Patrick has served in positions of leadership in multiple contexts. He is currently Professor of Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, in NYC. He served as chair of music education at University of Western Ontario, Canada, for 7 years, and held positions as Associate Director of Florida International University’s School of Music in Miami, Florida and at the Westminster College in Princeton, USA, for 11 years. He currently serves as a docent at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts, Helsinki.   ​

Schmidt’s innovative work in critical pedagogy, urban music education and policy studies is recognized nationally and internationally.  His most recent publications can be found in the International Journal of Music Education; Theory into Practice; Arts Education Policy Review; Research in Music Education, Journal of Curriculum Theorizing; Philosophy of Music Education Review; Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education; ABEM Journal in Brazil; and the Finnish Journal of Music Education. Schmidt serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of the Council of Research in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, the ABEM Journal, the Revista Internacional de Educacíon Musical published by ISME, and the Journal of Popular Music Education.  Beyond his ongoing research projects, Schmidt has led several consulting and evaluative projects including recent work for the National YoungArts Foundation, and the New World Symphony in the United States, as well as for the Ministry of Culture and Education in Chile.

Schmidt co-edited the Oxford Handbook of Music Education and Social Justice released in 2015, and co-edited a two-volume book on Leadership in Higher Music Education, published by Routledge in its ISME series. His books Policy and the Political Life of Music Education co-edited with Richard Colwell, and  Policy as Practice: A guide for Music Educators were released by Oxford in 2017 and 2020 respectively. 

A native of Brazil, Schmidt joined ISME in 2002 serving in various positions of leadership. During his 15 years in Higher Education in the United States, Schmidt co-chaired the first two North American ISME Regional Conferences and was a member of the organizing committee for ISME’s Pan-American conference in Mexico in 2011. His service to ISME also include: chair of the Policy Commission, member of the Constitution and by-laws Task force, chair of the Conference Committee for Baku, and two terms as a board member, including two years as member of the executive.