Short Professional Bio
Thomas Patteson is a musicologist and musician based in Philadelphia whose work explores the history and aesthetics of modern music, with a focus on experimentalism, sound technology, and improvisational practices. Thomas' research has been supported by the Fulbright Program, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the American Musicological Society. He has taught at the Curtis Institute of Music and at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is currently a Lecturer in Music.

Long Human Bio
Hello, I am Thomas Patteson, a teacher, writer, curator, and musician who lives in Philadelphia, USA. My work and play revolves around the belief that we humans need music in order to remember our true nature, which is both embodied and infinite.

As a teacher, I use experiential learning to help students develop the critical imagination needed to understand and change the world. I am currently a Lecturer in Music at the University of Pennsylvania, where I teach an experiential  interdisciplinary seminar called "Music and the Exploration of Consciousness." From 2013 to 2023, I taught music history at the Curtis Institute of Music, where I to developed a new curriculum and created electives in popular music, electronic music, and improvisation that were the first of their kind at the school. 

As a writer and researcher, I seek to expand our ideas of what music is and what it could be. The focus of my current work is a translation of Ernst Ferand's  1938 book Die Improvisation in der Musik, a groundbreaking history of improvisation in European music. Other writings include The Museum of Imaginary Musical Instruments (based on a website of the same name), Instruments for New Music (a study of experimental sound technologies in Germany during the 1920s and '30s), and the blogs Possible Music (2023-) and Acousmata (2009-2013). 

As a curator, I collaborate with musicians, artists, and institutions to create transformative musical experiences. My main outlet is People's Music Supply, an artist-led platform for improvised music and community-building which I co-founded in 2023. Over the years, I've also worked closely with Philadelphia presenting organizations such as <fidget> and Bowerbird, where I helped launch the Arcana New Music Ensemble in 2016. 

As a musician, I play alto saxophone, keyboard, and electronics in a variety of different groups, including Argyle Torah, Infra Dig, and the 52nd Street Planetary Ensemble. Some major influences on my musical aesthetics include the creative music branch of jazz, experimental and electronic music of the late 20th century, medieval European polyphony, and Carnatic music. 

Photo by David Dzubinski

Photo by Jessica Brown