We were lucky to catch up with Emily Geller recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I didn’t come from a musical family, but always loved singing. As a child, I was involved in theater, but didn’t start taking voice lessons until high school. I used to think you could sing, or couldn’t. That singing was simply a talent. Once I learned singing could be improved with technique and practice, I became obsessed with getting better. Through consistent voice lessons, I landed the leads in school musicals, and became hooked. In the summer of my junior year of high school, I went to Boston University Tanglewood Institute. I was surrounded by like-minded artists and loved every minute. Shortly after that experience, I decided I wanted to pursue opera professionally. I am in this for the long haul, and love constantly improving my craft.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a professional operatic contralto. I live with my husband and two children right outside NYC. I feel I’m at an age, and place in my development as an artist, where I can sing most of the roles I’ve always wanted to sing. As a child, I had a shockingly low singing voice. Singing lower is easy for me. My low is resonant and consistent. It’s one of the qualities that makes unique.

I was being trained/marketed as a lyric mezzo-soprano, even though much of that repertoire never felt right. I still booked jobs, but knew in my heart I was different from the other mezzo-sopranos. In the opera business, some people think contraltos aren’t a real fach, they are mezzos that can’t sing high, or it’s just for branding purposes. If you call yourself a contralto, it’s common to be met with some backlash and a “prove it” attitude. After multiple opera professionals asked me if I were a contralto, an encouraging nudge from my managers, and courage on my part, I took the leap, rebranded, and started to unapologetically own the title of “contralto”. I haven’t looked back and finally feel I’m in the right place.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media is tricky when you are your own brand. Some of my followers are fellow opera singers, family and friends, industry professionals, and some are complete strangers. I’ve had to navigate the different platforms (facebook, instagram, tik tok), learn what gets the most engagement on each, and tweek posts. I post some clips of me singing, backstage content, role prep, and production/professional photos. I utilize stories on Instagram to talk directly into the camera (with captions), ask questions, do polls, and tag other people. I “pin” videos of me singing, and have highlight stories of roles, reviews, and a “hear me sing” section. I know directors and conductors who have casting power follow me, so keep the opera stuff super visible and the main focus. My advise would be to vary it up with content, be yourself, and follow other like-minded artists. Overall, try not to overthink it. Keep it fun and not too serious. Be authentic. About 80% of my feed is opera related, and 20% life stuff because I think it’s important to see the real person. At least as real as one can be on social media. I’m always learning and improving.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Who you were is not who you are. If you are consistently improving, the challenges you had should not define you now. I used to define myself by what I was “good at” and what I was “bad at”. The issue is that is always changing. “Bad” and “good” are objective. Just stay focused on your personal growth and do your best not to compare yourself to others.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.EmilyGeller.com
• Instagram: @EmilyGeller
• Facebook: Emily Geller, Contralto
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@emilygeller
• Other: TikTok: @EmilyGellerContralto

Image Credits
Stephen Dillon Dan Hall Martha Benedict