Organist and conductor Geoffrey Harris Ward has held positions in Canadian and American churches including the Healey Willan Organ Scholar at The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene (Anglican) in Toronto, ON. He has served in the Episcopal Church (USA), the United Church of Christ (USA), the Presbyterian Church (Canada) the Catholic Church (USA). He has conducted children’s choir festivals in Arkansas and Tennessee (USA), worked for the CREDO Episcopal Convocation, and was the Artistic Director of the Memphis BoyChoir Inc. for ten years. He has performed recitals across the United States, Canada, Scandinavia, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In the summer of 2025, Dr. Ward will perform a solo recital at Westminster Abbey, London.
Ward commenced his duties as University Organist and Choirmaster at the University of the South (Sewanee) in July 2016 where he is also on the faculty for the Department of Music teaching organ and conducting lessons, directing the University Choir, and teaching church music and history courses. During his tenure, the choir has grown from 40 to over 70 members and has made choral tours of the United States, Canada, England, and Ireland.
Ward is originally from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. He earned a diploma in piano performance (A.R.C.T.) at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and two bachelor degrees at the Marjorie Young Bell Conservatory of Music at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. One degree in trumpet performance (B.M.) and one in music education (B.M.E.). Ward completed the Master of Music (M.M.) degree at Arizona State University in Tempe in instrumental conducting before completing his Doctorate in Musical Arts (D.M.A.) in Organ Performance and Church Music at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Ward currently serves as Board President for the Sewanee Church Music Conference and is a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and the American Guild of Organists.
