Email: apatterson@charterarts.org
Phone: 610-868-2971 Ext. 2015
Dr. Aaron Patterson is the Woodwind Specialist at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. He teaches Woodwind Techniques, Music History, Music Theory, Music Theatre, and Chamber Music. Originally of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Dr. Patterson studied music education and performance at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (BS, MM).
A music teacher for nearly twenty years, Dr. Patterson has worked in both public and private schools as well as in higher education and educational outreach. He completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) in Saxophone Performance at Manhattan School of Music in 2014; his dissertation explored the use of saxophone in both the stage and film orchestrations of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.
Chamber music and musical theatre are Dr. Patterson’s principal performance passions. He is the alto saxophonist of Manhattan Saxophone Quartet with colleagues Dr. Jordan Smith, Daniel Kochersberger, and Owen Broder and has participated in New York City-based ensembles including the Queer Urban Orchestra. As a pit orchestra musician, Dr. Patterson has played approximately one hundred productions, doubling on saxophones, clarinet/bass clarinet, flute/piccolo, oboe, and bassoon. He has also conducted and accompanied many high-school musicals. Some of his favorite past performances include the 2012-13 national tour of West Side Story, experimental theater with New York Music Theatre and Fringe Festivals, Gilbert & Sullivan operettas with Blue Hill Troupe (Manhattan), and summer-stock shows at Totem Pole Playhouse in Chambersburg and Gretna Theatre in Lebanon. He is a member of Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians.
Dmitri Shostakovich, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Schumann, and Stephen Sondheim are among Dr. Patterson’s musical heroes. He credits his high school orchestra teacher, Jennifer Schramm (Cumberland Valley School District / Mechanicsburg, PA), and mentors Drs. Keith Young (saxophone) and Christine Clewell (organ/keyboard) of Indiana University of Pennsylvania for encouraging his creative endeavors in the professional arts world. Dr. Patterson enjoys cooking, reading, The New York Times crosswords, hiking, Cape May, ’80s & ’90s pop, and his golden retriever, Pluto.
