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.