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Special Tribute:
Alvin
Paterson
‘A leader with music in his soul’
Mr. Alvin
Paterson was an East Austinite, A committed
neighbor and Chairman of the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association,
Architectural Control Committee.
Above all he was a dear friend to us all and his music plays on in
our hearts now on earth and in Heaven.
Alvin Patterson,
namesake of Juneteenth Battle of the Bands
competition, dies at age 84.
By Raven L. Hill
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, June 29, 2007
Alvin Patterson bore
his usual smile at the recent Battle
of the Bands and Drumline — his namesake
Pre-Juneteenth competition.
While mourning Patterson, who died Thursday
at age 84, possibly from a heart attack, friends and family recalled the
joy that the former band director at the old L.C. Anderson
High School got from
the annual event.
Click picture to view more Photos
Pre-June- teenth competitions named
for director.
Pictured in 1963, Alvin Patterson, front center, led the Yellow Jacket Band
to seven state titles during his tenure as L.C. Anderson
High School's band
director, which lasted from 1955 until 1971. The school's band was also the
first black band to march at a gubernatorial inauguration in Texas.
Patterson, an Austin
native, was only the second band director in the former East
Austin school's 38 years, working there from 1955 to
1971.
More than a chance to play music or march,
the Battle
of the Bands was a chance to honor him, said Larry Jackson, who launched
the event four years ago through the Austin Eastside Story Foundation.
Discouraged by the low numbers of black
students who participated in Austin marching bands, organizers wanted to
reignite interest in the fine arts, going back to the days of the school's
seven-time state champion Yellow Jacket Band.
"We felt that would really solidify the
community, naming something after someone who was a legend and who was
still alive," Jackson
said. "We got as much out of it as Mr. Patterson did."
At the first competition, Patterson
conducted the Austin All-Star Band as it performed the old Anderson fight song.
It was "a blessing" that he was
able to attend the last one June 16, said Wilhelmina Delco, a former state representative
and Austin school board trustee who was Patterson's neighbor.
A 1940 graduate who attended the New England
Conservatory of Music, Patterson returned to his alma mater in 1955,
replacing his mentor, legendary director B.L. Joyce.
Under Patterson's direction, the band racked
up a number of firsts: In 1959, the Yellow Jackets became the first black
band to march at a Texas
gubernatorial inauguration and, a few years later, the first to play in the
Austin Aqua Festival parade.
Patterson and former band members were
honored at Anderson's
all-classes reunion last year, said Joseph Reid, who is chairman of the
Original L.C. Anderson Alumni Association.
Although Joyce preferred more staid,
traditional fare such as John Philip Sousa's marches and overtures —
jazz was a no-no — Patterson's tastes were more contemporary. The
band played numbers such as "Rock Around the Clock" and "The
Bunny Hop," Reid said.
Melvin Scott, an old Anderson alumnus and retired band
director, said Patterson was his mentor. He did his student teaching with
him in 1964.
"(During my career) I'd think, 'What
would Mr. Patterson do here?' " Scott said.
"I tried to recall what he did and put my spin on it."
Lonnie Jackson, who coached football at Anderson when
Patterson was there, said Patterson's varied musical talents included
singing — "a voice out of this world," he said.
After Anderson
closed, Patterson moved to McCallum
High School and was a
counselor there until 1984, when he became assistant
to the dean at St. Edward's University. He retired in June 2003.
He also played with a local group, the
Rhythm Kings. Patterson, whose brother Roy
was band director at Kealing
Middle School, helped plan the
band parade during the Austin
school district's 125th anniversary celebration held over the past year and
was featured in a documentary about the history of the district.
In addition, Patterson was active in the
Martin Luther King Neighborhood Association in East
Austin. The group's president, Clara Walker, who was with his
son when Patterson died Thursday at St. David's Medical Center,
called him her "right hand."
Charles Akins, assistant principal at the
old Anderson school and the first principal
at the new Anderson
High School, knew
Patterson for more than five decades: "People will remember his
conscientiousness, his passion for music, his leadership when it comes to
inspiring people. He was an outstanding individual first, and then an
outstanding band director and educator."
Next year, the Battle of the Bands will be even bigger,
Larry Jackson said.
"He left us enough inspiration where we
will work harder to make sure this grows. He will look down and know that
things are going right on."
rhill@statesman.com; 445-3620
June 28, 2007
Austin
School District
Statement on the Death of Alvin Patterson
“Alvin Patterson was a
great friend of the Austin Independent School
District and Austin
students. He not only taught music, but also character and respect for
others. He delighted when students performed well, in band as well as in
other academic areas. The education received in his classroom and in his
band hall was of value to all his students. Thousands of students benefited
from his strong but gentle guidance and wisdom. His leadership will be
missed.”
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