Patrick Fitzgibbon, an Oakland University graduate and now OU faculty member, lives his life following his passion for music.

However, the music he enjoys probably wouldn’t find its way onto your playlist. Fitzgibbon enjoys the music of the world. From Indian to Caribbean to African, he listens to it all. 

Education and experience

After he graduated from Michigan State University in 2005, Fitzgibbon came to OU to study world music under the direction of Mark Stone. Oakland University has a strong world music program in which students can learn about different music from all around the globe.

“Before I came to OU, I lived in Los Angeles for a while, spent some summers on cruise ships playing with the bands, studied Carnatic music in India, and became more and more interested in different worldly musics,” Fitzgibbon said.

In 2012, he graduated from OU with a master’s degree in music performance with a concentration in world music. During his time at OU, Fitzgibbon traveled to Trinidad, played at various conferences and conventions, and did a study abroad trip to Ghana to study African traditional and religious music.

“Time-wise, everything just kind of worked out. After I graduated, Oakland offered me a job teaching world music and I love it,” Fitzgibbon said. 

Musical manifesto

For the past few years, besides teaching, Fitzgibbon has been working on and recently finished a steel pan album. The album is titled The Travelers, and has seven complete tracks that build on calypso and jazz rudiments. The album is available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.

“Steel pan is a relatively young instrument and there isn’t a ton of original music out there for pan,” Fitzgibbon said. “I’ve been composing and playing for years, which has progressed into the creation of the album.” 

The album took around a year to record and was recorded locally in Rochester. Fitzgibbon began recording each track with the drum set. This way, he could add the bass line and slowly add instruments on top of it and work his way up until the track was complete.

Fitzgibbon is also currently working on another album to be released in the near future that is strictly percussive music.

Student ensembles

Students do not need to know how to  play music, or even an instrument, to join any of OU’s ensembles. Each ensemble usually meets twice a week as well as holds a concert open to the public at the end of the year.

“I think Patrick does a great job teaching and including everyone,” said Brendan Walters, a current music education major. “Some people might not know or fully understand where the music comes from or how to play it. Patrick does his best to make sure everyone is included and gets something out of the class.”

There will be a world music concert showcasing the music that the different ensembles have been working on all semester. The concert is on Nov. 14 in Varner Hall.