Contact: Michele Abba

805-756-2406; mabba@calpoly.edu

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Countertenor Darryl Taylor, soloist, recording artist, professor, arts administrator and founder of the African American Art Song Alliance, will present a vocal masterclass and seminar on Thursday, May 4, in Room 218 of the Davidson Music Center.

The master class will be at 11:10 a.m. and will feature performances by three music majors studying voice.

The seminar will begin at 5:10 p.m. Taylor will speak and answer questions about his extensive career. Students interested in careers in the arts, education, arts administration or African American repertoire are encouraged to attend and bring their questions or observe. 

Taylor’s international career is highlighted by performances of art song, opera and oratorio. Recent performance highlights include the title role in Phillip Glass’ “Akhnaten” for Long Beach Opera; Los Angeles Opera’s groundbreaking production of “Dido and Aeneas”; Pergolesi and Vivaldi’s “Stabat Mater” with Lyra Baroque Orchestra of St. Paul, Minnesota; and performances with the Carmel Bach Festival, the Bach Collegium San Diego under Richard Egarr, at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and abroad in China and Cuba.

As founder of the African American Art Song Alliance, Taylor has debuted numerous works, including Daniel Bernard Roumaine's “Epilogue, 1965” — a performance with the composer on violin and George Shirley as narrator — and Erik Santos’ “Dreamer: Seven Poems by Langston Hughes,” among others. Some of his recordings have been released on the Naxos and Albany record labels. “Love Rejoices: Songs of H. Leslie Adams” was a No. 1 Critic’s Choice for American Record Guide for 2001, and “Complete Solo Cantatas” by Rosanna Scalfi Marcello was named a Critics Choice by Opera News Magazine.

Taylor is sought after as a lecturer on African American Art Song, having presented lecture-recitals and master classes at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, the University of Michigan, Florida State University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, among others. He served as a master teacher for the 2022 National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern program at Georgia Southern University and was inducted into the American Academy of Teachers of Singing.

The presentations are free and open to the public and are sponsored by Cal Poly’s Music Department, College of Liberal Arts and Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call the Music Department at 805-756-2406 or visit the department’s calendar website.