ABOUT
Geddy Warner is a singer, voice teacher, and researcher based in New York City currently pursuing a PhD in Performance, Composition and Voice Research at New York University. Geddy is a graduate of the NYU Steinhardt Master of Music Program in Classical Vocal Performance with an additional Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy. He also received his Bachelors in Music from NYU and was the recipient of the Presser Scholar Award for Academic Achievement and Leadership.
As a pedagogue, Geddy has worked as a Graduate Adjunct Voice Faculty Professor at NYU Steinhardt from 2018 through the present and was noted for his highly compassionate and innovative teaching style. While teaching at NYU, he has maintained a large studio of both private and NYU students teaching a range of styles, (Classical, Musical Theater, Pop, Jazz, RnB, Rock, and Metal), as well as a wide range of skill levels from beginner through advanced. He has been noted to have "a warm and disarming presence" as well as "a thorough knowledge of how to help the voice grow" by both students and peers. Students of Geddy have been accepted to various collegiate programs and have performed leading roles in collegiate, regional, and off-broadway shows as well as solo and band performances on several NYC stages.
Geddy has also gained notable vocal rehabilitation experience as a Singing Voice Specialist. Along with Speech Language Pathologist teams at the NYU Langone Voice Center and the Mt. Sinai Voice and Swallowing Center, Geddy has done work in both rehabilitation and habilitation in order to improve vocal quality of clients recommended by the voice clinics. Geddy has received education and training in assisting with voice rehabilitation and maintains a close connection with other rehabilitative voice specialists in order to provide vocal care for numerous vocal pathologies.
His PhD studies are currently focused on the research of ventricular fold phonation with the desire to create a form of communication should an individual lose partial or full use of their true vocal folds. Along with the voice team at the NYU Langone Voice Clinic, utilizing Geddy's research, a protocol is being developed for teaching this method of phonation. This protocol has already found success in clinical practice giving some patients who had no discernible true vocal folds a newly functioning form of speech. Recently Geddy presented his research findings at the 2022 ASHA Fall Voice Conference in San Francisco.
Geddy is a member of Dr. Aaron Johnson's Voice Lab at NYU Langone and has assisted in research projects that have been presented at the Pan American Vocology Association 2022 Symposium in Minneapolis, and the 2022 ASHA Fall Voice Conference in San Francisco.
His current focus in his PhD is on the neurological, physiological, and psychological connection during ventricular fold phonation, and how it develops in practicing ventricular fold users. He hopes to use this research to further the understanding of ventricular phonation and continue to provide and refine a plausible and functional alternative means of communication to those who need it.
As avid and well-versed performer, Geddy has also been active in the operatic circuit both locally, and internationally. With a focus on text driven communication and finding truth within a character, Geddy has been afforded the opportunity to perform leading Tenor roles such as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, Robert in Le fille du tambour major (Franco American Vocal Academy), and Le Chevalier in Dialogues of the Carmelites to name a few.
Geddy has established himself in the NYC area performing new operatic works. In 2019, Geddy worked with Dell’Arte Opera during their season, which was committed to promoting two brand new operatic works of up-and-coming female composers and librettists. The first of which, Geddy covered the lead role of Prince Hjalmar in Princess Maleine, which was written by librettist Bea Goodwin and composed by Whitney George. Geddy also played the role of Henry Ward Beecher in the scenes production of Mrs. President composed by Victoria Bond. For his role as Henry Ward Beecher, Geddy was touted as "scarily convincing in his role" by VocediMeche.Reviews and "provocative... built to a climax... to create a most thrilling battle of whits and bodies" by Parterre.com. Geddy was also slated to perform the role of The Bishop of the Puebla in the new opera Juana for Dell'Arte's 2020 season prior to postponement due to COVID-19.
In 2018 Geddy also performed the role of the Doctor in the premier of Tony Manfredonia's new opera titled Ghost Variations, which is about the final few years of the life of Robert Schumann and how his mental illness affected the life of his wife Clara Schumann.
With a desire to also make opera accessible to a new generation, Geddy has worked with City Lyric Opera for several seasons since 2016. City Lyric Opera's mission is to make opera “Accessible, Relatable, and Entertaining." He has been seen in their productions of L'elisir d'amore as a featured tenor and Le tragedie de Carmen as Zuniga. In 2020, Geddy also performed the role of Mattais in City Lyric Zoom production of The Three Penny Opera.
In addition to his career as an operatic singer, voice teacher, and researcher, Geddy is also an avid songwriter, creating a large output of music that covers many genres including, Alternative Rock, Soft Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Jazz, and Heavy Metal. Geddy was also a part of the 2022 Downbeat award winning NYU Pop/Rock ensemble and is also the recipient of the 2022 Downbeat Award for Outstanding Rock Soloist.
