Patti Niemi
Patti Niemi has been a member of the percussion section in the San Francisco Opera Orchestra since 1992. During that time she has made recordings with the Opera including Turandot, The Merry Widow, Capriccio, and the contemporary operas Harvey Milk and Dead Man Walking. In 2003 the orchestra released its first orchestral recording entitled “Symphony at the Opera.”
Prior to joining the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Ms. Niemi was a member of the New World Symphony under music director Michael Tilson Thomas from 1988–1992, and participated in European, South American, and Asian tours, as well as the recording “Tangazo.”
She has also performed in New York with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and in 2000 recorded a CD which included Christopher Rouse’s percussion works “Ku-Ka-Ilimoku” and “Ogoun Badagris” with the Concordia Orchestra. She recently recorded chamber music for composer Howard Hersh, including the premiere of "Night for Clarinet and Marimba.”
Her first book, a memoir entitled Sticking It Out was published in 2016. Ms. Niemi earned a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in 1987.
