Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth May-Patterson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started playing violin at age 3, switched to viola at 9, studying with my mother in Sioux City, IA until I went to college. I completed 3 years of my Bachelors before being invited to study privately in Seattle, WA, with Emanuel Vardi, a legendary violist who was one of the first violists to have a solo recital in Carnegie Hall and played in the NBC Symphony under Toscanini! I finished my degree while establishing myself as a freelance violist in the greater Seattle area from 2008 – 2020. During that time, I collaborated with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Judy Collins, ODESZA, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mark Lanegan, Duff McKagan, David Bazan, and many others. I was a founding member and Violist of Andrew Joslyn and the Passenger String Quartet and Sonic String Quartet, Principal Viola of the Seattle Rock Orchestra, and performed with orchestras including Seattle Symphony, Symphony Tacoma, Auburn Symphony, as well as recorded movies and video games with Seattle Music Inc. I also coached youth orchestras and held my own private teaching studio!
In 2020, my partner and I moved to Lee’s Summit, largely due to the pandemic and loss of work. I immediately auditioned for the Lee’s Summit Symphony (LSSO) and have been Principal Viola since 2021. I also sub with Kansas City Symphony as well as freelance. Through my relationships with LSSO, I created Rock Orchestra Kansas City (ROKC), a professional rock orchestra that plays tributes to music’s best-loved artists, bands, and decades. We’ll have our official Premiere, “Tribute to the 60s and 70s!”, at the Uptown Theater on August 23rd!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Deciding to leave Seattle, my home of 12 years, and all my friends and musical opportunities was one of the toughest decisions I’ve made in my life. There were many factors that contributed to this decision, both positive and negative, but ultimately it seemed like the right time to make a change. Moving to Lee’s Summit in 2020 during the pandemic was also very difficult to say the least. Most everything was shut down or affected in some way, and for me one of the hardest things was starting over from scratch musically trying to make connections with the KC music scene, as well as finding a job to cover basic needs. After months of searching and applying, I got a job as a budtender, which was a lot of fun! I eventually switched to the manufacturing facility, which…wasn’t. I drove a ton of DoorDash to get by, though it really wasn’t sustainable. Thankfully, I lucked out and was hired full-time for a company outside the music world. Ironically, this gave me the time and energy to focus on writing my arrangements for Rock Orchestra Kansas City and handling all the administrative work! This is a stark contrast to working as a freelance musician living in Seattle, where I was always burning my candle at both ends, leaving no time or mental space for me to compose and be creative for my own projects! I am thankful for my time in Seattle though as the knowledge and experience I gained from my 12 years of playing with non-classical artists and ensembles prepared me to create my own rock orchestra project here in Kansas City!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in playing the viola and violin, composing and arranging, and I’m known for creating Rock Orchestra Kansas City! ROKC is truly unique in that each arrangement is custom written by me and my team of arrangers, and all iconic guitar solos (Stairway to Heaven, Another Brick in the Wall, etc.) are played by members of the orchestra including using distortion pedals and other effects as needed. Each member of the orchestra is amplified and we feature some of Kansas City’s top vocal talent as soloists. ROKC operates under LSSO’s umbrella of support as a 501c3 non-profit group and is committed to producing experiences that entertain, educate, and actively build community, by reimagining the performance and study of traditionally non-orchestral music performed by an orchestra as a versatile and genre-bending art form. I feel so lucky and fortunate that I’ve been able to make connections here in Kansas City that have given me the chance to create ROKC, bolstering the KC music community, adding a truly unique live-music experience for KC music lovers, and providing a safe, fun, and collaborative space for KC musicians and creatives to come together to make music!
What matters most to you? Why?
Building community and actively supporting musicians! One of the best ways to build and enrich our community has always been through music and live performance. No matter your personal beliefs, everyone comes together and unites in a shared love of the music or artist being played, and this is a powerful tool for connection, peace, and understanding. Some of my most fulfilling memories have been on a stage performing to a crowd that actively engages with the energy of the songs being played, or attending a live performance of my favorite band and feeling that everyone around me shares in this experience. Music is magic and it speaks directly to your body and mind no matter which language you speak or where you come from. This feeling will likely be different depending on your own life experience, even when listening to the same song, and that is such a beautiful concept to me!
Actively supporting musicians is crucial if we want to invest in the future of live music and protect our music creators from burning out. Generally, unless you’re part of a musician’s union and/or win a contract with a top symphony, being adequately compensated for your ability and time invested perfecting your craft is rare, and work is never guaranteed. This is why most freelancers gig relentlessly, sometimes bailing on previous agreements because a different higher-paying gig comes through (and at the end of the day, we all have to pay rent and eat food!). Freelancers commonly also have to juggle a packed teaching schedule (and managing this schedule and payments) either privately and/or publicly, and any other side gigs to supplement their income. If they do decide to have a day job, this can still conflict with accepting some performance opportunities, and there is an unspoken belief that if you work a day job, you’ll fall behind since other people are using the time to practice and are “more serious musicians”. This combined with the pressure of having to be the best in an audition (literally against people from around the world), never miss a note or play something too loudly for fear of not being hired again (depending on the ensemble), creates a toxic environment resulting in burnout. This is a primary factor in my decision to prioritize paying each member of ROKC in the budget, with the goal to increase payment across the board as we establish ourselves and secure funding.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rockorchestrakansascity.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockorchestrakansascity?igsh=MThvd2VyMGM0Mm94
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Hkw7W1tKV/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RockOrchestraKansasCity
