Dorotha Sharp Smart
"Her...indelible voice will continue to echo through the halls of our school and students for generations to come." - Eugene Watanabe
Remembering Dorotha Sharp Smart (1930-2020)
A Legacy of Advocacy and Service
It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved friend and board member, Dorotha Sharp Smart. A fierce proponent of music education, Dorotha was an accomplished pianist whose past teachers included the renowned Grant Johannessen and Gifted Music School founder, Eugene Watanabe. An active student through her ninth decade of life, Dorotha had an unquenchable thirst for lifelong learning and the mastery of her instrument.
Completely unwilling to take no for an answer when it came to her passion for supporting high-level music education, Dorotha was truly a force of nature. She has left an indelible mark on our community and her presence looms so large that it is almost impossible to imagine a world without her. However, through the Dorotha Sharp Smart Memorial Scholarship Fund, her uncompromising advocacy will continue to inspire and empower all of us to make outstanding music education accessible to all.
Watch the Memorial Concert here: https://toridumkehillyard.wixsite.com/dorotha
A Message from Founder Eugene Watanabe
There are only a few in our state whose lives have not been touched for the better by Dorotha. Her influence, work, and love for the arts has touched all of us—young and old. As a passionate board member, supporter, and volunteer of important cultural and educational institutions in our state, she helped shape the direction of the performing arts and music education for children for over 50 years. Her influence will continue to do so well into the next century.
Dorotha left a beautiful legacy—in her family and in our community. I miss her deeply already: her incredible witty humor, her compassion, her laser intelligence and insight, her beautiful obstinate will to get things done right, her world-level talent in piano, her passion for life, music, and music education.
Her wonderful and indelible voice will continue to echo through the halls of our school and students for generations to come.
Thank you Dorotha...
Eugene Watanabe
Artistic Director & Founder
Gifted Music School
The Dorotha Sharp Smart Memorial Scholarship Fund
In lieu of flowers, the Smart family has generously asked that donations be made to Gifted Music School in memory of Dorotha Smart. Dorotha was passionate about Gifted Music School and viewed it as the greatest way to elevate the educational standards and aspirations for all music students in Utah. Thank you for joining in this great cause she loved.
