Dr. Robert Taylor is the Director of

Choral Activities at the College of

Charleston, the Founding Artistic

Director and President of the Taylor

Festival Choir (TFC) and Taylor Music

Group (TMG), and the Director of the

Charleston Symphony Orchestra

Chorus and Chamber Singers. Called

a “rising star in the international

choral scene” and a "true master of

his craft" (Charleston City Paper),

Taylor’s choirs have been described

as sounding "more musical than

would seem possible" (Charleston

Post and Courier), and have received

numerous plaudits from critics and

choral specialists for their technical

proficiency, musicality and beautiful

sound production. Taylor's

ensembles have performed

throughout the United States and

Europe. They have been featured in

numerous festivals, conventions and

special concerts, including the 2005

and 2009 American Choral Directors

(ACDA) National Conventions, the

2008 and 2011 National Collegiate

Choral Organization National

Conventions, and multiple

appearances in regional and state

ACDA and AGO conventions. Taylor

and his combined choirs performed

with the Charleston Symphony

Orchestra in a feature concert in the

2013 National Collegiate Choral

Organization National Convention.

Taylor's groups also appear annually

in the prestigious Spoleto Festival

U.S.A. and Piccolo Spoleto Festival.

Dr. Taylor's professional ensemble,

the Taylor Festival Choir (TFC), has

been hailed by critics and choral

specialists alike as being one of the

nation’s finest. Performing a full

season of concerts in the Charleston

area, TFC also has toured

throughout the USA and Ireland and

has recorded with Delos Recordings,

Centaur Records, and MSR Classics.

TFC’s recent release was on the

Grammy ballot, and featured the

world premiere recording of Celtic

Mass by Michael McGlynn,

alongside Mass by James MacMillan,

a performance described as “very

impressive indeed….many will be

drawn to this (recording) simply

because of the intensity Taylor

brings to his readings, and the way

his choir responds with such potent

empathy for the music.” (Musicweb

International – London).

Taylor has conducted more than 50

major choral/orchestral works to

critical acclaim, his interpretations of

modern works and the works of

Ralph Vaughan Williams being

especially praised. His recording of

Vaughan

Williams' Epithalamion and An

Oxford Elegy was hailed as "a highly

accomplished performance," one in

which "his forces capture [Vaughan

Williams' score's] ebb and flow

perfectly" (American Record Guide).

With the CSO Chorus, he has

prepared numerous choral/orchestral

masterworks for performances with

prestigious conductors such as the

late David Stahl, Dr. Joseph

Flummerfelt, Ken Lam, Louis

Solemno, Dr. Kenneth Fulton, Dr. Joe

Miller, JoAnn Faletta and Stuart

Molina,. As Director of Choral

Activities at the College of

Charleston, Dr. Taylor oversees all

choral studies and endeavors,

including leading the acclaimed

Concert Choir, the Madrigal Singers,

and directing the choral strand of the

College of Charleston's Master of

Arts in Teaching in the Performing

Arts degree. He serves as editor of

the Robert Taylor Choral Series with

Colla Voce Publications, and is an

avid lover and arranger of Irish

traditional music. Along with his wife,

violinist/Irish fiddler Mary Taylor,

Taylor coordinates the Celtic Arts

Series (formerly the Taylor Music

Festival) in Piccolo Spoleto: a series

of concerts and workshops

emphasizing musical education and

performance in both classical and

Celtic/folk disciplines. Deeply

involved in Piccolo Spoleto and with

the Charleston Office of Cultural

Affairs, Taylor was recently awarded

the Piccolo Spoleto Lifetime

Achievement Award.

Mary Scott Taylor is the Director and

Founder of Na Fidleiri. She has been

teaching and performing since 1975,

with students from pre-school age to

collegiate level. Taylor has taught

privately and in public and private

school in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma

and South Carolina. Taylor was the

founder of the Suzuki Preparatory

Program at Oklahoma City University.

Once in Charleston, Ms. Taylor

served on the faculty at Ashley Hall

from 2006 to 2017, where she was

instrumental in the building of its

string program. She was as a

member of the faculty at Charleston

County School for the Arts in 2001,

and has served as adjunct faculty in

the strings areas at the College of

Charleston and Charleston Southern

University.

Ms. Taylor taught Intermediate and

High School Orchestra in Texas from

1985 to 1987 and again from 1990 to

1993. Groups under her direction won

numerous awards and high ratings in

Texas UIL competition. Mary has also

been a featured presenter at the

famed Texas Music Educators

Association Convention. Ms. Taylor

has taught hundreds of students over

the years in her private studios and

students under her direction have

been finalists and winners of

concerto competitions and have

gone on to attend institutions such

as Interlochen, Eastman, Rice

University, Julliard and San

Francisco Conservatory.

Ms. Taylor is an accomplished

chamber, orchestral and Irish

traditional performer. She is a

member of the Ensemble St. Clare,

the chamber ensemble-in-residence

at Mepkin Abbey, SC, and has been a

long-time member of Steve

Rosenberg’s early music consort

Charleston Pro Musica. She has

performed with orchestras in Texas,

Louisiana, Georgia, Oklahoma, South

Carolina, Austria and Italy, and

currently performs with the

Charleston Symphony Orchestra and

North Charleston Pops. Mary has

also performed with renowned Celtic

artists such as Liz Carroll, John

Doyle, Kim Robertson, Abby Newton,

and David Greenberg. Ms. Taylor has

been featured in numerous

recordings, including collaborations

with the Taylor Festival Choir on

projects recorded by the Delos,

Centaur and MSR Classics recording

labels.

Taylor has a Bachelor of Music

Degree in Violin Performance from

Lamar University along with a

Bachelor of Science Degree in Music

Education. Taylor holds a Master of

Music Degree from Sam Houston

State University in Violin

Performance and a Minor in

Conducting.