Daniel Taylor  uofthistorical January 23, 2024

Daniel Taylor 

“Daniel Taylor is the beloved singer, leading figure in the field of opera and early music and perhaps Canada’s most popular voice teacher.” – broadway.com

daniel taylor head of historical performance

About Daniel Taylor

Daniel Taylor is Associate Professor of Voice, Early Music and Opera and Director of the Historical Performance Area at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. He was recently named a Senior Fellow at Massey College and is the first recipient of the National Medal for Music, sharing the honour with his longtime friend and mentor, the founding president of Rights & Democracy, advocate and political icon Ed Broadbent. Daniel leads the growing Historical Performance Area with graduate and post-graduate level programs. His scholarship and teaching includes exploring the relationship between performance and well-being leading to the building of healthy and sustainable technique. In Daniel’s words: ” The search for the meaning of spirituality in this life is the foundation – the cornerstone on which artistic expression is built. Everything we do matters and to become artists and better humans requires discipline, vulnerability and honesty. My students, my colleagues, my friends and my audience know that I am their ally and companion on this journey.

 

Taylor is Founder and Artistic Director of two ensembles: The Theatre of Early Music and The Trinity Choir. A gifted choral conductor and sought-after teacher, in recent years Taylor traveled to Africa, to Brazil, Cuba and to China as well as to France, Italy and the United Kingdom to offer workshops, masterclasses and recitals. Daniel Taylor is Director of the Historical Performance Area of the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. Opera Canada praised Taylor’s leadership in his teaching role: “Daniel Taylor has created one of Canada’s leading early music programs by marrying tradition and history with artistic freedom. Freedom of exploration, and more crucially freedom from judgement, has been a central pillar of Daniel Taylor’s educational philosophy.”

Taylor completed his undergraduate study at McGill University, graduate work at the Université de Montréal with advanced studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London and with leading exponents in the area of early music.  He is the recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal and the first recipient of the National Medal for Music. In January 2024, Daniel Taylor became the first musician in history to both sing and lead the orchestra and choir in a State Funeral – the event was not only a tribute to the life of the Honourable Ed Broadbent, but also a heartfelt opportunity for those who admired him to come together, share memories, and celebrate a life that exemplified dedication and public service.