Meet Rob
Rob is Assistant Professor of Clarinet at Boston University's School of Music, founder of the online program The Clarinet Sessions, and Acting Principal Clarinet of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. A passionate educator, Rob is on the faculty for Aria International Summer Academy, has been a guest instructor at the Curtis Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and is a frequent coach with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra.
Upcoming performances include Aaron Copland’s Concerto with the Modesto Symphony, John Adams’ Gnarly Buttons with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Brahms and Mozart Quintets with the Needham Concert Society, and a recital at Taipei National University of the Arts. Mr. Patterson has commissioned two new works for Clarinet and Piano from composers Clarice Assad and Jessica Meyer, and will give the world premiere performances at the International Clarinet Society’s 2025 Conference.
Past performances have included Copland’s Clarinet Concerto with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and the Charlottesville Symphony as well as the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with the Lyrique-En-Mer (Le Palais, France) Orchestra, Binghamton Philharmonic, Middletown Symphony Orchestra, and the Howard County (Maryland) Concert Players. As a former Strathmore Music Center Artist in Residence, Mr. Patterson presented a series of solo recitals, masterclasses, educational concerts, and a recital at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including the World-Premiere of John B Hedges’ Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet.
Recent masterclass invitations have included the Taipei National University of the Arts, Taiwan National University of the Arts, National Taiwan Normal University, Soochow University, San Francisco Conservatory, Peabody Institute, University of North Texas, University of Toronto, Grieg Academy (Norway), Sibelius Academy (Finland), and Royal College of Music (Sweden), Interlochen and many others. Rob has served on the faculty at the University of Virginia, where he was featured in recital and as soloist with the Charlottesville Symphony as well as Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States.
Rob has served as Acting Principal Clarinet with the Baltimore and Louisville Orchestras as well as Principal Clarinet with the Charlottesville Symphony and Lyrique-en-Mer Festival Orchestra in France. Additionally, he has served as guest Principal Clarinet for the orchestras of Albany, Chautauqua, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Huntsville, Pasadena, Peoria, Richmond as well as the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. He can be heard as principal clarinet with several recordings with the Albany and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras.
Rob’s chamber music performances have taken him across North and South America, Europe and Asia. He has performed contemporary music with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Ensemble and as a member of the VERGE Ensemble in Washington, DC and was previously a member of the Philadelphia-based Ensemble 39, which was also invited to serve in residence at the Teatro del Lago in Frutillar, Chile.
Festival appearances include Moab, Classical Tahoe, Birch Creek, Mendocino, Festival Napa Valley, The Peninsula Music Festival, Bravo! Vail, Festival Lyrique-En-Mer, Garth Newel Music Center, Music from Angel Fire, and the Yellow Barn Music Festival.
Hailing from Cincinnati, OH, Mr. Patterson earned degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of Southern California. His principal teachers were Yehuda Gilad, Richard Hawley, and Donald Montanaro.
Mr. Patterson is proud to be a D'Addario and Buffet-Crampon performing artist.