Geoffrey McDonald is currently in his second season as Music Director of the Columbia University Bach Society. He is also an Assistant Conductor for the American Symphony Orchestra, the Gotham Chamber Opera, and the New Amsterdam Singers. This past summer he served as Assistant Conductor at the Bard Summer Music Festival, which featured performances of the music of Alban Berg and a staged production of Franz Schreker’s Der Ferne Klang. An avid instrumental and vocal performer, Geoff studied piano, ‘cello, and voice from an early age. He graduated in 2009 with a Masters in Orchestral Conducting from Mannes College, where he studied with David Hayes. While at Mannes he was the recipient of the Alma Askin Scholarship, the Felix Salzer Techniques of Music Award, and the Mannes Theory Essay Prize, for an article on Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder. He earned his B.A. degree Summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University in 2007, where he majored in Musicology and earned minors both in Music Performance (Conducting) and German. While at Princeton, Geoff was the Assistant Conductor of the Princeton University Orchestra and Associate Conductor of the Princeton University Sinfonia. For three years he was also the Music Director of the Princeton Katzenjammers, the nation’s oldest co-ed collegiate a cappella group and an award-winning chamber choir. Upon graduating he was awarded the inaugural Edward T. Cone Memorial Prize for excellence in combining music scholarship with performance. A devotee of diverse musical styles and genres, Geoff maintains a busy performing schedule in the indie-rock band, Miracles of Modern Science, and is an active composer.