Video: Matt Farnsworth On His Vocal Coaching Philosophy & More

Ahead of the finale of BroadwayWorld's Next on Stage, Richard Ridge sat down to chat with esteemed vocal coach Matt Farnsworth - who has worked with the winners of the last four seasons of Next on Stage as part of their prize.

watch as Farnsworth talks about his Broadway experience, his vocal coaching philosophy, and more.

Matt Farnsworth is an accomplished voice teacher, actor, and pianist living and working in NYC. He has been teaching voice since 1995 when he became the consulting coach on Broadway’s production of RENT. Since then, Matt has taught hundreds of Broadway actors, film stars and recording artists which include Sara Bareilles, Carly Rae Jepsen and American Idol finalists Constantine Maroulis and Pia Toscano.

His students have been nominated and won Oscar, Tony and Grammy awards and can be seen performing in Film and Television, on Broadway, National Tours and in Regional houses around the country. Currently Matt has students in Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, Ain’t too Proud, West Side Story revival, The Book of Mormon, Frozen, Jagged Little Pill, Mean Girls, Come from Away, Oklahoma, Waitress, Ms. Doubtfire, Jersey Boys to name a few.

Matt has most recently worked on several Netflix films including Jingle Jangle (Christmas 2020), The Prom movie (directed by Ryan Murphy), as well as the new Aretha Franklin movie Respect. Matt served as the vocal coach for several actors in Amazon’s Transparent Musical Finale as well as the hit TV shows Orange is the New Black and The Other Two. Matt’s success as a teacher is not only attributed to his studies, but also from his experience as an actor and accomplished pianist. Before Matt decided to pursue teaching full time, he performed on Broadway and regionally in The Who's Tommy, Cats, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Sunset Boulevard and Curtains.

He has performed in top regional productions opposite Idina Menzel, Alice Ripley and many other amazing talents. Matt recently has also been contracted by major Fitness companies such as Peloton and Hydrow to work with their most prized instructors maintaining the vocal health and quality of their voices.

Matt believes that every great teacher should continue their own studies and he does so by studying regularly himself with his incredible mentor Bill Schuman as well as others including Donata D’Annunzio Lombardi, Craig Carnelia, Joan Rosenfels and Bob Krackower. Matt is also immersing himself in the language of the body as he is preparing to get his Baptiste Yoga certification. Matt’s knowledge and experience of “the business”, relationships with casting directors and directors, unparalleled piano skills, understanding of the human voice and body, along with his own experience of being a Broadway actor in NYC for 25 years, make him one of New York’s most sought after voice teachers today.

Learn more about Matt & his classes here!