Baritone Paul Smith was a founding member of the vocal octet Voces8. Both with that group and beyond, he has worked to foster innovative performances and performance styles. He has also been influential as an educator. Smith was born in London. His brother is countertenor Barnaby Smith. Like so many other English singers, he had his first vocal experiences as a boy chorister, in this case in the Westminster Abbey Choir. He attended Bedford School on a scholarship and then joined the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, before entering the University of York. Smith majored in politics, philosophy, and economics, but spent much of his time playing in jazz bands and singing in musical theater productions, including one of Leonard Bernstein's Candide. He graduated from York in 2004 and joined the New London Orchestra and the Irish Chamber Orchestra as an events manager. In 2006, he was named CEO by the Voces Cantabiles Music Foundation, or VCM. This group has worked to bring young people together into innovative performance events, and Smith has headed its "Hatch My Ideas!" unit. The foundation also had its own flagship ensemble, Voces8. Smith was one of the founders of the group and has done much to shape its style; in particular, his familiarity with American popular styles and jazz showed up constantly in the group's Swingle Singers-style arrangements, such as those found on the 2010 album Aces High. Smith has also performed in a stage comedy duo with bass-baritone Dingle Yandell. He retired from performing with Voces8 in 2017, but has continued to be associated with the group, penning a guide, The Voces8 Method, for singers and groups interested in learning from the Voces8 style. He also serves as the group's Education and Workshop Leader as well as giving master classes worldwide. Smith serves on the board of DePauw University's 21st Century Musician Program. The genre-bending Reflections, the debut recording of music composed entirely by Smith, was released in 2019. ~ James Manheim