School of Music

Patricia Edwards has been singing professionally for more than 25 years. She began her vocal studies at the Peabody Conservatory in her native Baltimore, Maryland, and continued at the Oberlin Conservatory. For more than 10 years, Edwards toured the United States in full-time music ministry, specializing in the story songs of composer Ken Medema. She has recorded three albums, has appeared on Christian television and radio programs, and her voice can be heard on Christian Family Radio.

In the world of opera, Edwards has sung leading roles in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Puccini’s Tosca. She has also sung First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Angelica in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Lady Billows in Britten’s Albert Herring, Magda Sorrel in Menotti’s The Consul, and the three Mozart/da Ponte heroines: Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, and Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro. In the world of oratorio, Edwards has sung as soloist in Brahm’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and others. She has been a soloist at the Glendale First United Methodist Church for 12 years.

Edwards was coordinator of vocal studies at La Sierra University in Riverside, California before coming to APU. She now serves as voice instructor at APU’s School of Music teaching Applied Voice, Vocal Literature, and Diction for Singers. She is an active recitalist and specializes in preparing vocal students for graduate studies and professional singing careers. Her versatile experience as a performer complements her academic training.