Biography

Pianist and composer Patrick Stoyanovich brings a rich musical experience to contemporary culture. Mr. Stoyanovich has been Composer-in-Residence for Saint James Cathedral in Seattle, Washington and Composer-in-Residence for Saint Cecilia Festival on Bainbridge Island, the latter of which presents recitals and new works for choir and orchestra. He is active as a composer, teacher, and performer.

Educated from age nine on piano and horn, as a teenager Stoyanovich was honored numerous times as an outstanding jazz piano soloist and began to perform professionally at age fourteen in Detroit. His formal education began at the University of Michigan School of Music, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Piano Performance. At the time, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship studying jazz in New York City with Richard Beirach, in addition to receiving the John W. Work III Prize for Composition. Graduate studies were concluded at Yale University under the tutelage of Jacob Druckman on full scholarship. Stoyanovich graduated with High Honors receiving his Master of Music in Composition, garnering the Irving Gilmore Fellowship for Outstanding Composition Student.

Mr. Stoyanovich’s composition teachers have included three Pulitzer Prize winners: Jacob Druckman, Leslie Basset, and William Bolcom; in addition he worked with Leonard Bernstein at Les Écoles d’art Américaines de Fontainebleau in France, and with Gunther Schuller at Sandpoint Festival. In 2009 he was named a MacDowell Fellow.

Patrick is an active pianist, frequently appearing in recitals such as the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, Northwest Piano Series, and Steinway Recital Series at Sherman Clay in Seattle, WA. As a jazz pianist, he has been featured in festivals including the Detroit-Montreaux International Jazz Festival, Bright Moments, Vermont Jazz, and Banff Music Festival. As a concert pianist, he has soloed with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Spokane Symphony, Bremerton Symphony Association, and the Saint Cecilia Music Festival.

Stoyanovich’s compositions are published by G. Schirmer, Northeastern Music Publishers, and Metro City Music (the latter which he owns and operates) and have been performed across the United States and Europe by Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra, Spokane Symphony, Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Lake Union Civic Orchestra, Helena Symphony, the English Double Reed Society in Canterbury, and on the Hungarian National Radio. Recent chamber performances included premieres of Stoyanovich’s String Quartet No.1 “Shiloh Church” and Duo for Violin and Cello “Field of Blackbirds” at the Bowery Poetry in New York City, his Sonata No.1 for Violin and Piano at the Aspen Music Festival (Aspen, Co.) and Encinitas Music by the Sea Concert Series (San Diego, CA.), and his Sonata No.2 “Romantic Warrior” for Violin and Piano on the Crocker Art Museum Concert Series (Sacramento, CA.) and the Elebash Recital Series (New York, NY.).

Recent discography includes the 2024 Bridge Records release of Rue Paradis: Chamber Works by Patrick Stoyanovich, featuring performances by violinist Sophia Stoyanovich, cellist Aaron Wolff, and pianist Derek Wang. Hailed as “…gorgeous music of substantial emotional depth, played with substantial emotional insight” and “a standout recording” by Fanfare Magazine, Rue Paradis follows on the heels of Stoyanovich’s previous recorded albums for Crystal Records, Jazzsport, and Metro City Music.

Patrick Stoyanovich has taught privately and at the college level for over twenty years including at the UCLA, California State University: Fullerton, SUNY Plattsburgh, and Burlington College. He lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.