“The duo plays inviting tuneful music with full-bodied expression that will enchant both lovers of classical chamber music and casual listeners.”

-Fanfair Magazine

Praised by BBC Music Magazine for their “beguiling” sound and by The Strad for their "wit and imagination", the Patterson/Sutton cello & guitar duo have been featured artists at international festivals and concert series throughout the United States and abroad. They also have an ongoing relationship with The Juilliard School as Juilliard Global Visiting Artists.

The Patterson/Sutton Duo’s two studio albums, “Cold Dark Matter” and “Still Life: Collected Music for Cello and Guitar by Stephen Goss” were both released to critical acclaim and widespread international radio play including NPR’s “Performance Today,” “Classical Guitar Alive,” and Apple Classical Music curated playlists. The Duo strives to push the boundaries of the repertoire by commissioning new music for cello and guitar from top composers. Their most recent commission, “Still Life” by composer Steven Goss, was nominated for a 2021 Ivor Novello Award, the most prestigious prize for modern music in the United Kingdom.

Recent concert appearances include the 2024 Guitar Foundation of America Convention, New York City Classical Guitar Society, Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival, New Mexico Guitar Festival, Florida Guitar Foundation, Portland International Guitar Series, Minnesota Guitar Society’s International Guitar Artist Series, University of Colorado International Guitar Festival, Saigon Guitar Series in Vietnam, Shanghai Conservatory in China, Princeton Symphony Chamber Music Series, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, and the Strings Music Festival, among others. Soundboard magazine called their GFA engagement “a deeply inspiring performance.” Their research in the field of cello and guitar performance has culminated in lecture-recitals at the Dublin Guitar Symposium, International Guitar Research Center Conference in the UK, and the GFA Convention.

The Patterson/Sutton Duo believe strongly in the transformative power of educational outreach. Funded by the US State Department, the duo held a guest-artist residency at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul in 2014, where they worked with the budding generation of Afghan musicians and gave a performance at the Canadian Embassy of Afghanistan. More recently, The Juilliard School has sent the duo to Bratislava, Budapest, Dublin, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and New York City as guest-artists to perform and teach at international schools as part of the Juilliard/Nord Anglia global intuitive.

Dr. Kimberly Patterson holds degrees from the Juilliard School, the Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Colorado at Boulder. She is currently Associate Professor of Cello at the University of Memphis. Dr. Patrick Sutton holds degrees from the University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is currently Assistant Professor of Practice and head of the guitar department at the University of Memphis. The duo became husband and wife in June of 2017. 

Cello - Kimberly Patterson

Guitar - Patrick Sutton