Barbara Barnard Smith

Barbara Barnard Smith (8 June 1920 – 3 July 2021) was an American ethnomusicologist who founded and developed the field of ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaiʻi. She was the professor emerita of Music at the university.

Smith began her career at the UH Mānoa in 1949 teaching piano and music theory, after earning her master's degree in music literature from the Eastman School of Music.

In October 1972, she edited a special edition of the Music Educators Journal to broaden the reach of ethnomusicology beyond specialists.

In 2009, she won the Fumio Koizumi Prize for Ethnomusicology for her work in both research and education with regard to expanding the knowledge and understanding of music and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific.

In 2013, she was made an honorary member of the International Council for Traditional Music, and later she founded the Barbara Barnard Smith Travel Award to support participation in an ICTM World Conference.