Mary MacKenzie Pyatt

Mary MacKenzie Pyatt (June 4, 1930 – February 6, 2024) was a prominent pedagogue and leader in the San Diego musical community for many years. She is remembered for the outstanding quality of her teaching and for her steadfast contributions to NATS at the national and local chapter levels.

MacKenzie Pyatt studied at Juilliard with Edith Piper, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in music in 1954 and earning her master’s degree from Juilliard one year later. In the handful of years following her graduation, she sang in a national tour with the NBC Opera. She participated for two summers at Tanglewood and one summer at Bayreuth. In 1960, MacKenzie Pyatt won first prize in the national auditions of the Metropolitan Opera and received a one-year contract with the Met. She then went on to sing with Chicago Lyric Opera for three seasons, while fulfilling many contracts for recital and concert work throughout the United States.

During her early career, she appeared on stage (and was able to observe closely) such notables as Leontyne Price, Leonie Rysanek, Zinka Minanov, Robert Merrill, Giorgio Tozzi, Birgit Nilsson, Jon Vickers, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Maria Callas, among others.

MacKenzie Pyatt relocated to the San Diego area with her husband, Kedar “Bud” Pyatt in the early 1960s, and her energies turned increasingly to pedagogy. She first taught voice at the newly formed United States International University from 1966 to 1971. In 1974 she began teaching at San Diego State University and during her tenure there, twice received a citation for Outstanding Teacher. MacKenzie Pyatt also taught for five years at the Conservatorio Estatal de Musica in Tijuana, Mexico, and received a citation from that institution as well for excellence in teaching. She retired from San Diego State University in 2013 but continued to maintain a busy home studio.

She was actively involved in NATS for many years. She was a founding member of the San Diego Chapter, which was established on May 25, 1975. In June of 2001, MacKenzie Pyatt participated as one of the Master Teachers in the NATS Intern Program. She gave hours of service to the national organization, as District Governor for four years, Regional Governor for four years, and Vice President for Membership on the national board for five years. She also served as Vice President of the Board of the NATS Foundation, and as the Chair of the national conference when it was held in San Diego in 2002.

A kind and generous person and an insightful, knowledgeable teacher, she was much beloved by her students. She was a model of integrity, teaching her students not only how to be excellent singers, but how to be strong and forthright human beings.

Mary MacKenzie Pyatt and Kedar “Bud” Pyatt