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Under the inspired leadership of Elizabeth C. Patterson, Gloriæ Dei Cantores has achieved its present status as a world-class choir internationally recognized for its exceptional artistry and compelling spirituality. Known for her interpretive vision and her commitment to performance authenticity, she is considered one of America’s finest choral conductors. In Tune commended her for "genius in selecting just the right tempos and dynamics...serious, winning and convincing." Commenting on her conducting, the New York Times noted "clear commitment to rigorous training by the choir's conductor, Elizabeth Patterson."
As the founding director in 1988, Elizabeth Patterson transformed Gloriæ Dei Cantores from a small church choir to a world-class concert choir. She established an aggressive program of study for the choir including three extended study tours in England with choral masters George Guest of St. John’s College, Cambridge, and Dr. Stephen Cleobury of King’s College, Cambridge. She has garnered respect from colleagues around the world, including Margaret Hillis, Keith Lockhart, Craig Timberlake, Dorothy Richardson, and Gerre Hancock.
Elizabeth Patterson directed the choir on numerous national and international tours, from New York to San Francisco, from London to Venice, from Prague to Moscow to Siberia. Her dedication to international understanding and cultural integrity have won her critical acclaim in concert halls throughout Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Wales.
In addition to directing the choir’s discography of over 50 recordings, Elizabeth Patterson has overseen the development of a repertoire incorporating over 2,400 works including world premieres of Transfiguration Mass by Samuel Adler, The Vision by Dominick Argento, Resurrexi by Gerald Near, and Folk Mass and Let Us Move by Grammy award-winning artist Mark O’Connor.
Under Elizabeth Patterson’s direction, Gloriæ Dei Cantores collaborated in ten holiday tours with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops; performed at the annual Christmas Tree-Lighting Ceremony at Rockefeller Center where she directed the premiere of Bruce Saylor’s A Christmas Garland on a televised broadcast; sang with the Regimental Band of Her Majesty’s Coldstream Guards at Boston Garden; and opened the 900th Anniversary Celebration of the Basilica at San Marco in Venice.
Elizabeth C. Patterson's extensive experience as a music educator, coupled with her gifts as an interpreter of great intelligence and depth, have contributed greatly to the choir's accomplishments over the past decade, and as stated by Musical Opinion, "the music's deeply spiritual quality comes across with great force." An accomplished keyboard artist, organist, pianist, and harpsichord specialist, she is also recognized for her extensive contribution to the world of Gregorian chant, working with the late Dr. Mary Berry, CBE, of the Schola Gregoriana in Cambridge, England, directing the performance of chant in concerts and recordings, and authoring a book on chant, The Sound Eternal. |
