John Jeter

Music Director & Conductor

John Jeter is presently in his 28th season as the Music Director & Conductor of the Fort Smith Symphony.

In addition to his work in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Mr. Jeter (pronounced “Jet-ter”) is a recording artist for Naxos Records with nine albums recorded to date.  He has been awarded Artist of the Year for the State of Arkansas and the Helen M. Thompson Award by the League of American Orchestras for outstanding music director.

Under Mr. Jeter’s leadership, the Fort Smith Symphony has transformed from a modest community orchestra to a regional ensemble with an international reputation.  Mr. Jeter’s recordings are streamed and broadcast annually on most all streaming platforms and numerous radio stations worldwide.  His recording of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 1 and 4 with the Fort Smith Symphony on Naxos was a major catalyst in the international re-discovery of Florence Price’s music to the general public.  He is currently the only conductor to have recorded every known work of Florence Price that includes orchestra (symphonies, tone poems, dance suites, concertos and major choral works).  His Price recordings include many world premier recordings.  He and his orchestra gave the world premier performance of Price’s Symphony No. 4 in 2018.

Mr. Jeter and the Fort Smith Symphony were the first (and currently only artists) to record the complete symphony cycle of William Grant Still.  The same forces released world premier recordings of the music of Louis Ballard, the first Native American concert composer.  This release was the first commercial recording ever produced of orchestral music dedicated to a historic Indigenous American concert composer.  Mr. Jeter’s recordings have received consistent critical acclaim from The Gramophone Magazine to the New York Times. 

Mr. Jeter continues to enjoy success conducting a great variety of music from the standard orchestral repertoire to newly rediscovered works, world premieres, Symphonic pops and film music.  Guest conducting engagements include the Greek National Opera, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Erie Philharmonic (PA) and others.   Recording projects have included leading the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, Wurttemberg Philharmonic of Reutlingen and Malmo Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Sweden).
Dedicated to education, Mr Jeter has created programs with the Fort Smith Symphony that have resulted in approximately 75,000 live student interactions with over $1.4 million in resources earmarked for these projects.  These programs include Earquake!TM multi-media fun orchestra concerts for 5th grade students and in-school programs including the Fort Smith Symphony’s Kool Cats Jazz Quartet and Blue Grass Live Blue Grass Quartet.
Mr. Jeter’s media background extends to over 30 years as Classical music radio host, guest host, creator and producer.  In more recent years, Mr. Jeter is a guest on dozens of classical stations nationwide in conjunction with his latest recording projects.  Mr. Jeter’s playlists, interviews and public presentations on wellness and music are part of his role as a health and wellness consultant for the west coast based Providence Health & Services, a not-for-profit health system with 122,000 employees.  
Mr. Jeter was the conducting assistant of the summer seasons and cover conductor for the Indianapolis Symphony, Music Director of the Greater Indianapolis Youth Symphony, Artistic Adviser for the North Arkansas Symphony and Interim Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Oklahoma and University of Tulsa.  He is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Texas Chapter).  Mr. Jeter has a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Jordan College of Fine Arts at Butler University in Indianapolis and a Bachelor’s Degree In Music Theory and Piano from the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT.    Mr. Jeter is represented by ACM360artists.