1983 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year

Russell Patterson

Russell Patterson, one of the founders of Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the company’s
artistic leader for 40 years, has supervised over 180 different productions and conducted
more than 1,000 performances in Kansas city and on tour throughout the region. Maestro
Patterson also organized The Kansas City Symphony and served as its Artistic Director
for the first four years, later being appointed Conductor Emeritus. Other positions
have included Festival Director and Principal Conductor at the sunflower Music Festival;
Artistic Director, Point Lookout Festival; Music Director, Missouri River Festival;
and Artistic Director, Sunflower Music Festival. He has appeared as guest conductor
in opera and concert engagements in Mexico City, London, New Your, Seattle, Cincinnati,
and Sacramento, as well as the Netherlands Radio Orchestra, Amerika Haus Concerts
and the Tegernsee Bach Festival. He has taught at the Conservatory of Music at Kansas
City and the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Maestro Patterson, a graduate of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas
City, has been the recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, the Dean’s Award, and
helped establish the Middle America Opera Apprentice Program in conjunction with the
conservatory. He is a Fulbright Scholar and has degrees from Southeastern Louisiana University,
Millsaps College, New England Conservatory of Music and Park College. He has also
studied at the Staatischer Hochschule fur Music in Munich and has had private study
and master classes with such notables as Leonard Bernstein, Walter Herbert, Pierre
Monteaux and others.

Maestro Patterson has served on the Advisory panels for both the National Endowment
for the Arts and the Missouri Arts Council, as a consultant to the Ford Foundation,
and on the Board of directors of OPERA America. He has been the recipient of the nationally
prestigious Conductor’s Award from the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University;
the W.R.Yates Medallion from William Jewell College; the First Creative Achievement
Award from Northwest Missouri State University; Doctorate in Fine Arts from Park College;
Pirouette Award for Performing Arts contributor of the Year; was named Alumnus of
the Year by the University of Missouri at Kansas City and its Alumni Association;
and received the Missouri Arts Award from the Missouri Arts Council. He was also honored
at the OPERA America 25th Anniversary conference for his years of dynamic leadership
of Lyric Opera of Kansas City.