Robert G. Patterson

A resident of Memphis, Tennessee, Robert G. Patterson has set to music the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, and Walt Whitman among others.
His song cycle American Pierrot won first prize n the NATS Art Song Competition in 2014.

Photo: Robert G. Patterson, robertgpatterson.com

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About

Robert G. Patterson resides in Memphis, Tennessee. His music is infused with the popular rhythms and melodic fragments around him, and these provide source material for his personal voice. A student of George Crumb and Don Freund, he is a resident composer with the Luna Nova Ensemble and recent accomplishments include commissions from the International Horn Society, the One Coin Concert series in Osaka, Japan, and First Prize in the NATS Art Song Composition Award. In addition to his musical activities, Patterson also has been a professional software developer, and his interest in computers led him to become an expert in musical engraving using a computer. His Patterson Plug-Ins Collection for Finale software is a staple of composers and copyists worldwide.

Related Information

Songs

Videos

Sheet Music

American Pierrot: A Langston Hughes Songbook

Composer(s): Robert G. Patterson

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Life Signs: Six Songs on Texts by Emily Dickinson

Composer(s): Robert G. Patterson

Song(s): 1. Surgeons must be very careful!
2. I Years had been from Home
3. The Drop, that wrestles in the Sea
4. A little Snow was here and there
5. I’m Nobody! Who are you?
6. I should not dare to leave my friend

Free via IMSLP

Songs from 'As You Like It'

Composer(s): Robert G. Patterson

Song(s): 1. Under the Greenwood Tree
2. Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind
3. It Was a Lover and His Lass
4. What Shall He Have That Killed the Deer
5. Wedding Is Great Juno's Crown

Free via IMSLP

Songs of Death and Digestion

Composer(s): Robert G. Patterson

Song(s): 1. Lather As You Go
2. Geddondillo
3. The Screen with the Face with the Voice

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Tanka Modern and Ancient

Composer(s): Robert G. Patterson

Song(s): 1. A Lightning Strike (Beverly George, Australia)
2. Moonlight (Dorothy McLaughlin, U.S.)
3. Her Sharp Knife (Carol Purington, U.S.)
4. No. 3430 (Collection of Ten-Thousand Leaves, 8th Century Japan)
5. Traveling the Path (Edward J. Reilly, probably U.S. but not sure)
6. Field After Field (David Rice, probably U.S.)
7. No. 2538 (Collection of Ten-Thousand Leaves, 8th Century Japan) / I Tasted Him (Renee Gregorio, U.S.)

Free via IMSLP

Way of the River

Composer(s): Robert G. Patterson

Song(s): 1. from “Sun-Down Poem” (Whitman)
2. Strings in the Earth and Air (Joyce)
3. Psalm 65:9-12 (Douay-Rheims)
4. from “The Elephant's Child” (Kipling)
5. The Ballad of Poor Susan (Wordsworth) Interlude
6. The River/Deep River (Teasdale/Anonymous)

Free via IMSLP

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