By Helen Peng
You’ve heard of many talented faculty members around Collingwood School, but no other teacher is more dedicated and passionate for choral music than Kimberly Taylor. Declaring that “art is what you make it”, she has stayed true to herself, and she is clearly someone who is not afraid to put her best foot forward to discover what she makes out of the word “art”.
Kimberly Taylor teaches at the Wentworth Campus at Collingwood School as a kindergarten to grade three music instructor. Not only does she bring music to the young community through songs and games, she is also a talented singer herself. Ms. Taylor is deeply involved in the musical world and has been involved with it ever since she was a child. She was introduced to the piano at 5 and joined the Vancouver Children’s Choir at 9, and later on she brought her passions to Queen’s University where she studied voice.
Now, Ms. Taylor prides herself in mastering all genres of singing including pop, jazz and classical. She enjoys knitting, creating canny parodies, and playing her ukulele in her free time. What is perhaps most important to her as a musician as of now is singing with the Elektra Women’s Choir. This is a group based in Vancouver which celebrates the art of classical choir music through music composed by women. Ms. Taylor considers herself very lucky, as the ambitious organization has given her a great number of opportunities which she could once only dream of, including meeting and performing with award-winning opera singer Isabel Bayrakdarian.
In fact, Isabel Bayrakdarian has been a personally influential artist to Ms. Taylor, as she has inspired her to further develop her craft and enthusiasm for classical-style vocal repertoires. Isabel Bayrakdarian has a university degree in biomedical engineering but decided to pursue her interest in opera singing. Ms. Taylor admired the way this opera singer followed her dreams. “She chose to give up the more secure choice to pursue her passion and ended up with a very successful musical career,” Ms. Taylor stated.
Here is a performance with Ms. Taylor’s choir group, the Elektra Women’s Choir, featuring Isabel Bayrakdarian:
You’ve heard of many talented faculty members around Collingwood School, but no other teacher is more dedicated and passionate for choral music than Kimberly Taylor. Declaring that “art is what you make it”, she has stayed true to herself, and she is clearly someone who is not afraid to put her best foot forward to discover what she makes out of the word “art”.
Kimberly Taylor teaches at the Wentworth Campus at Collingwood School as a kindergarten to grade three music instructor. Not only does she bring music to the young community through songs and games, she is also a talented singer herself. Ms. Taylor is deeply involved in the musical world and has been involved with it ever since she was a child. She was introduced to the piano at 5 and joined the Vancouver Children’s Choir at 9, and later on she brought her passions to Queen’s University where she studied voice.
Now, Ms. Taylor prides herself in mastering all genres of singing including pop, jazz and classical. She enjoys knitting, creating canny parodies, and playing her ukulele in her free time. What is perhaps most important to her as a musician as of now is singing with the Elektra Women’s Choir. This is a group based in Vancouver which celebrates the art of classical choir music through music composed by women. Ms. Taylor considers herself very lucky, as the ambitious organization has given her a great number of opportunities which she could once only dream of, including meeting and performing with award-winning opera singer Isabel Bayrakdarian.
In fact, Isabel Bayrakdarian has been a personally influential artist to Ms. Taylor, as she has inspired her to further develop her craft and enthusiasm for classical-style vocal repertoires. Isabel Bayrakdarian has a university degree in biomedical engineering but decided to pursue her interest in opera singing. Ms. Taylor admired the way this opera singer followed her dreams. “She chose to give up the more secure choice to pursue her passion and ended up with a very successful musical career,” Ms. Taylor stated.
Here is a performance with Ms. Taylor’s choir group, the Elektra Women’s Choir, featuring Isabel Bayrakdarian:
She hopes for her performances to radiate a “peaceful, moving, but at the same time exciting” aura that captivates her audience and inspires them as these songs inspired her. Below is another unique performance where choral music and nature are blended into one melodious piece. Ms. Taylor notes that what is particularly memorable about this piece is number of special instruments involved, such as bird-call noises and tuned wine glasses where the rim is rubbed to create a high-pitched tone.
In addition to this opportunity, she also traveled to Barcelona during the summer for the 11th World Symposium on Choral Music, a festival assembling 24 diverse choir groups from around the world for them to perform unique pieces. She said, “The trip to Barcelona for the World Symposium on Choral Music was a life-changing experience. I felt as though we achieved a new level of musicianship by the time we arrived in Barcelona. I wouldn’t say that it changed my perspective on classical music, but I would say that it enhanced my understanding of the vast global choral community.” Ms. Taylor was very grateful for this chance to further develop her relationship with music. “Only two choirs from Canada were invited to the symposium, so I felt a sense of duty to represent Canada (and women) as best as I could.”
In the near future, she is extremely excited to perform a Christmas concert with her choir. As Ms. Taylor actively participates in the choir and inspires young students with music at Wentworth, she hopes she can continue to encourage others as well as motivate them in choral music. She works in the hopes of teaching older students and nurturing them into budding artists. Ms. Taylor also speaks of creating a small a capella group, inspired by the time when she was in a similar group in university. She hopes she can lead this small group to sing a wide variety of pop music.
In the near future, she is extremely excited to perform a Christmas concert with her choir. As Ms. Taylor actively participates in the choir and inspires young students with music at Wentworth, she hopes she can continue to encourage others as well as motivate them in choral music. She works in the hopes of teaching older students and nurturing them into budding artists. Ms. Taylor also speaks of creating a small a capella group, inspired by the time when she was in a similar group in university. She hopes she can lead this small group to sing a wide variety of pop music.