Daniel Taylor (countertenor)
Encyclopedia
Daniel Taylor is a Canadian
countertenor
and early music specialist. He completed his undergraduate studies in English
, philosophy
, and music
at the the Faculty of Music of McGill University
(Montreal
) and his graduate work in religion and music at the Université de Montréal
. He continued overseas with leaders of the baroque movement including the countertenor Michael Chance
.
Taylor's Glyndebourne
debut in the 1997 Peter Sellars
's production of Handel
's Theodora
was followed by his operatic debut in Handel's Rodelinda. His other operatic roles have included Nerone in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea
and Tolomeo in Handel's Giulio Cesare
. Taylor's repertory includes sacred works, lute
songs, and contemporary works.
Taylor has performed with: Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, San Francisco, Rome, Welsh National Opera, Canadian Opera, Opera North and Munich, Gabrieli Consort, Monteverdi Choir
/English Baroque Soloists
, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
, Les Arts Florissants
, Academy of Ancient Music
), and he regularly joins forces with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
, Fretwork
and the King's Consort.
Taylor holds an exclusive contract with Sony Classical Masterworks. He has made more than eighty recordings on many labels including DG Archiv, Harmonia Mundi, Sony, EMI, Carus, Analekta, Teldec, Atma and the CBC. He is artistic director, founder and conductor of the Theatre of Early Music
, a professional choir and period instrument ensemble based in Montreal, Canada. Among the awards he has won, he was named Opus Prizes Discovery of the year 1999 and Artist of the Year 2004.
He is involved in the project Bach Pilgrimage with John Eliot Gardiner/Monteverdi Choir, with John Nelson/Ensemble Orchestral Paris for the CD/DVD of Bach Mass in B minor at Notre Dame in Paris, and in the Dieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia
of Ton Koopman
and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir to record the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude
.
In 2009 he appeared in debuts with the Israel Philharmonic, the Madrid Symphony, with the San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Orchestra, in recital at the Wigmore Hall, at the Teatro Colón Buenos Aires and at New York's Carnegie Hall; in Avery Fisher Hall
in Handel's Messiah
with the Gächinger Kantorei
and the New York Philharmonic
under Helmuth Rilling
.
Daniel Taylor is also a teacher. He is Professor of Voice at the Conservatoire de Musique in Montreal, Professor of Voice at the University of Ottawa
, a visiting artist at the University of Victoria
, and an Adjunct Professor at McGill University
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
countertenor
Countertenor
A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely than normal, modal voice. A pre-pubescent male who has this ability is called a treble...
and early music specialist. He completed his undergraduate studies in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
at the the Faculty of Music of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
(Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
) and his graduate work in religion and music at the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
. He continued overseas with leaders of the baroque movement including the countertenor Michael Chance
Michael Chance
Michael Chance CBE is an English countertenor.Chance was born in Penn, Buckinghamshire, into a musical family. After growing up as a chorister he attended Eton College, Berkshire, and later King's College, Cambridge...
.
Taylor's Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
debut in the 1997 Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
's production of Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
's Theodora
Theodora
Theodora is a name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". It is the feminine form of the Greek name, Θεόδωρος meaning "God's gift" , neuter gender...
was followed by his operatic debut in Handel's Rodelinda. His other operatic roles have included Nerone in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea
L'incoronazione di Poppea is an Italian baroque opera comprising a prologue and three acts, first performed in Venice during the 1642–43 carnival season. The music, attributed to Claudio Monteverdi, is a setting of a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello...
and Tolomeo in Handel's Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare
Giulio Cesare in Egitto , commonly known simply as Giulio Cesare, is an Italian opera in three acts written for the Royal Academy of Music by George Frideric Handel in 1724...
. Taylor's repertory includes sacred works, lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
songs, and contemporary works.
Taylor has performed with: Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, San Francisco, Rome, Welsh National Opera, Canadian Opera, Opera North and Munich, Gabrieli Consort, Monteverdi Choir
Monteverdi Choir
The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the Monteverdi Vespers in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conviction and extensive repertoire, encompassing music from the early...
/English Baroque Soloists
English Baroque Soloists
The English Baroque Soloists is a chamber orchestra playing on period instruments, formed in 1978 by English conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Its repertoire comprises music from the early Baroque period to the Classical period...
, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in...
, Les Arts Florissants
Les Arts Florissants (ensemble)
Les Arts Florissants is a Baroque musical ensemble in residence at the Théâtre de Caen in Caen, France. The organization was founded by conductor William Christie in 1979. The ensemble derives its name from the 1685 opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The organization consists of a chamber orchestra...
, Academy of Ancient Music
Academy of Ancient Music
The Academy of Ancient Music is a period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after a previous organisation of the same name of the 18th century. The musicians play on either original instruments or modern copies of...
), and he regularly joins forces with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982...
, Fretwork
Fretwork
Fretwork is an interlaced decorative design that is either carved in low relief on a solid background, or cut out with a fretsaw, coping saw, jigsaw or scroll saw. Most fretwork patterns are geometric in design. The materials most commonly used are wood and metal. Fretwork is used to adorn...
and the King's Consort.
Taylor holds an exclusive contract with Sony Classical Masterworks. He has made more than eighty recordings on many labels including DG Archiv, Harmonia Mundi, Sony, EMI, Carus, Analekta, Teldec, Atma and the CBC. He is artistic director, founder and conductor of the Theatre of Early Music
Theatre of Early Music
The Theatre of Early Music is a new ensemble of some of the world's finest musicians, sharing a particular passion for early music. Its formation is the result of a search of instrumentalists and singers for opportunities that would allow devotion and dedication to enter into the creative...
, a professional choir and period instrument ensemble based in Montreal, Canada. Among the awards he has won, he was named Opus Prizes Discovery of the year 1999 and Artist of the Year 2004.
He is involved in the project Bach Pilgrimage with John Eliot Gardiner/Monteverdi Choir, with John Nelson/Ensemble Orchestral Paris for the CD/DVD of Bach Mass in B minor at Notre Dame in Paris, and in the Dieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia
Dieterich Buxtehude – Opera Omnia
Dieterich Buxtehude - Opera Omnia is a project to record the complete works of the German Baroque composer Dieterich Buxtehude.- History :...
of Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir to record the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude was a German-Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period. His organ works represent a central part of the standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed at recitals and in church services...
.
In 2009 he appeared in debuts with the Israel Philharmonic, the Madrid Symphony, with the San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Orchestra, in recital at the Wigmore Hall, at the Teatro Colón Buenos Aires and at New York's Carnegie Hall; in Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall
Avery Fisher Hall is a concert hall, in New York City and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
in Handel's Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...
with the Gächinger Kantorei
Gächinger Kantorei
Gächinger Kantorei is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen and still conducted by him. A "Kantorei" is a choir of high standard dedicated mostly, but not exclusively, to sacred music. The ensemble operates in Stuttgart now and is therefore...
and the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
under Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling is an internationally known German choral conductor, founder of the Gächinger Kantorei , the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart , the Oregon Bach Festival , the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart and other Bach Academies worldwide, and the "Festival Ensemble Stuttgart"...
.
Daniel Taylor is also a teacher. He is Professor of Voice at the Conservatoire de Musique in Montreal, Professor of Voice at the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
, a visiting artist at the University of Victoria
University of Victoria
The University of Victoria, often referred to as UVic, is the second oldest public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It is a research intensive university located in Saanich and Oak Bay, about northeast of downtown Victoria. The University's annual enrollment is about 20,000 students...
, and an Adjunct Professor at McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.