Michael Taylor is a native of Morganton, North Carolina. He attended Western Carolina University School of Music where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in 2000. He then received his Master of Music in Performance degree from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University-Bloomington in 2003 where he was awarded the William Bell Memorial Scholarship. His primary instructors include Dr. Harvey G. Phillips, Mr. Dan Perantoni, Mr. Ray Cramer, Mr. D. Wynn Justice, and Dr. Kenneth R. Kroesche.

Mr. Taylor is currently principal tuba with the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra in Hendersonville, NC, a position he has held since 2002. He also performs with the Asheville and Western Piedmont Symphony orchestras on a substitute basis. Other orchestras he has performed with include the Owensboro (KY), Richmond (IN), Bloomington Camerata (IN), and Columbus (IN) orchestras. Mr. Taylor has also performed with Mr. Jack Daniel’s Original Silver Cornet Band, Harvey Phillips Tuba Company, Harvey Phillips Tuba Santas, and the Smoky Mountain Brass Band. He has toured throughout the North, South, and Mid-West United States as a performer and clinician.

While a student at WCU, Mr. Taylor was the winner of the 1999 NC M.T.N.A. Collegiate Solo Brass Competition, the 1996 & 1999 M.T.N.A. Collegiate Chamber Music Competition, and the 1997 Western Civic Orchestra Solo Competition. He was also a finalist in the 1999 Southeast Regional and 1996 State M.T.N.A. Solo Competitions. As a soloist, Mr. Taylor has performed with the Western Civic Orchestra, the Smoky Mountain Brass Band, Freedom High School Wind Symphony, and the WCU Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble. He has performed on NPR as well as local radio and television broadcasts.

Mr. Taylor has been teaching brass privately since 1995. His students have won scholarships to schools such as: Lenoir-Rhyne University, Western Carolina University, Appalachian State University, UNC-Greensboro, Presbyterian College, Oakland University, Michigan State University, and Indiana State University. His students have also rated superiors at state solo & chamber music competitions as well as chair placements in county, district, and state honor bands.

Mr. Taylor will be joining the adjunct faculty at Furman University in the fall of 2010 and is very excited to be working with the other faculty and fine students there.. He is married to Kimberly Browning, whom he met while they were students at Freedom High School. They have a very spoiled Chihuahua, Dmitri Vaughan Taylor.