James Paterson
James Paterson, 83, father of Mrs. Demitri (Pat) Evancho of Marion, died Aug. 28, 2003, at Walnut, Calif.
A performer, conductor, and composer, he founded and directed symphony orchestras while teaching at colleges in South Dakota.
He led students on 22 goodwill trips to Europe and the Caribbean while serving with the American Youth Symphony and Chorus in the 1970s and 80s.
Born in 1919 in England, he moved to California when he was five. He began taking violin, clarinet, and piano lessons. At one time he was considered one of the nations top 10 clarinetists.
He played with the Long Beach municipal band and later joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.
He helped produce and perform music for the Disney Studios, played with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony, Lost Angeles Philharmonic, and Dallas Symphony, where he was the principal clarinetist for five years.
He graduated from Southern Methodist University and earned a master's degree from Hardin-Simmons University.
He joined the music staff at Huron College in 1957 and moved to Chadron State in 1970, retiring in 1984.
He continued to lead the Panhandle Symphony through 1990 and in recent years did considerable composing and arranging.
In 1982 he directed the BBC symphony orchestra in London during a televised performance broadcast worldwide.
Survivors include his widow, Barbara; three daughters; one son; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
A memorial has been established for a music scholarship at Chadron State.
