Meet American Pianists Association Fellow, Van Cliburn Bronze medallist and conference artist Christopher Taylor.

Christopher Taylor is a rare kind of guy. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in mathematics, has co-authored a paper with the philosopher Daniel Dennett, can program your computer and, oh yes, just happens to be a first-rate prize-winning pianist.

Currently one of two Classical Fellows of the American Pianists Association, he also has been the Bronze Medallist in the 1993 Van Cliburn Competition, a Gilmore Young Artist, first-prize winner in the William Kapell Competition and the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant. His New York performance last winter of the formidable "Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jesus" by Messiaen prompted Anthony Tommasini to write in the New York Times that Taylor's "brilliant performance ... was the highlight of the season." Known somewhat for his keen ability to decipher complex scores and his unconventional programming, Christopher's repertoire runs the gamut from the Bach Goldberg Variations to the Boulez Second Sonata to rags by Scott Joplin and William Bolcom. And when not playing New York recitals to critical acclaim or reading mathematics texts, he is assistant professor of piano at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he lives with his wife, Denise, and young daughter, Ellie.

A Naturally Curious Learner

The academic life comes naturally to "Kit," as he is known to his friends. His father is a physicist and his mother a high school English teacher in the university town of Boulder, Colorado. Taylor's first piano lessons were with MTNA member Julie Bees, then a doctoral student at the University of Colorado, now a professor at Wichita State. According to Julie, Kit's intellectual and musical curiosity were readily apparent from the first lesson, and he was constantly asking about all the details of the score. He brought the first movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata for his first lesson. And while Bees wisely moved him to other repertoire, the Beethoven interest did not wane. Twenty-four years after that first lesson, he plays all thirty-two of the piano sonatas. While at Harvard, Kit had piano lessons with Russell Sherman at the New England Conservatory and established a relationship that continued beyond the undergraduate years at Harvard, resulting in a master's degree in piano from New England. In the meantime, Taylor also spent time in London, receiving lessons from Maria Curcio Diamond.

Long-Ranging Success

Since his first solo recital at age 10, Christopher has performed in many cities, including Boston, Washington, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Indianapolis and several times in New York. Additional concerts have been in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. Concerto appearances have been with the St. Louis, Atlanta, Houston and National Symphonies and recently with the Detroit Symphony and the New York Philharmonic. He plays chamber music with a wide array of celebrated musicians and has recorded under the auspices of the Van Cliburn Competition and the American Pianists Association.

Taylor finds genuine enjoyment in his teaching, which might be expected given his background, and feels a real allegiance and, indeed, an obligation, to it. He plays many concerts each season, but, as he said in a New York Times interview, "Performing more than 100 concerts a year is not my idea of success." Not surprisingly, Christopher maintains many other active interests, including composition (a field in which he has won several awards), music theory and linguistics--not to mention all those treatises on mathematics theories and philosophy. It definitely puts his performances of Scott Joplin's rags in a different light!

Christopher Taylor will perform during the 2002 MTNA National Conference, Tuesday, March 19, 8:00 P.M., in the Hall of Mirrors at the Omni Netherland Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mr. Taylor's performance is sponsored by the American Pianists Association.

Joel M. Harrison is the artistic director of the American Pianists Association, based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Previously, he was professor of music at Mississippi State University and director of the Mississippi Piano Showcase. He holds degrees from Northwestern University Indiana University and the University of North Carolina, with additional study with Guido Agosti in Italy.