Meet the CEO and President of Honens | Ep. 25: This is the Legend Of Amanda Smith
The semi-finals of the 2025 Honens International Piano Competition begins tomorrow, and as we hone in on the competition, it's time to get the organizational and professional perspectives on the success of Honens!
Meet Amanda Smith, CEO and President of Honens! Join Amos Vang as he features Amanda's career and pathway to Honens, along with behind-the-scenes organizational elements of the competition and festival, Honens's unique perspective on musicality and artistry, and the ways in which you can enjoy Honens this year!
Honens's competition website: https://www.honens.com/competition/
Tomorrow by Scott Buckley – released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au Other music composed by: Amos Vang
-- CHAPTERS --
0:00 – Introduction
2:41 – What inspired Amanda Smith to pursue music?
4:18 – Amanda did her music degree at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
5:40 – Amanda took marketing courses, which would inspire her to pursue an MBA with a specialization in charitable organizations at Trinity Western University.
7:09 – How has Amanda’s music training prepared her for the transition into the corporate world and on her perspective of business management?
11:38 – People have many professional interests in the present day!
13:30 – How have each of Amanda’s professional chapters prepared her for Honens?
14:45 – What inspired Amanda to Hone In on Honens? I.e. What inspired her to join Honens?
17:53 – Trust and healthy communities have been sadly lacking in much of the world today.
19:30 – A day in the life of Honens CEO and President Amanda Smith 21:58 – How has the pandemic changed Honens?
25:20 – What is musicality to Amanda Smith?
26:12 – How does Honens market musicality?
27:35 – Storytelling is important. Amos Vang himself tackles the issue of storytelling in many different areas of work.
29:51 – In music, particularly piano, storytelling is shown through the pianist’s hands.
32:22 – Ryan Wang: a pianist is at their best when they are at their most vulnerable.
33:27 – How does Amanda support Jon Kimura Parker’s artistic vision at Honens?
38:34 – Amos Vang calls Honens the Canadian Grand Slam of international piano competitions!
40:54 – How does the Honens organisation differ between a competition year and a non-competition year?
43:21 – Amanda: the largest gaps in Canadian musical education are largely cultural.
45:55 – Dang Thai Son’s lifelong devotion to music is legendary.
47:32 – Canadians are to hockey as the Chinese are to piano!
49:10 – What is Honens’s “Keys for Newcomers” programme?
51:42 – What is Honens’s “Artistic Development” programme? What makes this programme unique from other competitions’ programmes?
54:00 – What are the similarities and differences in managing the post-Honens early careers of Illia Ovcharenko and Nicolas Namoradze?
59:27 – What are the most rewarding things that Amanda has experienced at Honens?
1:01:23 – How can people watch and enjoy Honens?
1:03:40 – What is Amanda’s advice to former musicians who have decided to change career paths?