On a drowsy Monday morning, over four hundred boys slouch in their seats in the Chapel, wishing that they could have slept in for just one more hour. Ahead of them, a few dozen similarly tired boys line up on stage, with the pressure of hundreds of eyes upon them. Mr. Donnell Patterson, lovingly known as Brother P., or even “The Man” among students, sits at the piano, brimming with more than enough energy to bring the house down. “Y’all ready?”
Brother P.’s music journey began as a young child. Living in North Carolina, he often attended church with his grandmother and was exposed to church and gospel music. He fell in love with the music, so he joined the children’s choir, taking on the task of learning piano. At first, Brother P. learned by ear and simple chords that his mother knew, mainly playing gospel and blues. As his skills developed, many others encouraged him to take piano lessons, and he settled on a teacher from the local music store. Stubbornly, he soon quit the lessons: “I thought that I would take a few lessons then take off. I didn’t realize that it would take years upon years.” Brother P. recounted. However, his piano journey did not end there. Through elementary school, he continued playing in the choir and on his own, but once he reached junior high, teachers again urged him to take lessons. Luckily for him, the high school band teacher offered their services to Brother P., and introduced him to classical music. This discovery sparked his ultimate passion for piano.
Every day, Brother P. would spend all of his free time playing the piano. Brother P. stated that he often “ate, slept, and woke up on the piano.” As Brother P. graduated junior high and moved into high school, he joined the high school chorus, accompanying the singing with his piano. His craft excelled, and in his junior year of high school, he was invited to study piano at Phillips Andover for six weeks in the summer, which he accepted. Still living in North Carolina, Brother P. boarded on campus while practicing piano, learning the harpsichord, and developing his newly found singing voice, and by the end of the camp, Brother P. was invited back for the following summer. At Andover, he performed weekly, playing chamber music with other musicians. Additionally, the teachers at Andover suggested that Brother P. should apply to play for the New England Conservatory (NEC) located in Boston sometime soon.
In his senior year, Brother P. transferred to the North Carolina School of the Arts, over 200 miles away from his hometown, to continue his pursuit of music. While his musical life continued in North Carolina, the teachers at Andover inquired about college. One of Brother P.’s previous piano teachers encouraged him to apply to Howard University, one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities, commonly referred to as HBCU. However, Brother P. decided to apply to NEC and NEC only. Fortunately, Brother P. was accepted, but he had to move to Boston. “Who’s in Boston? Nobody I knew!” Brother P. recalled. In fact, he only knew basic facts about Boston, such as the events at Beacon Hill. Contrary to popular opinion, Brother P. loved the mystery of moving to a new city. As he studied at NEC, he fell in love with Boston; however, with the support of NEC, he applied to Howard University, located in Washington D.C., and was accepted. He completed his undergraduate in piano and music education, and immediately went to graduate school at the University of South Florida, studying choral music and conducting.
Despite the much warmer weather, Brother P. longed to be back in Boston, so as soon as he graduated, he moved back to search for jobs. His first teaching experience was at Cambridge Public Schools, where he initially taught kindergarten through third grade, but soon middle and high school students. He worked for seventeen years in Cambridge as the Assistant Director of Music, until he received a job inquiry from the Rolling Hayes School of Music in Roxbury. At the same time, Brother P. was working at Tufts University as the conductor of the choir. One day, a former Belmont Hill Student who was in the choir asked Brother P. if he would like to bring the choir to sing at Belmont Hill, and he happily accepted the challenge. While on stage Brother P. spontaneously decided to teach the students the song God Has Done Marvelous, having the Upper School sing the lower part, and the Middle School sing the higher part.
After the performance, Dr. Melvoin, the headmaster at the time, offered Brother P. a position in the Music Department at Belmont Hill. Although he originally passed up on the opportunity, after Dr. Melvoin followed up with the offer, Brother P. decided to visit Belmont Hill. Following a tour with, at the time, B-flat member and current teacher Mr. George Sullivan, Brother P. joined the Belmont Hill Community as the Director of Music, and for the last nineteen years has consistently provided beautiful piano accompaniments and energetic music lessons. Outside of Belmont Hill, Brother P. stays active in the music community, serving as the Director of Church Music in Cambridge, a former leader of Saint Paul AME Church, and singing in two choirs, Sharing a New Song and Joyful Voices of Inspirations, directing the latter.
Although Brother P.’s knowledge of music stands as one of the greatest on campus, he continues to learn every day. “One of my favorite courses I teach here is my music appreciation course, and what’s so wonderful about it is the music that the students teach me. As a music teacher, people assume that I know all the songs in the world. Whether it is the discussions or the weekly blog we do where we write about something music-wise, I learn many things about new genres of music or underground artists.” Brother P. stated, “That’s why I love Belmont Hill. I love learning, and I can’t think of a better place to do so.”
