Patricia Aileen Forbes, 1945-2019
Patricia's Funeral 18 September 2019
Our beloved Pat Forbes was farewelled by her many friends, students, colleagues and admirers in an overflowing Church — with much lusty singing!
- The Order of Service.
- The Revd Martin Johnson's homily, readings, and prayers.
- The Order of Service for Pat's committal.
Patricia Forbes (neé Whitbread)
Patricia began seriously studying singing at the age if 19, under the tutelage of Alice Mallon-Muir in Perth, WA. She was successful in many competitions, including the ABC's Instrumental and Vocal (State and Commonwealth Finalist), and the Metropolitan Opera Auditions (Commonwealth Finalist, regional winner in Hawaii in 1974, and Australian representative at the Finals in New York). In these early years, she performed principal roles with the Western Australian Opera Company and Victorian State Opera.
Patricia was a trainee principal with Opera Australia in 1975 and 1976, and was awarded an Opera Foundation Scholarship to study in West Germany (1977). From 1978-1980, she was a principal singer with Opera Australia, and returned to West Germany to perform and teach from 1980-84.
After returning to Australia, Patricia taught and performed extensively in Sydney and Canberra. She was for some years President of the ACT Chapter of the Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing.
Patricia was co-director and vocal coach for the Canberra Academy of Music and Related Arts, founded with her husband, Colin. Her wealth of vocal and stage experience was seen in many of CAMRA's productions. It was a great sadness when Pat died on 10 September 2019 after a long illness.