David Patterson has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and abroad. In 1988, he founded the critically acclaimed New World Guitar Trio, a group dedicated to commissioning and performing new music as well as creating original arrangements of the standard repertoire. As the group’s producer and arranger, Mr. Patterson earned exceptional praise for his innovative programming and his “ingenious transcriptions of solo piano, chamber, and orchestral works (Guitar Player Magazine)". His visionary approach brought forth a merging of the traditional genres of Beethoven and the folk music of Portugal, with the fresh and edgy sounds of late 20th century repertoire. Mr. Patterson has collaborated with such composers as Osvaldo Golijov, Claudio Ragazzi, Chiel Meijering, David Leisner, and Dana Brayton on works commissioned by the Trio. Through its wholly original arrangements, commissions, and exceptional performances, the Trio gained international recognition from critics and audiences alike. The ensemble has also received high praise for its recordings: “Indeed, what’s remarkable…is how fluidly and fluently the New World Guitar Trio makes this program seem idiomatic to three guitars, while providing a refreshing new perspective on the music itself” (Audio Magazine on the Trio’s debut release).

In addition to his work with the New World Guitar Trio, David Patterson has maintained an active solo career, performing with such ensembles as the Auros Group for New Music, Boston Musica Viva, the Boston University Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Opera Boston, and the Fromm Players for the Harvard Group for New Music as an artist-in-residence. He has been a guest artist at the Tanglewood Music Festival and Bowdoin International Music Festival. In 2003, Mr. Patterson collaborated with composer Osvaldo Golijov and soprano Dawn Upshaw as an arranger and performer in the world premiere of the opera Ainadamar under the baton of Robert Spano at Tanglewood. He was a performer in the Boston premiere of Ainadamar in 2007, with Opera Boston under the baton of Gil Rose and renowned director Peter Sellars.

David Patterson can be heard on two Trio recordings, the eponymous New World Guitar Trio (1994) and Exiled (2000), and in 2005, his debut solo recording, Esordio was released featuring the music of Bach, Villa-Lobos, Leo Brouwer, Johann Kaspar Mertz, and Ginastera. Mr. Patterson’s work for guitar extends beyond the classical repertoire and includes his 2003 recording of Jimmy Page’s “White Summer/Black Mountainside”, featured in a compilation CD Guitar Harvest alongside guitarists Andy Summers, Bill Frizel, and Ralph Towner, among others.

David Patterson is on the faculty of Longy School of Music (Cambridge, MA), Tufts University (Medford, MA), and Gordon College (Wenham, MA). He has conducted master classes throughout the United States, South America, and Asia.