Founder, Artistic Director, and Conductor:
Dr. Michael Robert Patch
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Dr. Michael Robert Patch holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Missouri–Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from San Francisco State University, and a Bachelor of Music Education (K–12 Choral) from the UMKC Conservatory.
His conducting and musical development have been shaped by work with Robert Bode, Eph Ehly, Charles Robinson, Gustavo Halley, Vance George, David Xiques, and Charles Bruffy. As a singer, Dr. Patch has performed with ensembles including the Grammy Award–winning Kansas City Chorale, Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Pacific Mozart Ensemble, and Oakland Symphony Chorus. His voice appears on a Grammy-nominated recording of Rheinberger’s music with the Kansas City Chorale, as well as recordings of Elinor Remick Warren’s works with the Pacific Mozart Ensemble.
Dr. Patch founded Choral Spectrum with the vision of creating a choral home where all people are safe, welcomed, and affirmed—regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, or whether a singer’s voice aligns with their perceived or true identity.
Assistent Director:
Jay Seth Farrow
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Jay Seth Farrow holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music & Music Education (Graceland University, 2001) and a MM in Choral Conducting (Michigan State University, 2004), having studied with Drs. Thomas J. Hart, David Rayl, Jonathan Reed, and Sandra Snow. He sang with the professional ensemble Octarium from 2005-2007, was Assistant Director and later Music Director of the Jacomo Chorale from 2005-2008. Mr. Farrow began singing with Choral Spectrum in 2019, became Assistant Director in 2022, and is proud to support the organization’s mission and vision.
Principal Accompanist and Pianist:
John Livingston
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John Livingston has worked extensively as a collaborative pianist, getting his start at the age
of 13. Since then, he has had a continuous stream of collaborative experiences ranging from
choirs to musical theatre, to college instrumental lessons and recitals, and more.
In 2009 at the age of 18, Mr. Livingston partnered with a local community theatre company,
Pentacle Theater, in their production of “My Fair Lady”. Hooked by this initial foray into
musical theater, Mr. Livingston continued to work with Pentacle Theater on 6 of their
following musical productions. During this partnership, his talents were developed as both a
rehearsal and performance pianist for musical theater. Beyond this work, John continued to
strengthen his reputation as an accompanist, working with local middle and high school
choirs. Notably, he accompanied West Salem High School’s choir in their 1st place
performance in Oregon State High School Choir competition in the year 2013.
Being accepted to the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2013, John studied Piano
Performance under the highly sought after tutelage of Dr. Robert Weirich, earning his
Bachelor of Music degree (cum laude) in 2017. During his undergrad John worked closely
with singers from all the voice studios which culminated in being asked to play Stravinsky’s
famously difficult aria “No Word from Tom” from The Rake’s Progress at commencement
ceremony in the Kauffman Center. John was subsequently accepted into the Master’s program
at UMKC and was awarded one of the Opera Accompanying graduate assistantship. During
his time at UMKC, along with all the work with singers, John also incorporated extensive
instrumental accompanying, playing for lessons and recitals for cellists, violinists, oboists,
trombonists, and more.
In recent years, John has also developed a relationship with the Midwest Chamber Ensemble
in Kansas City and has played on many of their concerts since 2020. John is also a founding
member and principal accompanist of Choral Spectrum, a LGBTQ and supporting choir which
is the first of its kind in Kansas City.
Along with other members from the opera community of Kansas City, John became a
founding member of Dramatic Voices Midwest, an opera company based in Kansas City
which was formed to provide more opportunities for dramatic singers to have opportunities
that are few and far between otherwise. The first two seasons featured Richard Wagner’s
Tristan und Isolde and Die Walküre, respectively, with John playing the entire epic scores
from the piano.
Besides his undergrad work with Dr. Robert Weirich, John has had masterclasses with
esteemed teachers including Gilbert Kalish, Alon Goldstein, and Margot Garret. John
completed his Master’s degree at UMKC in 2019, having studied with the 2013 Van Cliburn
third prize winner, Sean Chen.
John is currently the full-time accompanist at the Pembroke Hill School.