Harris Voice Studio founder Amanda Sumner Patterson (née Harris) is a vocalist with a varied background, both musically and professionally. She developed a passion for singing at age 6 in the junior choir of her church in Arlington, Virginia, and began to blossom as a singer while attending The National Cathedral School for Girls in Washington, D.C., where she received the National Cathedral Prize in Music. While attending Pitzer College in Claremont, California, Amanda received private voice training and participated in a study abroad program in Toulouse, France where she studied voice at the Toulouse Opera. She has sung professionally with the Saddleback College choir, the Mission Basilica choir in San Juan Capistrano, and La Jolla Symphony Chorus in San Diego. She presently sings with Pacific Chorale at the Segerstrom Center for Performing Arts in Costa Mesa, and is the soprano soloist at St. Clement’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Parish in San Clemente. Amanda has also worked professionally as a jazz singer in Orange County, and most recently appeared as a featured jazz vocalist at the KSBR Radio Birthday Bash in Mission Viejo. Amanda was a professor at Saddleback College for 10 years before opening the voice studio, and holds an M.A. in Psychology from Pepperdine University. She is currently pursuing licensing in music therapy. In every lesson she is able to use her backgrounds in vocal performance, teaching, and psychology to best serve the needs of each student individually. Amanda is a full member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
At The Harris Voice Studio we are passionate about keeping the art of beautiful singing alive in Orange County. Our students range in age from 8 to 85, and they are professionals, amateurs, and students who sing all genres of music from opera to jazz to indie rock. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a student find his or her voice! Students of The Harris Voice studio receive training not only in anatomically correct vocal technique, but also artistic and dramatic interpretation, foreign language diction (French, Italian, German, Latin), performance procedures, and audition techniques. Students participate in 3 formal, public recitals per year with a professional accompanist.
