About

A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Saxophonist Geoff Schneider is building a dynamic and versatile career as a performer, composer/arranger, and educator. 

As a leader, Schneider has led performances at the Harrisburg Arts Festival with his group, Schneider Local, and at Pine Grove Hall. As a sideman and featured soloist, Geoff has performed at Arlyn’s Good Beer, Ottowa Tavern, The Deer Head Inn, Rochambeau Boston, Carnegie Hall, Penn State Centre Stage, and the American Ale House of State College. He has performed with award-winning artists such as Dave Douglas, Vincent Herring, Allison Miller, Tamir Hendelman, Dwayne Dolphin, and Benny Benack III. 

Known for his nostalgic, colorful, yet progressive compositions, Schneider has composed and arranged music for BGSU Lab 1 Jazz Ensemble, BGSU Graduate Combo, Penn State Vocal Dimensions, various chamber groups of all genres, and more. Geoff is currently working on his first all-original album, Pride Suite, detailing the trials, tribulations, and beauty of queer life in America, which will release in 2024. 

Geoff earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance, a minor in Jazz Performance (2021), and a Professional Performance Certificate (2022) at the Pennsylvania State University where he studied with such luminaries as David Stambler, Joshua Davis, Marko Marcinko, Steve Rudolph, Allan Meyerson, Nelson Hill, and Rick Hirsch. His tireless dedication to music earned him spots as Lead Alto for Penn State’s premiere jazz ensemble, Centre Dimensions; Vice President of the Penn State Jazz Educator’s Club, and as a leader for the Penn State Jazz Combo which performed for official Penn State events. This work paid off in 2020, when he was awarded the Margot Bos Jazz Fund Award for his successes in the Jazz Studies area.

Schneider most recently received his Master’s Degree in Music Performance from Bowling Green State University (2024) where he studied under saxophonists David Bixler and Bryan Olsheski. At the same time, Geoff served as the Jazz Studies Graduate Teaching Assistant for which he coached small groups, performed in ensembles, taught weekly lessons, managed the Jazz Library, and worked as a clinician for local schools. For his efforts, Schneider was nominated for the BGSU Graduate College’s Outstanding Student Teaching Award. 

Geoff currently lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana where he will be beginning work at Sweetwater as a Category Advisor for the Band and Orchestra Department while continuing to compose, arrange, educate, and perform professionally in local venues and abroad. 

Last revised: 04/29/24

Credentials

• M.M. Music Performance, Jazz Saxophone, Bowling Green State University, 2024
• Professional Performance Certificate, Saxophone Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, 2022
• B.M. Music Performance, Saxophone, The Pennsylvania State University, 2021
• Minor in Jazz Studies and Contemporary Music, The Pennsylvania State University, 2021