Patrick Bailey
Director of Program Development; Director & Conductor, PYSB
Patrick currently serves as a tenured faculty member of the Pennsbury School District instrumental music program in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Pennsbury has been recognized as one of the best communities for music education in the country by the N.A.M.M. Foundation for the last two decades. Performing ensembles from the district have toured 4 continents, won national and international musical competitions, and been a springboard for the careers of many professional musicians and music educators. Patrick’s roles within the department have included department curriculum coordinator; director positions with the high school curricular concert bands, marching band, jazz bands, pit orchestra and chamber music programs; classroom teaching assignments at the high school, middle school, and elementary level; and director and coordinator positions with the middle school and elementary school honors programs. Public school music programs are a vital part of successful school experiences for students.
In addition to his work in public education, Patrick is deeply involved in the arts education non-profit sector through his work as on the artistic and administrative staff of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute. He currently serves as the Director of Program Development for the Institute, working to expand program offerings to serve more students from more backgrounds across the greater Philadelphia area. He is the founding Director & Conductor of the Philadelphia Youth Symphonic Band, a program offering from the Institute which engages advanced instrumental students through performance of high-level concert band and wind ensemble repertoire. The PYSB serves middle school and high school level students with weekly rehearsals, sectional masterclasses, and performances in major concert halls in Philadelphia.
Past positions include posts in higher education, helping students bridge involvement in school programs with continued, life-long love of music making. Appointed in 2019, Mr. Bailey served as the Music Director & Conductor of the Drexel University Concert Band for five seasons. The DUCB connects students from across the University through shared experience and performance. Students who make up this ensemble are not music performance majors, as Drexel does not offer a music performance major: members of the DUCB attend Drexel to study architecture, biology, engineering, computer science, fashion design, behavioral and health sciences, music industry, and more, and stay involved in music through performance in the university’s flagship concert band program. These students rehearse twice a week and perform great works from the concert band repertoire. Other past positions in higher education include adjunct professor at Temple University, where he co-authored the Arts Enterprise course on personal financial management and entrepreneurship in the arts, and adjunct professor at Moore College of Art and Design where he taught entrepreneurship in the business minor program.
Patrick is also an active freelance percussionist, guest conductor, clinician, and private lesson instructor for percussion students: his performances as a soloist included the 2012 North American Debut of John Psathas’s Timpani Concerto Planet Damnation. He also has the distinction of winning the 2009 “Individual and Ensemble” gold medal as a member of Drum Corps International’s Boston Crusaders. Patrick is a published composer and author through Bachovich Music Publications, his works have been performed across the Americas and Europe.
He holds degrees from Temple University (B.M. Music Education) and Drexel University (M.S. Arts Administration). In 2016, Patrick is a member of the Vic Firth Education Team; American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; Pennsylvania Music Educators Association; College Band Directors National Association; and National Association for Music Education.
Learning a musical instrument is an incredibly rewarding pursuit. Getting the most out of musical study means accessing high quality arts experiences both as a learner and an audience member, finding mentors to navigate the many pathways available to artists in today’s changing world, and embracing the understanding that artistic mastery is a lifelong journey. Patrick Bailey is a career musician, educator, conductor, and administrator whose work centers on meeting these needs.
At its core, artistic training serves to deepen one’s understanding of the world and enrich one’s life.