Dr. Patterson is a graduate of Simpson College in Piano Performance and in Music Education.  He later received his Masters Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Iowa and holds his Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Oklahoma.

He is a Professor of Music and teaches courses in Elementary Music Methods, Piano, Sight-Singing and Ear Training, Chamber Music Literature, Symphonic Literature, Piano Literature, Piano Pedagogy, Composition, Survey of Music Literature and supervises student teachers.

Dr. Patterson founded and administrates the Simpson College Music Education Workshop Series, which hosts nationally recognized clinicians twice each year.

During the summer, Dr. Patterson has been an instructor in the Simpson Music Department’s Orpheus Festival for High School Students for the past twenty-eight years, has taught in Simpson’s Elderhostel for twenty-three years, and has worked for the Des Moines Metro Opera as Assistant to the Executive Director for thirty-eight years.

As a composer, Dr. Patterson has received numerous commissions for choral works, songs, works for saxophone, and for an operatic setting of The Tale of Peter Rabbit.  Peter Rabbit was commissioned for the Des Moines Metro Opera’s touring ensemble, Opera Iowa and was seen by some 60,000 public school students during a two- year tour through Iowa and four neighboring states.  Several of his works are in publication.

In 2007, Dr. Patterson was commissioned by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and the Des Moines Metro Opera to write “A Dream Fulfilled: The Saga of George Washington Carver for the OPERA Iowa.  The opera toured for two years and was then televised by Iowa Public Television.  It has been broadcast numerous times and may be found on their website.

“A Boys Will”, three songs for baritone voice, may be found on “Songs by Stephen Lias, Michael Patterson, and Lee Hoiby”, which was released by Centaur Records.

Dr. Patterson is a past recipient of the Iowa Composers Forum and Iowa Choral Directors Association Award as well as the Simpson College Distinguished Research Award.