ABOUT the DIRECTOR

RICHARD PATTERSON enjoys an active musical career as a collaborative artist and has
performed with his groups in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. As a student, Mr.
Patterson lived in Spain, studying the guitar in the land of its creation with maestro Jose Tomas. Returning to the United States, he was signed by the world's largest classical music management, Columbia Artists, for six seasons of critically acclaimed national tours as a member of the Ware-Patterson Duo. During the same period he was touring internationally with the Russian mandolin and balalaika virtuoso Emanuel Sheynkman as the duo Dvoika!under the direction of David Lieberman Artists in Los Angeles. He then formed the virtuoso quartet, Festival of Four with whom he performs on University campuses and in major concert halls throughout North America.

Richard Patterson is also an active recording artist and has been a featured performer on more than thirty recordings. Mr. Patterson studied composition with John Adams and Pulitzer Prize winner Wayne Peterson. Patterson’s compositions and arrangements are heard in feature films and on television and radio in over 30 countries. As the founder of the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts, Mr. Patterson has created one of the leading series of guitar performances in the world currently in its 30th season in San Francisco's Civic and Performing Arts Center. Richard Patterson personally hands down the traditions of the Spanish guitar at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California where he has been a member of the music faculty for over 25 years. Mr. Patterson was Director of the 2008 Guitar Foundation of America Conference and Competition, which took place in San Francisco.