Robert Paterson, Composer & Artistic Director

Composer Robert Paterson and Victoria Paterson founded American Modern Ensemble (AME) in 2005. Robert serves as Artistic Director as well as house composer, frequently contributing pieces to the ensemble. He is the Artistic Director of the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY, and directs the affiliated record label, American Modern Recordings (AMR), distributed by NAXOS.

Robert Paterson is a true New Yorker in all its diversity—born and raised in Buffalo, NY, he lived in Rochester and Ithaca for over ten years, in New York City for over twenty years, and now lives in Saratoga Springs near the Adirondacks. Paterson’s colorful music embraces everything from the environment to goddesses, online dating to mathematics. His music is filled with emotion and fierce rhythmic energy, marked by elegance, wit, and meticulous craftsmanship. Named Composer of The Year by the Classical Recording Foundation at Carnegie Hall, Robert Paterson is the winner of the Alfred I. DuPont Award, and his opera Three Way won the Grammy® under Best Classical Producer of the Year. His music is often a Best of the Year pick on National Public Radio. His orchestral tone poems, Dark Mountains and Triple Concerto, regularly air on NPR’s Performance Today. Three Way premiered with the Nashville Opera, then at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and across the United States. The Oratorio Society of New York, Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Albany Pro Musica, Albany Symphony, Musica Sacra, Austin Symphony, Vermont Symphony, and ensembles worldwide perform his music. Paterson has given masterclasses, teaches and has had residencies at numerous institutions, including the Curtis Institute of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and New York University. He serves as Artistic Director for Mostly Modern Projects. Robert is a lifelong vegan and an advocate for animals and the environment, celebrating the natural world with seminal works such as his Triple Concerto, A New Eaarth, Listen, and I Go Among Trees.