After graduating from Lakota West High School in West Chester, Ohio, Tyler Smith was awarded a Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Vocal Performance degree from Northern Kentucky University in 2020. As a student at Northern Kentucky University, Tyler spent two semesters as a teaching assistant for the Northern Chorale. His student teaching experience was at Highlands High School and Grant's Lick Elementary School.  From 2018 to 2020, he served as Assistant Director of Music at Loveland Presbyterian Church in Loveland, Ohio. 

 

Under the tutelage of Dr. Paul Hondorp, Tyler finished a Master's degree in Choral Conducting at Western Kentucky University in May 2022. Apart from his academic duties, he served as a graduate assistant for the choral department, a voice and piano instructor for Music and Arts, and a section leader at Christ Episcopal Church. He was also a Teacher of Record for Music Appreciation and a Music Theory Tutor. At Western Kentucky University, Tyler achieved a 4.0 GPA and was an honorary inductee into the prestigious Pi Kappa Lambda fraternity. He was nominated as an Outstanding Graduate Student and was also the award recipient of a Graduate Research Grant; this project was heavily centered around the exploration of combining folk song into a sight reading resource for the choral classroom.

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Alongside his teaching and directing responsibilities, Tyler has maintained a regular schedule of freelancing and performing as a vocalist. Beyond his stint as section leader at Christ Episcopal Church in Bowling Green, KY, Tyler notably played the role of Bob the Wanderer in Northern Kentucky University's 2019 production of The Old Maid and the Thief by Gian Carlo Menotti, was employed as the baritone soloist in Franz Schubert's Mass in G for Lloyd Memorial High School in 2020, and has worked with professional ensembles under the baton of many great conductors. He has found flexibility to work and perform in genres such as vocal jazz, theatre, and opera.

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Currently, Tyler resides in Louisville, KY. He is the current choir director at North Oldham High School. In his two years as the choir director at North Oldham Middle School, his groups received consistent Distinguished scores at Assessment, and his 7th Grade Treble Chorus performed at KMEA Professional Development Conference in 2024.