MCLA and MOSAIC recently announced that acclaimed composer, producer, and multidisciplinary artist Wendel Patrick has been selected as the 2025 Benedetti Teaching Artist Fellow.
For those unfamiliar, the Benedetti Teaching Artist Residency is a semester-long artist-in-residence fellowship that allows those who are selected the opportunity to teach students on campus different forms of art, while also working toward making their own work available to the public.
In other words, this prestigious residency invites distinguished artists to engage with students, faculty, and the North Adams community as a whole while developing and presenting a major work of their own. It is an incredible opportunity.
The Benedetti Residency, named after MCLA professor and artist-in-residence emeritus Tony Benedetti ‘37, provides students with direct exposure to accomplished artists across disciplines. Patrick’s selection continues the program’s tradition of fostering creativity and expanding artistic perspectives on campus.
Patrick is widely recognized for his innovative approach to music production and education. He is an Associate Professor at John Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute, where he founded the first baccalaureate program in Hip Hop in the United States.
His work spans composition, production, beat making, piano performance, photography, and videography. His genre-defying music has drawn high praise, with Urbanite Magazine calling him “David Foster Wallace reincarnated as a sound engineer” and The Baltimore Sun describing him as “wildly talented.”
A classically trained pianist who performs under the name Kevin Gift, Patrick has gained international recognition for his electronic compositions. His five albums—Sound, Forthcoming, JDWP, Passage, and Travel—were created entirely without traditional instruments, with Patrick electronically crafting and performing every note himself.
Beyond music, Patrick is a skilled photographer and videographer whose work has been exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Ralph Arnold Gallery in Chicago. He also serves as the visual documentarian for “Out of the Blocks”, an award-winning NPR documentary series he co-produces. His work has been featured on NPR, the BBC, and the Third Coast International Audio Festival.
His career includes co-founding the Baltimore Boom Bap Society, which produces monthly improvised hip-hop performances. The group’s collaboration with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on Igor Stravinsky’s “The Soldier’s Tale” was recognized as the “Best Mesmerizing Performance of 2016” by Baltimore Magazine.
Patrick holds a double major in music and political science from Emory University and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from Northwestern University. He is a past winner of the Baker Artist Awards’ Mary Sawyers Baker grand prize and has held faculty positions at Loyola University Baltimore and the Maryland Institute College of Art. He was also a Guest Artist-in-Residence at Loyola University Chicago in 2019.
In 2022, he was named Renaissance Man of the Year at the Baltimore Crown Awards. He currently serves as a non-resident Fellow at Harvard University’s Hutchins Center for African and African American Research and previously held a Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellowship at Harvard’s Hip Hop Archive and Research Institute.
As the Benedetti Teaching Artist Fellow, Patrick will lead mentorship programs, workshops, and public events, enriching the artistic and cultural landscape of MCLA and North Adams. His residency will culminate in a major public presentation of his work. Given his extensive background in performance, composition, and documentary media, Patrick’s presence on campus promises to inspire students across disciplines.
Additionally, Patrick’s presence at MCLA will create opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, bridging the gap between music, technology, and visual storytelling. His expertise in electronic composition and sound engineering will provide students with valuable insights into contemporary music production and the evolving landscape of digital art.
Through hands-on workshops and interactive discussions, students will gain a deeper understanding of how sound, rhythm, and narrative intersect in multimedia storytelling.
MCLA’s continued commitment to artistic excellence and education is reflected in Patrick’s appointment. His residency is anticipated to bring new perspectives and a transformative experience for students and the wider community, reinforcing the college’s role as a hub for artistic innovation.
