American bass-baritone, conductor, and educator Willis Charles Patterson has died at 94.

A Fulbright Scholar, Marian Anderson Award winner, and longtime professor at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, Patterson championed the preservation and performance of Black art songs,

Patterson was born on Nov. 27, 1930, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and after serving in the U.S. Air Force, studied at Eastern Michigan University, the University of Michigan, and the Manhattan School of Music. He would later earn a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Wayne State University.

As a bass-baritone, Patterson performed with major orchestras and opera companies, including appearances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic. He also famously portrayed King Balthazar in the 1963 NBC television film “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a role he won after writing a letter condemning the network’s use of white singers in blackface.

Then, in 1968, he became the first African American appointed to the voice faculty at the University of Michigan, where he would also served as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Minority Affairs. His leadership was the catalyst for greater inclusion and mentorship for generations of Black musicians and scholars.

He also left behind an extensive legacy of editorial work, including his 1977 Anthology of Art Songs by Black American Composers.

He is survived by his wife, Frankie Bouyer Patterson, and their four children.