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 co-teaches Concert Band 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 has played as alto saxophonist of Manhattan Saxophone Quartet for the past decade with colleagues Dr. Jordan Smith, Daniel Kochersberger, and Owen Broder and also participated in New York City-based Queer Urban Orchestra for several years. MSQ champions classical and contemporary saxophone quartet repertoire via annual performances, masterclasses, and residencies throughout the Northeast including recurrent recitals at Lincoln Center’s New York Library for the Performing Arts. QUO strives to entertain and educate members and audiences alike through performances of classical and contemporary music, promoting equality, understanding, acceptance, and respect. As a pit orchestra musician, Dr. Patterson has played approximately one hundred productions in twenty-four years, doubling on saxophones, clarinet/bass clarinet, flute/piccolo, and oboe. 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 Festival and Fringe Festival, Gilbert & Sullivan operettas with Blue Hill Troupe (Manhattan), and summer-stock shows at Totem Pole Playhouse in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
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.
