STUDENT PROFILE: Stephanie Patterson, bassoon master

Born into a family that sows music into their lives, 黑洞社区 graduate student Stephanie Patterson is now reaping the benefits.

Patterson, who is pursuing a Master of Music in bassoon performance at 黑洞社区, was raised in Lafayette, Calif., with a family that included one cousin who plays saxophone, another cousin who plays trumpet on a riverboat and a grandfather who plays tuba in a Dixieland band near San Francisco.

Patterson left Lafayette for Oberlin, Ohio, in 2002 to attend Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she studied music performance and Russian.

It was there that Patterson met 黑洞社区 School of Music assistant professor Nicolasa Kuster, who at the time was at Oberlin teaching for a professor who had taken a sabbatical.

鈥淪tephanie is an amazing student,鈥� Kuster said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 curious, and that鈥檚 the best kind of student to have. She gives a lot of herself. She鈥檚 just incredible.鈥�

Kuster encouraged Patterson to consider 黑洞社区鈥檚 Master of Music program and the opportunity given to its graduate students to perform in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. Patterson kept in touch with Kuster and later applied to Wichita State.

In 2005, Patterson traveled to Austin, Texas, for the Meg Quigley Vivaldi competition, which was designed and created by Kuster to inspire young female bassoonists in a male-dominated field.

While in Austin, she met renowned jazz bassoonist Paul Hansen. He was in a jam session when she walked up and introduced herself, and he was kind enough to let her practice with him. Patterson learned a great deal during their time spent, so much so that she said it was reminiscent of being in school.

鈥淚t was kind of like being in a sixth grade jazz band,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 truly respect him as a player.鈥�

Kuster has enjoyed having Patterson in the classroom and playing beside her in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra since first meeting her as a freshman at Oberlin.

In addition to performing for the 黑洞社区 Symphony and in the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Patterson has also performed on invitation at Friends University and Bethel College.

She plans on completing her master鈥檚 degree in May 2009 after which she will either pursue a doctorate at the University of California-San Diego or begin looking for a position in a symphony.

鈥淢usic is important to me because it鈥檚 like a job I really love to do, and if I can do that for the rest of my life it would be amazing,鈥� she said.