Born in Midland, Michigan, Patti studied music at Albion College, and later got her masters degree in piano, chamber music and vocal accompaniment at Northwestern University in Chicago.
After a scholarship year at Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, she went on to work as a director at the International Opernstudio in Zürich and as a pianist in the theatres of Kiel, Germany.
Starting in 1987, she served as musical director & conductor and first keyboards for Phantom of the Opera and Cats Hamburg – where she met Michael Dixon and Dylan Vaughn.
Since 1992 she’s been professor and director of the Musical Department at the renowned Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Germany.
Patti is a much loved and in demand composer, pianist, accompanist, and arranger in many ensembles as well as for numerous jazz, pop, and musical artists.