Annie Wilson Patterson (1868 – 16 January 1934) was an Irish organist, music educator, writer and composer.
Annie Patterson was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland, and was related through her mother's family to Lord Macaulay. She made her debut performance in Dublin at age fifteen, studied at Alexandra College and the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, and received her doctorate in 1889, becoming the first British woman to hold a Doctorate of Music. After she completed her studies, she became an examiner for the Royal University of Ireland and worked as an organist and conductor of the Dublin Choral Union and the Hampstead Harmonic Society. In 1897 she founded the Feis Ceoil festival in Dublin. The Dr. Annie Patterson Medal is awarded in her honor at the festival. In 1909 Patterson took a job as organist at St. Anne’s in Shandon, County Cork.[1]
Patterson wrote poetry, essays, short stories, and professional articles and books on music. She published articles in The Girl’s Own Paper in England and a series of articles on music in the Weekly Irish Times from 1899–1901. She published ten books, including a text on Irish folk music and a biography of Robert Schumann for the Master Musician’s Series. In 1924 she took a position in Cork as a lecturer on Irish music, where she worked until her death in 1934.[2]
Patterson composed sacred and secular cantatas, orchestral works and songs based on Irish themes. Selected works include: