Michael Patterson is a Puerto Rican-American conductor, pianist, and composer known for his dynamic musicianship and community-driven spirit. His conducting journey began at age eighteen when he founded the PianoForte Symphony Orchestra in Southern California, leading it from 2009 to 2014 with a mission to bring meaningful musical experiences to local audiences.
He currently serves as Associate Music Director of Queen City Opera and is completing his doctorate in orchestral conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he studies under the mentorship of Mark Gibson.
As a collaborative pianist, Patterson performs with ensembles and institutions such as Cincinnati Opera, especially in their Opera Fusion: New Works initiative. There, he has assisted in developing operas by leading composers like Carlos Simon and Laura Kaminsky. This summer, he joins the company as assistant conductor and pianist for their production of Rigoletto.
Patterson has conducted a wide array of ensembles both locally and internationally, including the Filarmonica de Stat Târgu Mureș, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, The Orchestra Now, Apollo Orchestra, Barclay Brass, Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, and members of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, earning praise for his “dramatic subtlety and musical finesse” (The Millbrook Independent).
He has earned a conducting degree from Bard College Conservatory of Music, studying with esteemed mentors including Harold Farberman, Leon Botstein, James Bagwell, and Joan Tower, and has also worked closely with Gary Thor Wedow, Neil Varon, Kirill Kuzmin, and Edward Carroll.
An active composer and member of the Millennium Composers Initiative, Patterson has written over forty works that have been performed throughout the U.S., Latin America, and Europe.
Michael lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Vivian, and their two cats, Luna and Suki. He’s thrilled to be making music with the wonderful musicians of the Seven Hills Symphony.
Dr. Diana Chubak, an exceptional Ukrainian pianist and educator, is celebrated for her dedication to both performance and teaching. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where she won the CCM Concerto Competition twice, culminating in a performance of George Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the CCM Philharmonia. Her digital album, Neskoreni, Vol. 1: Bortkiewicz, stands as a powerful tribute to her musical artistry and cultural heritage.
As an active performer, Dr. Chubak has appeared across the United States and Europe, including Ukraine, Poland, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, and Germany. She has collaborated with esteemed orchestras such as the CCM Philharmonia and Chamber Orchestras, the Kyiv Symphony, the Lviv Virtuosos Chamber Orchestra, and the Ukrainian Presidential Orchestra. She secured a position at the International Summer Academy of Music in Ochsenhausen, Germany, and was invited to perform at the Gradus International Piano Festival in Denmark. She was also honored with the Golden Parnassus award at the Bieszczady Without Borders International Piano Forum in Poland.
Her success in international competitions includes prizes from the Myroslav Skoryk Competition (Ukraine), the International Siegfried-Weishaupt-Klavierwettbewerb (Germany), the International ProArt Competition (Ukraine), and the Tuesday Musical Scholarship Competition
(Ohio). Additionally, she has received support from the Vere Music Fund and a scholarship from the Richard Wagner Society for the 2019 Bayreuth Festival. She was also awarded the Graduate Incentive Full Scholarship by CCM and a grant from the Dorothy Stolzanbach-Payne Foundation.
Beyond performance, Dr. Chubak is deeply committed to promoting Ukrainian music. She founded Music for Ukraine, a charity concert series raising awareness and funds for Ukrainians affected by war, and established the nonprofit organization Ukrainian Classical Music Project
Inc., dedicated to preserving and promoting Ukrainian classical music.
From 2022 to 2024, Dr. Chubak served as a piano instructor in CCM’s Secondary Piano and Pedagogy Department and later as an Adjunct Piano Professor at Wilmington College.