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Calvin Taylor Music

Dr. Calvin Taylor

BIOGRAPHY

Born 7 November 1948 in Los Angeles, California, composer, pianist, and organist Calvin Taylor was drawn to music as a young child. The active cultural and musical life of the church provided earliest impressions and inspiration. He began playing piano in all keys at five years, and by age 14 was serving as organist in several southern California churches. Taylor was exposed to a variety of the symphonic repertoire as a member of the trumpet section of both the Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic and Southwest Youth Symphony.

Calvin Taylor made history at Oberlin Conservatory in 1970 when he became the first organist in the school's over 150-year history to improvise a graduate concert encore (an eleven-minute extemporization on O Du Fröliche, Weihnachtzeit). At The University of Michigan, he studied organ with Marilyn Mason and composition with Leslie Bassett, completing the M.M. in 1974. Taylor became active as a studio arranger and studied composition and orchestration at U.C.L.A. and The Dick Grove School of Music in the early 80's. At the Grove Workshops, Taylor had the opportunity of learning from popular music composers Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, David Raksin, Dick Grove, and Peter Matz.

The music of Calvin Taylor has been programed by the Kristiansand, Redlands, Inglewood, Central Kentucky Youth, Shreveport, University of Kentucky, U.C.L.A. Philharmonia, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, South Arkansas, and Nashville Symphony orchestras. As a 1998 winner of The Unisys African American Composer's Residency and National Symposium, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra read and recorded Taylor's Inner-city Sunrise under the direction of Kay George Roberts.

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Among Dr. Taylor's works are Five Spirituals for Organ, 1998 and Spiritual Suite for Organ, 2002. Both volumes were commissioned by and dedicated to Dr. Marilyn Mason. Five Spirituals for Organ were premiered at the RLDS Temple in Independence, Missouri September 21, 1998 by Dr. Mason. Their first English performance took place at Selby Abbey, York, on October 4, 1998. Spiritual Suite for Organ received its world premier in a concert by Dr. Taylor at Church of the Holy Apostles in New York City, February 19, 2002. As part of the celebration of 50 years of African American presence at the University of Kentucky, Calvin Taylor was commissioned to write Choral Fantasia on Deep River. The seventeen-minute work for symphony orchestra and mixed festival chorus received its world premier on November 30, 1999 by the U.K. Symphony Orchestra and choirs.

Never far from his roots in religious music, Taylor has traveled for many years throughout the U.S.A. presenting thousands of concerts in America's churches. Well-known publications by Calvin Taylor include Spirituals for Piano, Keyboard Kids® piano series, and The Patriotic Piano.

Calvin Taylor was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda in 1974. He was a Lymon T. Johnson Fellow and also a winner of the William C. Parker Academic Achievement Award at the University of Kentucky.

Dr. Taylor has toured throughout the world, playing in North and South America, Europe, and the Far East. As arranger and composer, his music has been heard and enjoyed by millions.

VITA

DR. CALVIN TAYLOR

P. O. Box 51747 • Bowling Green, KY • 42102-6747

ACADEMIC PREPARATION:

D.M.A. Music Composition, 2000 University of Kentucky, Lexington

Dissertation: Five-movement symphony including Processional for the Human Spirit, Inner-city Sunrise, Sonnet of Praise, An Epistle for Pharaoh, and Choral Fantasia on Deep River.

M.M. Organ, 1974 The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Mus. B. Organ; Music Theory, 1970

Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Oberlin, Ohio

PROFESSIONAL STUDIES:

Studies in film scoring, composition, and orchestration

University of California at Los Angeles, Westwood, 1980-81

Contemporary Composing and Arranging Program

Diploma The Dick Grove School of Music, Studio City, California, 1982

NEWSPAPER FEATURE ARTICLES:

“Composer uses music to inspire hope”

Lexington Herald-Leader, April 12, 1998

“To settle a score; Composers refine their work at DSO”

(Detroit Symphony Orchestra) sessions"

Detroit Free Press, January 27, 1998

“Symphony schedules People's Concert at Civic Theatre”

Shreveport Times, January 12, 2000

"The Sound of the Future"

Los Angeles Times, February 10, 2000

“Traveling music ministry will offer worship, concerts”

Detroit Free Press, November 15, 2000

"Pianist to appear in Southfield today"

Detroit Free Press, November 19, 2006

PERFORMANCES, Inner-city Sunrise:

Detroit Symphony Orchestra Reading Session and Recording, January 25, 1998

University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, April 19, 1998

The Central Kentucky Youth Symphony Orchestra, May 10, 1998

Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, January 14, 2000

U.C.L.A. Symphony Orchestra, February 8, 2000

PERFORMANCES, Choral Fantasia on Deep River:

The University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, November 30, 1999

The Nashville Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, January 13, 2001

The University of Massachusetts - Lowell, Black Arts Festival, February 2, 2003

AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, PRIZES:

Bank of America Fine Arts Award, 1966

Scholarship - Oberlin College, 1966-1970

Horace H. Rackham Graduate Scholarship -

The University of Michigan, 1973-74

Commonwealth Incentive Award - University of Kentucky, 1996-99

Lymon T. Johnson Fellowship - University of Kentucky, 1997-98

Unisys African American Composers Residency and National Symposium

Prize Winner - The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, 1998

William C. Parker Academic Achievement Award - University

of Kentucky, 1998-99

HONORARY SOCIETY:

