Born in Slovakia, Patinka Kopec emigrated to Israel and later to New York. Entering Julliard, she studied violin with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, and viola with Lillian Fuchs, earning a BS and MS and serving as assistant to Ms DeLay and Mr. Galamian. A member of the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) faculty since 1987, Ms. Kopec teaches in its Precollege and Upper School and since 1993 has been co-director and co-teacher of the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program at MSM. Since 1999 she has been co-director of the Young Artists Program at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada, with Pinchas Zukerman, and was a founding artist of the Perlman Music Program, where she taught for 10 years. Ms. Kopec has given masterclasses internationally in person and via video conferencing. Her students are soloists, members of major orchestras and chamber music groups, and teachers at major conservatories. She is on the faculty of the Heifitz International Music Festival, and has participated in such festivals as Aspen, Pilsen, Miyazai, Perlman Music Program in Shanghai, and Prague. She has adjudicated international competitions. In 2011 MSM established the Patinka Kopec Endowment in her honor.