MaryBeth Smith

My early work in this field was in radio, as an announcer and music director/programmer for several classical and NPR radio stations: WILL in Urbana, IL: KANU in Lawrence, KS; and regular substitute gigs for news and program announcers at KPAC in San Antonio,TX and WBHM in Birmingham, AL. I LOVED it, and was pleased to receive regular feedback that the audience loved me, too: my voice quality, irreverent sense of humor, obvious but not overbearing "smarts," and the feeling that they knew me that won their ears. I did occasional small voice-over projects in each of those markets. Life took a different turn for me, when I went back to school to get my Master's Degree in Vocal Performance (Music) and wound up as a voice faculty member and Opera Director at a major state university. From 1995-2002, mine was the "voice on hold" for Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State U.). Raising a family, performing, directing, and teaching occupied my professional and personal life during that time. My other voice work recently has been as the producer, supplier, and voice talent for highly-targeted instructional audios and podcasts at www.DictionHelper.com. I learned to do voice-overs in my radio announcer jobs, no formal or class training, and got to be a popular announcer at each of the stations where I worked. 25+ years later, I became curious to see how the business had changed. In 2007, I jumped at the opportunity to get voiceover coaching from Jim Conlan at RadioWorks in Houston, TX. It's my love of learning, my ability to be a quick study learned as a professional musician, my fearlessness, and my ability to pronounce big words, that I owe to my long and non-traditional studies. My professional history also includes a couple of stints in "corporate America" (as an insurance sales rep and then as a headhunter--oh, wait--it's "Executive Search Consultant") and several entrepreneurial ventures. I continue to coach others in the use of their singing and speaking voices, as well as being a movement educator. I get to talk to a wide range of people each week who have a variety of real problems and challenges. This keeps me compassionate and grounded in reality deeply grateful, and profoundly curious about other people and the world we live in. This depth of experience, I believe, is what people sense in my being and hear in my voice.