Patricia Fleitas
Dr. Patricia Fleitas
DMA, University of Texas
Professor of Music
Director of Choral and Vocal Studies
Areas of Expertise:
Conducting
Voice
Email:
pfleitas@fau.edu
Office Phone: 561.297.3823
Office: AL 245
Dr. Fleitas is Professor of Music and Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Florida Atlantic University and in her seventh season as Artistic Director/Conductor of the Schola Cantorum of Florida (SCF), Ensemble in Residence at FAU. She has maintained successful voice and conducting studios at the undergraduate and graduate levels since her appointment at FAU in the Fall of 1992. Throughout her career she has instituted several choral ensembles and programs in Texas and Florida to include, the FAU Chamber Singers, Women’s Chorus, University Chorus, the Annual Madrigal Dinner Program, and the University’s Latin American Choral Ensemble ¡Cantemos!, an expression of Dr. Fleitas’ continuing interest and study in the choral music of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. This ensemble is a rare component of university choral programs throughout the nation. Her most recent initiatives include the SCF Chamber Ensemble (2015) and the Schola Cantorum Education Program comprised of the Youth Choral and Vocal Academy (in collaboration with FAU and the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County), Young Emerging Artists, and Artists in Residence.
Under her tutelage, graduate choral conducting and voices students have proceeded to teach at institutions of higher education upon achieving terminal degrees in the field. Likewise, throughout her tenure at FAU, undergraduate and graduate students from her voice studio have won vocal competitions of national and international standing as well as maintaining a performance career of national and international stature.
Her ensembles have performed throughout Europe, Canada, and the United State. Under her direction, the FAU Chamber Singers and ¡Cantemos! have performed as featured ensembles for the Florida Music Education Association (FMEA) State In-service Conference and the Florida American Choral Directors Association Conference. ¡Cantemos! served as the demonstration ensemble for a session presented by Dr. Fleitas on the topic of Latin American Choral Music. At the 2017 conference she presented a session entitled, “Latin American Choral Music for All!”
Dr. Fleitas has conducted the FAU Symphony Chorus with the Palm Beach Symphony in performances of choral masterworks by Mozart, Beethoven, Puccini, Haydn, and Bruckner. Since her appointment as Artistic Director/Conductor of Schola Cantorum of Florida, her repertoire has been complemented through performances of major choral works in collaboration with SCF, the FAU Chamber Singers, and professional instrumentalists in the South Florida community. She has served as chorus master in South Florida stage productions of the films Amadeus, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy.
Some of her recognition include the 2001 Florida Atlantic University Faculty Talon Award for exceptional leadership, commitment, and service to FAU students, the 2003-2004 award for excellence in undergraduate teaching, and the 2011 Lifelong Learning grant to support her Latin American choral music research in Colombia. Prior to joining the FAU music faculty in 1992, Dr. Fleitas was awarded a graduate teaching assistantship at The University of Texas at Austin and appointed as conductor of the UT Women’s Chorus. Previously, she served as associate coordinator of choral programs at Texas A&M University, College Station where she founded the TAMU Women’s Chorus, the Madrigal Dinner Program, and the Texas Collegiate Women’s Choral Festival, an annual event that remains active at the state level.
Dr. Fleitas received a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Performance/Conducting from the University of Texas at Austin, under the tutelage of the late Dr. Morris J. Beachy. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Science in music education. She has held leadership positions in state and regional teams of the American Choral Directors Association, and served as president of the Florida Collegiate Music Education Association. She is an active voice teacher, choral/vocal clinician, adjudicator, chorusmaster and guest conductor.