Michele Patzakis, DMA, MM, BM
Applied Instructor, Voice
Michele Patzakis, DMA is a performer, arts administrator, director, and educator whose career bridges the worlds of performance, pedagogy, and arts in health. An award-winning lyric soprano, she made her European operatic debut with the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, featured in their European telecast of Puccini’s Il Trittico, as Venus in Offenbach’s Orphée aux Enfers on DVD and for telecast, and as soloist in the world premiere and recording of Pascal Dusapin’s Médéamaterial. She made her New York operatic debut with the New York City Opera as Kathy in The Student Prince and has performed as a leading soprano across North America and Europe with the Zurich Opera, the Spoleto Festivals in Italy and Charleston, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Toulouse, the Pacific Symphony, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia, among others.
Her performances have taken her to concert halls around the world, including Vienna’s Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, and Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium. She has collaborated with renowned conductors Antonio Pappano, Michel Plasson, Marin Alsop, Marcello Viotti, Anton Coppola, and Philippe Herreweghe.
Passionate about arts education and wellness, Michele serves as a teaching artist with LA Opera Connects (where she is on the faculty of the Leadership Academy) and as the program coordinator for LA County Arts and Health Week. She co-created Opera for Life and Wellness, a breathing and singing program in collaboration with UCLA Health for COVID-19 long-haulers, featured on CNN, Inside Edition, and during the LA County Arts and Health Week and Johns Hopkins Medicine’s “Healing Breath” Initiative. Recently, she helped develop curriculum for a research partnership between the USC Brain and Creativity Institute, the LA Children’s Choir, and LA Opera Connects exploring the social-emotional benefits of music and storytelling for children.
She is a faculty at Pasadena City College and Azusa Pacific University, teaching applied voice and advanced vocal pedagogy, and has served on the teaching staff for SongFest, Angels Vocal Arts, and the Vermont International Opera Festival. Her students and mentees include award-winning singers across genres, and she is active as a singing-voice specialist in collaboration with laryngologists and voice care centers.
Michele earned her Doctor of Musical Arts from the USC Thornton School of Music in the fields of Music Teaching and Learning, Vocal Arts Medicine, and Directing for the Operatic Stage, where she was honored with the Vocal Arts Departmental Outstanding Graduate Award and inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda. She also holds degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music and the USC Thornton School of Music, with additional training at the Tanglewood Music Center, Opera Pacific Overture Company, and Central City Opera.
A National Winner of the Loren L. Zachary Awards and a District and Regional Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she is currently Director of the San Francisco District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and serves on the Executive Boards of NATS-LA, the Voice Foundation’s Southern California Chapter, and the Loren L. Zachary Society for the Performing Arts. A proud Greek-American, she co-produced the 2023 NEA Award-winning play The Women of Zalongo and will serve as Chair of the Community Advisory Board of the UCLA Stavros Niarchos Center for Hellenic Studies beginning in 2025.
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