A native of St. Louis, Pat loved music even as a small child. Her mother had a beautiful voice, and Pat says they would often sing together at home.

"We would sing doing the dishes," Pat says, describing how mother and daughter would harmonize as they scrubbed.

When she entered school, Pat joined the glee club and enjoy singing with a group so much that she briefly considered singing as a career, until her high school music teacher quashed the idea.

Pat says she was disappointed at the time, but realized over the years that the teacher was probably just trying to protect her. Musical careers are tough to break into and wildly unpredictable, so the teacher was probably just looking out for her best interests, she believes.

And, Pat adds, "maybe then, I didn't have a voice" that would have been appropriate for a singing career.

So she developed secretarial skills instead and moved to Washington, D.C. in 1962. She met her husband Pete Buynak shortly after, and married him in 1963 after a "whirlwind romance." While living in D.C., Pat auditioned for the Victorian Lyric Opera Company, a local group that performed Gilbert & Sullivan musicals. "It was a local company," she said. "I just auditioned and got the part." Although Pat says now that she can't remember which part it was, it was the first of many "mostly chorus and non-lead roles" with the group.

Another creative outlet in the early days of her marriage was the Washington Savoyards, a choral group that exists today.

Although singing and music were a constant part of her life, Pat always felt that she wanted something more than the kind of singing she did for a hobby.  “I wanted to ling like Cecilia Bartoli,” she said, pronouncing the name in the Italian way: Cheh-CHEEL-ya Bar-TOE-lee. “I wanted to sing in Italian.

After years in D.C., she and her husband moved to Woodstock. Four years ago, Pat realized that her dream of taking voice lessons had never died. It was, in fact, stronger than ever. She contacted local music teacher and theater director Barbara Strong and finally set up lessons. The first few lessons were filled with surprises. First, Strong discovered that Pat, who thought she was an alto, was actually a mezzo-soprano. That meant Pat, much to her delight, really could attempt to sing the same pieces as Cecilia Bartoli. Next, the two found that with a little work, she could stretch her vocal register over four octaves.

“I can't hit high C, but I can get up to -I think- a high A," Pat says. "I'd have to check with Barbara."

And what does hitting a high A mean, exactly? If you compared musical ability to sports ability, when Pat discovered the, true extent of her vocal range, it was like an average golfer finding out after years of puttering around the greens that he can actually hit like Tiger Woods.

Pat says she will probably never develop the control and technique she could have if she had started earlier in life, but that she and Barbara are focusing on enjoying the process of stretching her abilities as far as they can go. She has been able to use her newly developed range in different venues over the last few years. She has formed a musical group called "Act II" with pianist Paul Ackerman in Luray that performs for special occasions, such as the anniversary celebration of the opening of Luray Caverns.

"I've sung down in the caverns and had water dripping down on my head (from the stalactites) as I sang," she said, laughing at the memory. She volunteers as a choir member in this area. "If God gives me a talent, I can't not share it back with Him," Pat says.

And of course, since Strong is the director of Theater Shenandoah in Edinburg, Pat has taken stage roles. She appeared in the group's production of "The Music Man," and will go onstage again this month in Theater Shenandoah's production of "The Sound of Music" (June 9-12). For information call 984-8076. Pat plays the Mother Superior and gets to deliver the musical’s signature song, “Climb Every Mountain,”

When she delivers the admonition to “climb every mountain ‘til you find your dream,” you can hear the conviction in her voice.  That beautiful, soaring mezzo-soprano that she’s using to hit those high notes, after all, is proof that Pat knows a thing or two about pursuing dreams.

Republished by permission from Bryce Mountain Courier. Contact them at PO Box 247, Basye, VA 22810; email,  courier@shentel.net; or phone, (540) 856-3255.

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