Michele Patzakis, DMA, MM, BM
Applied Instructor, Voice
Michele Patzakis, DMA, received acclaim as a lead soprano with De Munt (Belgium), Zurich, and New York City operas. She is a winner of the Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition and Metropolitan Opera auditions (Western Region), and was a Tanglewood Music Center fellow and apprentice with Central City Opera. A lover of Art Song, she has performed on the Ambassador Auditorium Gold Medal Series and as faculty artist for SongFest’s “Songs of Unity.” As part of her DMA program, she conducted research in vocal arts medicine and music teaching and learning. She has presented at the Voice Foundation, Fall Voice Conference, California Music Educators Association, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) conferences. A teaching artist with L.A. Opera, she cocreated a COVID-19 “long-haulers” course in partnership with UCLA Health. Patzakis also coordinated the inaugural L.A. County Arts and Health Week in 2022, is the San Francisco District director of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and is on the boards of the Loren L. Zachary Society for the Performing Arts; the Voice Foundation, Southern California Chapter; and the NATS, Los Angeles Chapter. Upon earning a DMA, she was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda honor society.
Education
- DMA, Vocal Arts, USC Thornton School of Music
- MM, Vocal Performance, The New England Conservatory of Music
- BM, Vocal Performance, USC Thornton School of Music
Academic Area
- School of the Arts
Expertise
- Vocal Arts Medicine, Vocology
- Operatic Stage Direction
- Lyric Diction
- Applied Voice
- Music Teaching and Learning
Courses Taught
- MUS 111 – Applied Voice
- GMAC 570 – Artist Certificate Applied Lesson (Voice)
- GMUS 530 – Applied Voice
- GMUS 540 – Advanced Vocal Pedagogy