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Lauri Ferrin Smith, married 24 years and the mother of three sons in
addition to Shelly and Amanda, is also the “mother” of the band.
Growing up in a musical family in Phoenix, Arizona, she began playing
piano and woodwinds at a very young age, performing in school and church
frequently as a soloist as well as with her family's "old-time"
band.
At age 12 her favorite musical endeavor was singing backup with her father,
Kay Ferrin, who was a vocalist and instrumentalist with numerous southern
rock and nostalgia bands throughout the United States and Canada. By age
18, Lauri earned a degree in vocal music and music education, the youngest
graduate in her class. Upon graduating, she began teaching voice and conducting
local and regional church choirs.
Armed with teaching experience and a passion for great music, she helped
to hone her daughters’ young voices. She has been a member of the
Houston Symphony Chorus, Plano Music Teacher’s Association, the Texas
Music Teacher’s Association and the National Music Teacher’s
Association, but her first love is stage performance.
Thanks to her parents and grandparents, her musical influences are many
and varied, but great singer/songwriters and arrangers continue to inspire
her: Richard and Karen Carpenter, Carly Simon, Billy Joel, Chicago, Amy
Grant, Vince Gill, SheDaisy, and her new favorite songwriter, Dierks Bentley.
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