{"id":5844,"date":"2026-05-18T11:50:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T15:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/?page_id=5844"},"modified":"2026-07-11T21:42:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T01:42:58","slug":"michael-patterson","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/michael-patterson\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Director 2026-"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Michael Patterson<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Michael Patterson, a Puerto Rican conductor and pianist, is known for his energetic leadership, positive rehearsal culture, and his commitment to making classical music feel welcoming and meaningful to everyone in the room. His conducting journey began at age eighteen when he founded the PianoForte Symphony Orchestra, resulting in five successful concert seasons in Southern California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patterson now serves as Music Director of the Seven Hills Symphony, where he leads the orchestra into its 52nd<\/sup>\u00a0season with an emphasis on storytelling, accessibility, and artistic joy. He also serves as Associate Music Director of Queen City Opera, a Cincinnati-based opera company bringing high-level opera featuring emerging artists and collaborations with local community organizations.\u00a0 This year (2026), Patterson has accepted the Music Director position for the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, gearing up to direct its 57th<\/sup>\u00a0season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patterson serves on the music staff for Cincinnati Opera and Cincinnati Ballet, both as pianist and assistant conductor, preparing works such as Verdi\u2019s RIGOLETTO, Tchaikovsky\u2019s THE NUTCRACKER and SWAN LAKE, Strauss\u2019s SALOME, and new works such as Kevin Day\u2019s LALOVAVI, a Cincinnati Opera commission to be premiered in July 2026. As a collaborative pianist, Patterson performs with tri-state music organizations, including the Columbus-Indiana Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Boychoir, and Peanut Butter & Jams, a Cincinnati music initiative that engages children through skits and events showcasing classical music. As a guest conductor, Patterson has conducted a wide array of ensembles both locally and internationally, including the Filarmonica de Stat T\u00e2rgu Mures, Bohuslav Martin\u016f Philharmonic, The Orchestra Now, Apollo Orchestra, and the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, earning praise for his \u201cdramatic subtlety and musical finesse\u201d (The Millbrook Independent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patterson continues his doctoral studies in orchestral conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) under the mentorship of renowned conductor and pedagogue Mark Gibson. It was at CCM where he led the CCM opera production of Mozart\u2019s LA FINTA GIARDINIERA, <\/em>one of Mozart\u2019s earliest operas. He holds a conducting degree from the Bard College Conservatory of Music, having studied with Harold Farberman, Leon Botstein, and Joan Tower as a composition student. Outside of Bard, he has worked closely with conductors such as Gary Thor Wedow, Henri Venanzi, John Fiore, Alyssa Wang and Levi Hammer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He currently lives in Cincinnati, OH, with his wife Vivian and their two cats, Luna and Suki\u2014and he is thrilled to create unforgettable musical experiences with the musicians and community of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Patterson Michael Patterson, a Puerto Rican conductor and pianist, is known for his energetic leadership, positive rehearsal culture, and his commitment to making classical music feel welcoming and meaningful… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5844","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P9cNEX-1wg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":976,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/about-us\/music-director\/","url_meta":{"origin":5844,"position":0},"title":"Music Director\u00a0","author":"Kira Gartell","date":"November 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Michael Patterson Michael Patterson, a Puerto Rican conductor and pianist, is known for his energetic leadership, positive rehearsal culture, and his commitment to making classical music feel welcoming and meaningful to everyone in the room. His conducting journey began at age eighteen when he founded the PianoForte Symphony Orchestra, resulting\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5-_MG_1591-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5-_MG_1591-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5-_MG_1591-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5-_MG_1591-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5-_MG_1591-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/5-_MG_1591-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":75,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/about-us\/board-and-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":5844,"position":1},"title":"BSO Board, Staff, and History","author":"Kira Gartell","date":"October 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"2026 Board of DirectorsAlexis Witt, PresidentDavid Dawson, Vice PresidentMegan Rawlings, SecretaryKatie Chapman, TreasurerCatherine Baum-NewlinAaron LynnMike MattnerWilson ShitandiJaneth Welch StaffMichael Patterson, Music DirectorDonna Lafferty, Executive DirectorKira Gartell, Orchestra ManagerKit Boulding, Concert LeaderMarianne Ritter, Music LibrarianLane Rogers, Production ManagerHenry Morgan, Asst. Production Manager History The\u00a0Bloomington Symphony Orchestra was founded during the winter\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Alejandro Gomez Guillen","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/alejandro1.png?fit=800%2C395&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/alejandro1.png?fit=800%2C395&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/alejandro1.png?fit=800%2C395&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/alejandro1.png?fit=800%2C395&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3549,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/digdeeper\/","url_meta":{"origin":5844,"position":2},"title":"Dig Deeper","author":"Kira Gartell","date":"October 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Learn more about the music and composers from the concert Through Our Eyes, from March 13, 2022: In Indian-American composer Reena Esmail\u2019s\u00a0Testament from Vishwas\u00a0you will hear traditional Hindustani melodies and see why Esmail is one of the most important musicians of her generation. Program Notes The word\u00a0vishwas\u00a0(\u093f\u0935\u0936\u0935\u093e\u0938) expresses the concept\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.reenaesmail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/ZZ-DSC_0397-1024x685.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.reenaesmail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/ZZ-DSC_0397-1024x685.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.reenaesmail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/ZZ-DSC_0397-1024x685.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.reenaesmail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/ZZ-DSC_0397-1024x685.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4011,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/omaha\/","url_meta":{"origin":5844,"position":3},"title":"News: Alejandro G\u00f3mez Guill\u00e9n Named Assistant Conductor of the Omaha Symphony","author":"Kira Gartell","date":"September 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"OMAHA, Neb., Sep. 28, 2022 \u2014 The Omaha Symphony has named Alejandro G\u00f3mez Guill\u00e9n as theorchestra\u2019s assistant conductor beginning in the 2022\/23 season, effective November 2022. Guill\u00e9ncomes to Omaha after serving six seasons as artistic director and conductor of the BloomingtonSymphony Orchestra and completing a successful tenure as associate conductor\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/image-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":882,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/contact-us-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5844,"position":4},"title":"Contact Us","author":"Kira Gartell","date":"November 6, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Office by appointment only Bloomington Symphony Orchestra 822 W 1st St, #3 Bloomington, IN 47403 Phone: 812-369-4212 bso@bloomingtonsymphony.com Donna Lafferty, Executive Director Marianne Ritter, Music Librarian Kira Gartell, Orchestra and Personnel Manager","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloomingtonsymphony.com\/staging\/6573\/about-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":5844,"position":5},"title":"About the BSO","author":"Kira Gartell","date":"September 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Since 1969, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra has been a musical home for those who want to keep their love of music alive. 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