Kylie Smith

Kylie Smith came to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) from her hometown of Plymouth, Massachusetts, to study music. She is in the University Honors Program. She applied for a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) for 2020 because she knew she wanted to conduct a large research project during her time at UNH. When she read the article “We Refugees” by Hannah Arendt for a history class, she was hooked. With her faculty research mentor, Dr. Rose Pruiksma, she designed her SURF research to study refugee composers in World War II-era America. In addition to gaining valuable research skills through the endeavor (for example, a different organizational structure is needed for such a large project like this) Kylie reached a deep understanding of the compositional styles and techniques of the composers she studied. She decided to publish with Inquiry to share her research and to get some experience with the publishing process. After earning her bachelor of arts degree in 2022, Kylie hopes to continue researching and studying viola along with working in music education. Graduate school is also in the plans, but exactly what kind of program is yet to be decided. Kylie notes that her research experience has helped her realize there are many exciting options for both research and career paths.