Born into a family of musicians in Vienna in 1942, Kurt Schmid studied clarinet with Prof. Rudolf Jettel and graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with honors. Upon his graduation, he was appointed as a solo clarinetist of the "Tonkünstler Orchestra" of Lower Austria and he remained as a member of that orchestra until 2003. In 1974 he began teaching clarinet at the Wiener MusikSeminar. In 1980 he was appointed as visiting professor for clarinet at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 1996 he was appointed as the Artistic Director and Vice-President of the Wiener Musik Seminar. In December of 2003 he began his tenure at the Lugansk National Pedagogical University and in 2004 he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa by the university. As a noted clarinetist, he regularly gives master-classes in Austria, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Ukraine.

Not content with just being a fine clarinetist, Kurt Schmid began studying conducting with such noted conductors as Hans Swarovsky, Walter Koberer, Karl Österreicher, Erwin Acel and Seiji Ozawa. Due to his skills as a clarinetist and a conductor, he was appointed as the artistic director and conductor of the "Vienna Clarinet Orchestra". In 1998 he created the "Strauss-Gala-Orchestra Vienna". With the "Strauss-Gala- Orchestra", he has led successful tours throughout Austria, Spain and Japan. In 1999 he was appointed as the honorary director (a position he still today) and conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the State Philharmonie Oradea (Romania). In that capacity he organized and conducted concert tours in Japan, Korea, Hungary and Romania. In 2001 he began his long association with Ukraine. His concert activities there included concerts in Lvov, Uzhhorod, Chernivtsi, Kiev, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Lugansk, Donetsk, Nikolaev, Kherson, Odessa, Simferopol, Yalta and other cities. In 2002 he was awarded the title of Honorary Conductor of the Philharmonic Society in Chernivtsi and appointed as the Artistic Director and the Principal Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonie Lugansk. In that capacity he led numerous concert tours with the Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonie Lugansk in Austria. The highlights included performances in Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus, where Ukrainian and Viennese music was played; the performance of the Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Great Hall of the Wiener Musikverein with the Symphony Orchestra of the Philharmonie Lugansk and the choir of the the Lugansk National Pedagogical University in October 2005; and a concert tour of Mozart’s Requiem and Ukrainian music throughout Austria. Kurt Schmid is the Music Director of the "Euro Music Festival" in Korea.

Among numerous honors bestowed upon him by various countries, the noted ones are the 2010 Cross of Honour for Science and Art (First Class) – the highest official recognition for achievements in the field of arts in Austria; the Silver Medal of Honors of the city of Vienna; the honorary prize of the international popularity fond "Gold fortune" (Ukraine); the medal of the 3rd degree "For the important contribution to the cultural development of the Lugansk region“; the Order of Merit of the President of Ukraine of the 3rd degree; the Honorary Mark "For the development of the Lugansk region" and Honorary Mark "For services to the Lugansk city".

Kurt Schmid is also a composer of more than 600 compositions.