Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

November 18, 2022

Todd Geer  - His Life Story

            William Todd Geer

            Aug. 30, 1965 – Nov. 18, 2022

It was the voice of Todd Geer that moved others. It was his trumpeting tenor that reached the very back row of opera houses worldwide. The encouraging words spoken to the student searching for their own voice. And the whispered shared dreams between two teenagers (he and his love, Laura) on a warm May night on a quiet church campus in Charlotte’s Myers Park neighborhood.

Voice is what propelled Todd across numerous countries and endless stages before he drew his final breath on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. He was 57 years old.

Born Aug. 30, 1965, William Todd Geer was the youngest of three children born to John Franklin “Frank” and Nancy Hughes Geer. The family made their home in Charlotte and Todd was typical of most young boys in that he was always playing sports – mainly basketball and football. From Sedgefield Middle to Myers Park High schools, Todd excelled on the football field, playing middle linebacker, and running back.

The Geer family joined Myers Park Baptist Church in 1965 and the church would prove to be a lasting influence in Todd’s life. On May 7, 1982, at the urging of his best friend, Todd agreed to go on a blind date with Laura Brown.

“I had no expectations. I thought, ‘Here I am going out with this popular football player and he’s probably thinking he’s the best thing since sliced bread,’” Laura said with a laugh. That night, the two ended up walking around the campus at Myers Park Baptist. They sat and talked of the future and Laura found Todd to be funny, genuine, and unpretentious.

“He was just so warm and open and easy to talk to. I just felt at peace and comfortable.”

Todd later told her that the night of their first date, he dreamed they would marry. And on Nov. 7, 1986, Todd and Laura did marry, on that same Myers Park Baptist Church campus.

“We were destined to be together,” Laura said.

Todd was unique in his love for music. And though he loved all types of music, it was opera that was Todd’s passion.

“Music surrounded him all his life,” Laura said.

Todd sang in the church choir and his talent was recognized by Jim Berry, the church’s minister of music, who would become Todd’s first voice coach and lifelong supporter.

Upon his graduation in 1984 from Myers Park High, Todd chose music over the recruiting pitch from the football coaches at Rice University. Encouraged by Berry and high school choral teacher, Jim Clark, Todd auditioned at two of the most prestigious music schools in the country -- Juilliard in New York City and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Todd chose Eastman, receiving the school’s Merit Scholarship for four years, before graduating in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in applied voice. He would continue his education, earning a full scholarship at Binghamton University, where he graduated in 1993 with his master of music degree in opera performance.

In 1999, Todd auditioned for and won the elite Adler Fellowship from the San Francisco Opera, where he received further training and experience on the stage. His career blossomed. For the next 15 years, Todd performed not only across the U.S., from Chicago to Sacramento to San Diego to Dayton, Ohio, but also internationally. In Bangkok, he performed for the King of Thailand’s birthday. Geer sang in Paris, in Greece, in the Caribbean.

“Seeing him on stage, I felt so much love and joy and pride,” Laura said. “He worked so hard and had such a passion for what he did. For Todd, it wasn’t about the accolades. It was about the art and the experience.”

Todd felt it was important to fully research each role he performed. From the smallest of roles to Rodolfo in “La Bohéme,” he was devoted to perfecting his craft, capturing the emotion and embodiment of each character.

“It was about accomplishing something and honoring the composers and the beautiful music and the time and place from which it came from,” Laura said. “He was such a gift. I just felt so proud. I would sit in the back corner of the theatre and feel so excited and joyful for him doing what he loved.”

Todd benefited greatly from many talented teachers who “taught a technique that focused on the meaning and the emotion of the piece,” Laura said. This would also guide him in his work with his students. For three years, he was a voice instructor and opera director at Catawba College. For most of the last 10 years, he taught students at the Gaston School of the Arts in Gastonia, the Community School of the Arts in Charlotte (now Arts +), the Opera Carolina Academy in Charlotte and those studying music and voice at Winthrop University.

Todd taught voice to hundreds of students over the last 10 years. He was open and free in his support. It was his generous, loving, emphatic, kind soul, with a dash of a sense of humor, that reached students and made them feel comfortable.

One student shared that Todd taught her so much more than just how to sing. For the past two years, the two gathered most Mondays and they’d talk of how hard life can be and what living with chronic pain is like. They’d dig into the depths of music and discuss what realness is needed behind songs. “He never once let me leave without letting me know he’s proud of me,” she wrote. “One of the biggest words of wisdom I have ever taken away from him is the time he told me to ‘Invest in yourself. Invest in your future. If you’re going to die, you’re going to die. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t follow your heart.’”

Todd died Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte due to complications from cirrhosis of the liver.

In addition to his wife, Laura Brown Geer, Todd is survived by his mother, Nancy Hughes Geer Rider, of Charlotte; a brother, John Geer, and his wife, Tammy, of Greensboro; a sister, Susan Zanghi, of Charlotte; two nieces, Jennifer Zanghi, of New York City, and Kristen Zanghi, of Nashville, Tenn.; two nephews, Tony Zanghi, of New York City, and Jay Geer, of Greensboro; two step-brothers, Matt Gross of Cumming, GA and Brad Gross of Raleigh, NC, and two brothers-in-law, Charles and Scott Brown, both of Charlotte.

He was preceded in death by his father, Frank Geer; stepfather, Dr. Ernest A. Rider; father- and mother-in-law, Charles Reed and Shirley Mayes Brown; and a brother-in-law, Michael Lee Brown.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022, at 11 a.m. at Myers Park Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. W. Benjamin Boswell officiating. Interment will be in the columbarium at the church.

Memorial donations can be made to Myers Park Baptist Church, 1900 Queens Road, Charlotte, NC, 28207.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral and Cremation Service, Charlotte.