Christopher Arneson is a distinguished voice trainer, vocologist, author, and educator specializing in the development and maintenance of healthy, effective voices for professional voice users. He serves as Director of Voice Pedagogy at Westminster Choir College of Rider University and is also a member of the faculty at Princeton University.
Recognized for his expertise in voice pedagogy, Dr. Arneson has instructed and mentored singers who have subsequently pursued advanced studies at institutions such as Yale University, the Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, Boston University, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Columbia University and New York University. Many of his students and clients have also established successful professional careers with leading opera companies in the US and in Europe and on Broadway.
Dr. Arneson is Director of Westminster Choir College’s highly successful Master of Voice Pedagogy degree program, one of only two online Master of Voice Pedagogy programs in the United States. He was co-director of the CoOPERAtive Program, a young artist training program for singers held at Westminster Choir College, and co-director of the Voice and Speech Department in the MFA Program at the renowned Actors Studio Drama School of The New School in New York City. In addition, he taught “Use and Care of the Professional Voice” at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University.
As a performer, Dr. Arneson enjoyed success in opera, concert, and recital. Dr. Arneson appeared with the Netherlands Opera, the Paris Opera, and at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. He appeared in the world premiere of John Adams’ Nixon in China, performed with the Opera Orchestra of New York in works by Donizetti and Boieldieu, and sang Figaro in the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s production of The Barber of Seville. He also appeared with the New Jersey Symphony performing Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs and in performances of Strauss’s Der Zigeunerbaron with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Kurt Masur.
Dr. Arneson is a frequent guest speaker on the training and care of the professional voice. He serves on the faculty of the New York Singing Teachers Association’s (NYSTA) Professional Development Program, where he has taught courses in vocal repertoire and applied pedagogy. He served as Chair of the NATS Pedagogy Curriculum Committee and has published articles in the NATS Journal of Singing, including “Reorganizing the Pillars of Voice Pedagogy” (with Dr. Sean McCarther) and “Performance Anxiety: A 21st-Century Perspective.” He also served as Program Chair for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) National Conference in Boston.
Dr. Arneson has served on the editorial boards of the NATS Journal of Singing and the revised edition of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Vocal Repertoire Collection, published by Frederick Harris Ltd. He is a member of the American Academy of Teachers of Singing and has been designated a Master Teacher for the NATS Intern Program. He has also served on the National Screening Committee for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, reviewing and nominating candidates for international study.
Dr. Arneson is the editor and author of Fundamentals of Great Singing: The Teaching of Michael Trimble and, Literature for Teaching: Solo Vocal Repertoire from a Developmental Perspective, both published by Inside View Press. He is also the author of Literature for Teaching—Teaching Edition: Anthologies of Art Songs and Arias for Young Singers and Teachers, published by Inside View Press.
Dr. Arneson was awarded a Faculty Research Fellowship to write Musical Theatre Voice Pedagogy: The Art and Science, also published by Inside View Press. He is a contributing author to The Oxford Handbook of Voice Pedagogy (Oxford University Press, 2027) and A Richard Miller Festschrift: Sotto Voce—Readings in Vocal Pedagogy (Bloomsbury Press, 2026).
Dr. Arneson completed vocology internships at the Grabscheid Voice Center at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Vox Humana Laboratory at St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital, both in New York City, where he continues to collaborate with otolaryngologists and speech-language pathologists in the remediation of voice disorders.
Dr. Arneson holds both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Opera from Binghamton University. He completed postgraduate studies at Cornell University, where he studied with renowned Verdi scholar Roger Parker, and earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
Dr. Arneson’s interdisciplinary approach integrates both the artistic and scientific dimensions of voice training, enabling him to support singers, actors, educators, and other professional voice users in achieving optimal vocal function and performance.