Julia Frances Smith ( January 25, 1905[1] – April 18, 1989[2][3][4]) was an American composer, pianist, and author on musicology.

During this time, she also gave concerts of mostly American music in Latin America, Europe, and throughout the United States.

She collaborated with composer Cecile Vashaw on The Work and Play String Method, an instructional series for violin, viola, cello, and bass.

Among her works are The String Quartet, which uses irregular metres and driving rhythms, and the operas Cynthia Parker and Cockcrow, which employ folk music within a generally conservative tonal idiom.

[5] Smith plays up the differences between Native and settler cultures by using stereotypical "Indian" tropes for the Comanche and familiar and popular folk music for the white colonists of the American West.