S'Cool Sounds Teaching Artist, Ruaridh Pattison, known by SCS students as "Mr. Ru," is a jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist who has been a SCS Teaching Artist since 2016. We recently spoke with Ruaridh, learning about his summer work, educational philosophy, and thoughts on a changing world. Enjoy the conversation!
S'Cool Sounds: Hi Ru, thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. How’s your summer been? What have you been up to?
Ru: Summer has been busy! I’ve been teaching a beat making program at Queens Community House in Ozone Park. The theme of their entire summer school is “around the world.” I wanted to reflect that in our project, so we have been sampling music from foreign countries and making beats with our samples. Many students have picked the country that reflects their own heritage (China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador to name a few). It’s really highlighted the diverseness of NYC which in my opinion makes New York great.
Other than teaching Queens Community House and playing the saxophone, I've been playing the Electronic Wind Instrument and taking street photography.
You’re a jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist, which is just really awesome by the way. You've spoken about your inspiration to continue the cycle of knowledge that fueled your journey from your hometown of Kirkcaldy, Scotland to New York City and also to Kenya. How has this foundation and experience supported your teaching?
It’s helped me see education as a lineage (in the biological sense). In many ways I’m passing on what I was taught as a young person. The content and method is informed by my mentors but evolves through my lens, my experiences, and also what my students teach me. It’s a branching tree and hopefully the young people I come across continue the process.
A year of virtual instruction definitely created a lot of challenges–but like in most hard times-it also led to much innovation. Now back in the classroom, we’ve seen the creativity required to keep students engaged during virtual learning finding its way in the work today. Have you found this to be true?
Not quite! I’d say that teaching in the classroom now is both more difficult than teaching pre-pandemic and during the pandemic. Students (and myself honestly), seem to have lost a little bit of focus. It’s up to us teachers to find new and better ways to engage.
How about in your own artistry?
It’s the wild west out here and I think many of us are still figuring out the new gigging scene here in NYC and the post-covid artistic landscape. Ask me again in a year!
It’s amazing that we’re almost in the new school year, but do you have a favorite story from this past year?
Not a story per se but it was rewarding to run the Boston Early Music Festival project for the second year in a row bigger and better. It hit a lot of interests for me, teaching, arranging, video/audio editing. I really felt like that was a challenge that I could rise to accomplish competently. You could really see how returning students had progressed since year one. I’m looking forward to the next one!
