Fourteen-year-old violinist Calliope Smith is passionate about channeling the character of each piece she performs. Calliope is a prize winner in numerous international and local competitions, including the Arthur Grumiaux International Violin Competition, the Vancouver International Music Competition, the Odin Competition, the Chicago International Music Competition, the California MTNA Competition, the American Virtuoso International Music Competition, the Camerata Artists International Competition, the New York International Artists’ Association Praelusio Competition, the Pacific Musical Society Competition, the Beethoven Young Musician Competition and the Enkor Competition. She has soloed with the Uniart orchestra in Paris as well as performing as an invited soloist with the New York Concerti Sinfonietta and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra.   

An avid chamber musician on both violin and viola, Calliope participated in the Young Performers Program at Music@Menlo as well as attending the Heifetz Institute Junior Division and Center Stage Strings during summers. At these festivals and at the San Francisco Conservatory Pre-College Academy, she has performed in both string quartets and piano ensembles. In 2025, her piano quartet, Cadentia, won grand prize in the 2025 Enkor Chamber Music Competition. She is also a first violinist in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. 

Most recently, Calliope has championed the work of women composers, including the compositions of Florence Price, Lili Boulanger, Amy Beach, and more.

Calliope is grateful for the inspiration of her teachers and mentors, including Simon James and Chen Zhao at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College Academy and Hiro David. In solo and chamber music masterclasses, she has had the privilege of learning from Midori, Kirill Troussov, Kim Kashkashian, Erin O’Keefe, Kenneth Renshaw, and Gilbert Kalish, among others. Outside of music, she enjoys academic studies at Stanford Online High School and spends her free time writing poetry, baking, and participating in Model UN.