Elected to Pi Kappa Lambda, Honorary Musical Society, 1974

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS, CONVENTIONS, AND PRESENTATIONS:

Music Teachers National Association

California Association of Professional Music Teachers

Music Teachers Association of California

Texas Music Teachers Association

Midwest Arts Conference

Retail Print Music Dealers Association

The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada

National Association of Music Merchants

American Guild of Organists

Christian Booksellers Association

MUSICalifornia Convention

National Baptist Convention

Southern Baptist Church Music Conference

Kentucky Baptist Convention

PUBLICATIONS:

Sunrise Symphony, 2000

Spirituals for Worship, 2007

Spirituals for Piano, 1986

The Patriotic Piano, 1987

Keyboard Kids® Sacred Favorites, 1992

Keyboard Kids® Sacred Classics, 1993

Perfect Peace - Hymns of Calvin Maurice Taylor, 1996

Five Spirituals for Organ, 1998

Spiritual Suite for Organ, 2002

Grand Spirituals Collection, 2005

I’m Hungry, Lord, 1998

Resurrection Road, 1998

Perfect Peace, 1998

Away in a Manger, 1998

Sing Noel, 1998

RECORDINGS, VIDEO AND FILM SCORING CREDITS:

Music for the Journey

Organ Extraordinaire

Spirituals for Piano

Sacred Arrangements for Keyboard, Singers, and Orchestra

Chariots of Fire

Treasury of Hymns

The Patriotic Piano

Nimble Noel

Classic Piano

Perfect Peace...Living Water

A Cry for Miracles

Steps of Faith

Calvin Taylor in Concert

A Touch of Friendship

Visions of Ararat

PROFESSIONAL AND PERFORMANCE TRAVEL, U.S.A.:

Over three thousand solo concerts performed covering

forty-five states, above one million travel miles

PROFESSIONAL AND PERFORMANCE TRAVEL, INTERNATIONAL:

Canada, (incl. Nova Scotia and Newfoundland), Bahamas, Brazil, Jamaica,

The Philippines, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Europe, Scandinavia, Ukraine

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News	Calvin Taylor Music Dr. Calvin Taylor BIOGRAPHY Born 7 November 1948 in Los Angeles, California, composer, pianist, and organist Calvin Taylor was drawn to music as a young child. The active cultural and musical life of the church provided earliest impressions and inspiration. He began playing piano in all keys at five years, and by age 14 was serving as organist in several southern California churches. Taylor was exposed to a variety of the symphonic repertoire as a member of the trumpet section of both the Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic and Southwest Youth Symphony. Calvin Taylor made history at Oberlin Conservatory in 1970 when he became the first organist in the school's over 150-year history to improvise a graduate concert encore (an eleven-minute extemporization on O Du Fröliche, Weihnachtzeit). At The University of Michigan, he studied organ with Marilyn Mason and composition with Leslie Bassett, completing the M.M. in 1974. Taylor became active as a studio arranger and studied composition and orchestration at U.C.L.A. and The Dick Grove School of Music in the early 80's. At the Grove Workshops, Taylor had the opportunity of learning from popular music composers Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, David Raksin, Dick Grove, and Peter Matz. The music of Calvin Taylor has been programed by the Kristiansand, Redlands, Inglewood, Central Kentucky Youth, Shreveport, University of Kentucky, U.C.L.A. Philharmonia, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, South Arkansas, and Nashville Symphony orchestras. As a 1998 winner of The Unisys African American Composer's Residency and National Symposium, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra read and recorded Taylor's Inner-city Sunrise under the direction of Kay George Roberts.
Choral Music
Piano Music
Organ Music
Recordings
Hymns
Orchestral Music
Place an Order
Pulpit Supply / Concerts
Booking Information
Concert Schedule
Biography
E-Mail / Contact Us
Home
	Among Dr. Taylor's works are Five Spirituals for Organ, 1998 and Spiritual Suite for Organ, 2002. Both volumes were commissioned by and dedicated to Dr. Marilyn Mason. Five Spirituals for Organ were premiered at the RLDS Temple in Independence, Missouri September 21, 1998 by Dr. Mason. Their first English performance took place at Selby Abbey, York, on October 4, 1998. Spiritual Suite for Organ received its world premier in a concert by Dr. Taylor at Church of the Holy Apostles in New York City, February 19, 2002. As part of the celebration of 50 years of African American presence at the University of Kentucky, Calvin Taylor was commissioned to write Choral Fantasia on Deep River. The seventeen-minute work for symphony orchestra and mixed festival chorus received its world premier on November 30, 1999 by the U.K. Symphony Orchestra and choirs. Never far from his roots in religious music, Taylor has traveled for many years throughout the U.S.A. presenting thousands of concerts in America's churches. Well-known publications by Calvin Taylor include Spirituals for Piano, Keyboard Kids® piano series, and The Patriotic Piano. Calvin Taylor was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda in 1974. He was a Lymon T. Johnson Fellow and also a winner of the William C. Parker Academic Achievement Award at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Taylor has toured throughout the world, playing in North and South America, Europe, and the Far East. As arranger and composer, his music has been heard and enjoyed by millions.