Lisa Patterson is a singer, songwriter, producer, and educator.

Early life and education

She was born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

to a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

father, Rob Patterson, and a Canadian mother of

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

descent, Elaine Gherasim, who died in 2006. A classically trained musician, Patterson studied

audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound * Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of soun ...

and

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

Fanshawe College Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, commonly shortened to Fanshawe College, is a public college in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is partnered with private ILAC International College. One of the largest colleges in Canada, it ha ...

and later attended

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

as a performance major focusing on South Indian music, composition, and improvisation.

Career

Patterson has been active as a

sideman A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform live with a solo artist, or with a group in which they are not a regular band member. The term is usually used to describe musicians that play with jazz or rock artists, whether solo o ...

and solo recording artist touring in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. While her main instrument is

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, she performs frequently on

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

and

duduk The duduk ( ; ) or tsiranapogh (, meaning "apricot-made wind instrument"), is a double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood originating from Armenia. Variations of the Armenian duduk appear throughout the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the ...

. She was active in

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

and new wave bands in

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

in the 1980s where she played with

Sheep Look Up Sheep Look Up was a Canadian post-punk band, based in London, Ontario. They were active from 1982 until 1988. The band's name derives from the John Brunner novel '' The Sheep Look Up'', but the band drops "The" from the title. History Their origi ...

, Suffer Machine, and Edna and Edna. In 1999, Patterson founded imaginit music, a Toronto-based company that operates as a recording, rehearsal, and teaching studio. Imaginit music has presented events in Toronto such as Forward Festival at the Lula Lounge and Musiques Sans Frontieres at the

Drake Hotel Drake Hotel may refer to: ;in Canada *Drake Hotel (Toronto), Ontario ;in the United States (by state) * Drake Hotel (Chicago, Illinois), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) * Drake Hotel (Gallup, New Mexico), NRHP-listed in ...

, as well as Patterson's own concerts in South India in association with

Alliance Française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

. Patterson has commercially released two solo albums and three music videos (through Festival Distribution and Rough Trade Records). She had three Top Ten-charting singles in the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

. Her single "Silver Lining", featuring Alex McMaster and recorded by

Adam Messinger Adam "Messy" Messinger is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian-born record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, California. He is a producer for Canadian reggae band Magic!, but was initially a producer/songwriter as a ...

, was written as a tribute to her mother who died of breast cancer. With long-time bandmate, cellist and vocalist Alex McMaster, Patterson launched ROAM in 2007, a collaborative duo that takes its name from Patterson’s second album title. ROAM’s debut album ''Points of Departure'' (March 2009) was well-received by '' The Signal'', '' Here and Now'', and ''

Metro Morning Metro Morning is CBC Radio One's local morning program in Toronto, airing on CBLA-FM. The program airs from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. weekday mornings, and has frequently been Toronto's highest-rated radio program in its timeslot. ''Metro Mornin ...

''. They had performed at the Canadian Connections Fair in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

; the

Canadian Music Week The Departure Festival + Conference, formerly known as Canadian Music Week, is an industry conference and music festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.David Friend"Canadian Music Week buyers rename event Departure Festival, expand its scope" ...

Amnesty International showcase 2009; a

Toronto Symphony Orchestra The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toron ...

soiree; and the Symphony in the Barn Concert Series in

Durham, Ontario Durham is a community in the municipality of West Grey, Ontario, West Grey, Grey County, Ontario, Grey County, Ontario, Canada. Durham is located near the base of the Bruce Peninsula. Location Durham, Ontario is 44 kilometres South of Owen Sou ...

. ROAM has fluid membership, which has included Rakkatak’s Anita Kattakar (tabla), Oriana Barbato (guitar), and Sarv Ensemble’s Kousha Nikhaie (kamancheh). Patterson’s songs have appeared in films including Bruce McDonald’s ''

Roadkill Roadkill is a wild animal that has been killed by collision with motor vehicles. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how they can be mitigated. History Essenti ...

'', Charles Johnston’s ''Tête à tête'',

Darrell Wasyk Darrell Wasyk (born 18 May 1958 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian film director. Biography Darrell Wasyk was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He worked extensively in both theatre and opera before making the transition to film. Film Making his fe ...

’s ''H'', and

Ingrid Veninger Ingrid Veninger (born August 21, 1968) is a Canadian actress, writer, director, producer, and film professor at York University. Veninger began her career in show business as a child actor in commercials and on television; as a teen, she was fea ...

’s ''Three Sisters On Moon Lake''. As a producer and engineer, Patterson has worked with artists including Rita di Ghent, the Toronto Tabla Ensemble,

Emm Gryner Emm Gryner (born in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfield. Early life Gryn ...

., Brenda MacIntyre, and

Mélissa Laveaux Mélissa Laveaux (born 9 January 1985) is an independent Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist of Haitian descent previously signed to No Format!. Her music has been described as a mix of roots, folk, and blues using her signature percussive f ...

. She has collaborated with musicians

Maryem Tollar Maryem Tollar (born 1968 in Cairo, Egypt) is a Toronto-based singer who primarily sings Arabic songs. She played with her own band called Mernie!. Born in Cairo, Maryem went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada with her parents when she was one yea ...

Cassius Khan Cassius Khan (born 7 June 1974) is a Canadian Indian classical musician known for playing the Tabla while singing ghazal as well as his ground breaking collaborations in music. Early years Khan was born in Lautoka, Fiji in 1974. As a young ...

, Darbuka Siva, Rahul Pophali, Navin Iyer, Venkata Subramanian, and Prakash. Patterson is an active mentor and coordinator in community arts programs. She has facilitated and presented youth songwriting workshops and performance showcases and was a mentor at the 2009 Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and the 2010 Canadian Music Week in Toronto. She has been a company member of Toronto Playback Theatre since 2004, improvising live soundtracks for private and public performances, as well as being coordinator for multiple programs focusing on at-risk youth, cultural diversity, and anti-violence. Her career initiatives have been supported by the

Stephen Lewis Foundation The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) is a non-governmental organization that assists mostly AIDS- and HIV-related grassroots projects in Africa. History The foundation was started by Stephen Lewis, a former Leader of the Official Opposition (Ontar ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, Alliance Française, FACTOR Canada,

Global Affairs Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; ; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department of the Government of Canada that ...

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

MuchFACT MuchFACT was a Canadian fund that provided grants to Canadian recording artists to help them produce music videos. FACT stands for Foundation To Assist Canadian Talent. MuchFACT was funded entirely by television cable channel Much (formerly MuchM ...

BravoFACT BravoFACT (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent) was a Canadian fund that ran continuously from 1995 to 2017. It was established to fund the creation of Canadian arts-based short films and videos. BravoFACT funded shorts from various subject matte ...

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

, and Toronto Arts Council.

References

External links

Lisa Patterson
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Lisa Canadian women pianists Living people Canadian educators Canadian women educators Canadian record producers Canadian women songwriters Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian people of Romanian descent 21st-century Canadian pianists Canadian women record producers 21st-century Canadian women musicians Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century women pianists