Geoffrey Kidde - Autobiography

I was born in Paris in 1963 to American parents, and my family moved to Connecticut in 1968. I started playing the flute in 1975, soon thereafter began to compose. In 1985, I earned a B. A. degree in music at Columbia University; in 1988, a M. Mus. in music composition at New England Conservatory; and back at Columbia earned my D. M. A. in music composition in 1995. My composition teachers included Malcolm Peyton and John Heiss at NEC, and Mario Davidovsky and Chou-wen Chung at Columbia. My flute teachers over the years include Robert Dick, Robert Stallman, Jayn Rosenfeld and Patricia Spencer.

I began teaching music classes during my graduate studies at Columbia. I also continued composing and playing the flute. Also, during my graduate studies at Columbia, I served as Executive Director and then President of the League of Composers/I.S.C.M (U.S. Section). After completing the D.M.A., I taught at University of Bridgeport, Queensborough Community College, and Hofstra University. From 2002 until 2022 I was on the music faculty of Manhattanville University, and earned the title Professor Emeritus in 2023. Currently, I teach music courses at Bard Prison Initiative. My book entitled Learning Music Theory with Logic, Max, and Finale was published by Routledge in 2020.

I have composed over 50 concert works which have been performed in Japan, Europe, and US. I have presented music technology talks and performances at ATMI, CMS, NAMM, NACUSA and NFA. My music has been published by Alry Publications and SCI Journal, and recordings produced on the MMC and Living Artists labels. My music has won awards from Loyola University, Manhattan Choral Ensemble, NACUSA, and Meet the Composer, and my commissions have come from the National Flute Association and Hofstra New Music Ensemble.  

My music has been presented in concert at: Adirondack Festival of American Music; American Composers Forum; Aspen Music Festival; Bar Harbor Music Festival; Chicago Flute Club; College Music Society National Conference; Composers Concordance; Composers in Red Sneakers; June in Buffalo; Long Island Composers Alliance; NACUSA; National Flute Association; Rutgers Summerscape; SEAMUS; Society of Composers Inc. National Conference; Spark Electronic Music Festival; Summit Music Festival; and Vox Novus Concert Series, among other venues.

My current focus is opera. In November 2025, I produced a reading of my second opera, The Machine Stops (2011, revised 2025) at the National Opera Center in New York. The performing musicians were Diane Guernsey, Piano; Geoffrey Kidde, Composer/Conductor; Barbara Rearick, Mezzo-soprano; Kristen Renee Young, Soprano; Xavier Flory, Tenor; and Hans Tashjian, Bass-baritone. I am currently working on an opera based on Turgenev's Fathers and Sons--transplanted from 19th century Czarist Russia to 1970s USA.