditions, adult singers returning to serious study, and performers looking to strengthen their technique across classical and contemporary styles.

My teaching is grounded in classical technique — not because I want every student to sing opera, but because classical training builds the most transferable, voice-healthy foundation a singer can have. Proper breath support, resonance, and registration are the tools that make any voice stronger, more flexible, and more resilient, whether a student loves Schubert, Sondheim, or pop. Having spent years in leading young artist programs — including Wolf Trap Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Des Moines Metro Opera — and maintaining an active professional performance career, I bring what actually works on stage directly into every lesson.

Lessons are highly individualized. I begin by listening carefully — to the voice, to the goals, and to what the student has already tried. From there I build a structured, goal-oriented approach that addresses both the technical foundation and the specific repertoire or audition material the student is working toward. I work with intermediate and advanced singers aged 13 and up, in 45 and 60-minute sessions, available in-person in Brooklyn and online.

For pre-college students, I focus on audition preparation — choosing the right repertoire, building the technique to deliver it confidently, and understanding the specific expectations of college and conservatory programs. Having navigated those processes myself and competed successfully at the national level, including as a Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition winner, I know exactly what evaluators are listening for. For adult singers returning to study, I focus on rebuilding and refining what is already there, addressing habits that have developed over time, and reigniting the joy of singing with a solid technical framework underneath it. My goal is always that students leave each lesson with something concrete they can practice and build on.