2009 was a year of superlatives for Dominic Piers Smith – he received a standing ovation for his performance of Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall and released his debut CD ‘The Power of Dreaming’ the same night. In 2010 he made his Shostakovich Concerto debut and was the focus of a major feature in the August BBC Music Magazine.

But what sets Dominic’s talents apart from the others is that he is also Team Leader of an aerodynamics design group for Mercedes GP Petronas, (formerly Brawn GP which won both the 2009 Formula One drivers' and constructors' championships in the team's first year, an achievement never previously seen in the sport’s history).

Not content with having a leading role in the design of state-of-the-art Formula One cars, Dominic’s pianistic capabilities, critically acclaimed as ‘brilliant’, have been compared to those of renowned masters such as Van Cliburn and Moura Lympany.

At 18 Dominic agonised over his career path before deciding to read Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College, studying in London, Aachen and Maranello. He worked with the Ferrari Formula One Team in his final year and, after graduating, his first racing car design won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 in the USA in 2000.

Dominic commenced piano lessons at 6 and violin at 8 and, having won several music festivals, was awarded an ‘Exhibition’ by Bedfordshire Youth Music to study at Trinity College of Music, London, until the end of his ‘A’ levels. He played the young Mozart in the Channel 4 series ‘Man and his Music’ and also became principal bassoonist in the Trinity College Symphony Orchestra, in frequent demand as a piano soloist, accompanist and ensemble member. He has given solo performances at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, Southwark Cathedral, Edinburgh Festival, Hanauer Konzerthalle Frankfurt and Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne, having played numerous concerti, including Beethoven’s 4th Piano Concerto and the rarely heard Tchaikovsky 2nd Piano Concerto. Dominic’s recent competition successes include 1st prize and ‘Audience Favourite’ at the 2007 International Yamaha Pianists Competition. His debut double CD of masterpieces by Chopin and Liszt has been described as ‘outstanding’.