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 fall of the 2025-26 season, Mr. McDonald leads performances of The Shining (Moravec/Campbell) at Opera Utah, as well as a workshop of Gregory Spears’ Sleepers Awake at Cincinnati Opera in advance of its premiere at Opera Philadelphia in 2026.
Highlights from recent seasons include Tosca at Opera Toledo, Silent Night and Dialogues of the Carmelites at Wolf Trap Opera, and On Site Opera's immersive productions of Gianni Schicchi and Tabarro. Other highlights from past seasons include Flight at Minnesota Opera, Hänsel und Gretel at Opera Saratoga, Idomeneo at Wolf Trap Opera, La finta giardiniera at Atlanta Opera, Elizabeth Cree at Chicago Opera Theatre, and Sweeney Todd with Curtis Opera Theatre. 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.
In addition to professional performance, Mr. McDonald has an impressive record as an engaging conductor-educator, having served as Music Director of the Longy Conservatory Orchestra in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Bard College Orchestra, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, and the Columbia University Bach Society. He is on the faculty at Mannes College, The New School, where he regularly leads productions and coaches singers in the Opera Program.
Mr. McDonald is also a published musicology researcher, having recently completed a Ph.D. in music psychology under the supervision of Dr. Clemens Wöllner. His dissertation focused on the convergences, distinctions, and occasional tensions between formal coherence (as musicians are taught to understand it) and perceptual coherence (as audiences actually experience it). It was awarded the 2025 Promotionspreis at the University for Music in Freiburg, Germany. Inspired by the encouragement of his musical and intellectual mentors — especially by his time working with Leon Botstein at Bard College and the American Symphony Orchestra — McDonald intends to continue pursuing music research alongside professional performance, furthering his empirical explorations of the nexus between composition, performer, and listener.
Mr. McDonald earned his master’s in orchestral conducting at Mannes College of Music, where he studied with David Hayes, and was the recipient of the Alma Askin Scholarship, the Felix Salzer Techniques of Music Award, and the Mannes Theory Essay Prize. He has received additional instruction and mentorship from Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Leif Segerstam, Leonid Grin, and Sir Gilbert Levine, whom he assisted on PBS-televised productions of Bruckner's 9th Symphony and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. He studied conducting with Michael Pratt at Princeton University and, upon earning his bachelor’s degree (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa), was awarded the inaugural Edward T. Cone Memorial Prize for excellence in combining music scholarship and performance.