American composer Robert Paterson embodies the diversity and breadth of New York State. Born in Buffalo, NY, he spent over a decade in Rochester and Ithaca, more than twenty years in New York City, 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, 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 at numerous institutions, such as the Curtis Institute of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and New York University. 

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. He is the co-founder & Artistic Director of Mostly Modern Projects.