Geoff MCDONALD

Geoffrey McDonald is a dynamic presence at the forefront of America’s contemporary opera scene, known for his “original and flexible musical imagination” (Observer) as well as his confident technical command on the podium. Described by The New York Times as “an agile conductor…whose pacing is sure in both reflective and restless passages,” critics and audiences alike have lauded Mr. McDonald’s musical sensitivity across an uncommonly wide range of repertoire, as well as his ability to build and maintain dramatic intensity over the course of an opera. A committed advocate and trusted interpreter of new opera, he has led workshops and world premieres of operas for leading companies, such as Washington National Opera and Opera Philadelphia, working with prominent composers, including Jennifer Higdon, Kevin Puts, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, Lembit Beecher, Carlos Simon, Gregory Spears, and Kamala Sankaram, among others.

In the summer of 2023, he joined Wolf Trap Opera to conduct Gounod’s Faust. In the fall of the 2022-23 season, Mr. McDonald returned to Toledo Opera to conduct a double bill of Suor Angelica/Cavalleria Rusticana and rejoined the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia for a concert of baroque music featuring countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen. As Music Director of New York City’s On Site Opera (OSO), an innovative company that has earned the adulation of opera veterans and new audiences, he lead two productions, including a revival of their critically acclaimed staging of Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Having conducted the world premiere of Sky on Swings (Beecher/Moscovitch) at Opera Philadelphia, Mr. McDonald will return to lead the world premiere of Woman with Eyes Closed (Higdon/Dye) (COVID19 – rescheduled for 2024). Other highlights from past seasons include Flight at Minnesota Opera, Hänsel und Gretel at Opera Saratoga, productions at Wolf Trap Opera (where he led National Symphony Orchestra), La finta giardiniera at Atlanta Opera, Elizabeth Cree at Chicago Opera Theatre, and Sweeney Todd with Curtis Opera Theatre.

Since joining New York City's On Site Opera in 2015 as the company’s first Music Director, Mr. McDonald has demonstrated a unique ability to marshal performances of the highest musical standard in a variety of immersive settings. As Observer’s review of OSO’s Barber of Seville described it, “Geoffrey McDonald repeated the miracle of nuanced coordination between orchestra and singers he recently accomplished with Orlando downtown.” Of other recent On Site Opera performances, The New York Times noted, “Geoffrey McDonald drew stylish, nimble playing”, elsewhere admiring his “grace and verve”, while Opera News has praised his “sensitivity and control.”

He has appeared as guest conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, International Contemporary Ensemble, Gotham Chamber Opera, American Symphony Orchestra, Bard Festival Players, Theater und Orchester Neubrandenburg/Neustrelitz, West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra, and historical instrument ensemble Grand Harmonie.

Mr. McDonald earned his master’s degree in conducting at Mannes Conservatory and is currently working toward a Ph.D. in music psychology at the University for Music in Freiburg, Germany. His track record as a conductor-educator and his study of how the mind experiences music set him apart as one of the few conductors in his field combining empirical study and performance to engage new and broader communities with opera and concert music.