… Α most attractive work… flirting with tonality in a very original way (Lux Aeterna) – Critic’s point
Nestor Taylor was born to a prominent Greek family, in Melbourne, Australia. He studied piano, harmony and counterpoint at the Athens Conservatory with George Diamantis and distinguished composer, Menelaos Pallantios. He continued his studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Francis Shaw and Robert Saxton, where he was awarded several diplomas. In 2005, Taylor was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, which enabled him to carry out research as a composer at Yale University.
He has held the posts of lecturer in Harmony and Composition in the Department of Music Studies of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, lecturer of Music History at the State School of Dance & the Greek National Opera Ballet School; and Artistic Director at the Central Conservatory of Music in Athens and the Municipal Conservatory in Filothei-Psychiko. He has also served as Head of International Relations, Casting Director and Artistic Advisor to the Director at the Greek National Opera between 2009 and 2016, whereas nowadays he pursues a professional career as a freelance composer.
Taylor’s music has been extensively performed throughout Greece (Megaron Concert Halls in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greek National Opera) and abroad (Purcell Room, Conway Hall in London as part of the Composers’ Ensemble, Kioi Hall in Tokyo with the NHKSO, the Great Philharmonic Hall in Odessa with the National Philharmonic). He has collaborated with the State Orchestras of Athens and Thessaloniki, the Orchestra of Colors, the Camerata Οrchestra of Friends of Music, the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, Erfurt Philharmonic, the Nuova Orchestra Ferruccio Busoni, Tokyo Ensemble, Chicago a Capella and the Lindsay Quartet, among others. As a conductor of his own works he has appeared with the Greek National Radio Orchestra and the orchestra and chorus of the Greek National Opera.
Taylor’s concert music includes two piano concertos: “Concerto Romantico” & “Jigsaw”, music for large and medium-sized orchestras such as “Pandemonium”, “Vocalise” and “The Path of the Archangel”. On the chamber & choral music side he wrote “On a Ray of Winter Sun”, “And then it is Dusk”, “So Fades a Summer cloud away”, several song cycles, and music for solo piano and harp recorded for the Puzzle-Musik. His work “And then it is Dusk” for mezzo-soprano and ensemble, earned him first prize in the Mediterranean Composers’ Competition in 2002. “Voyage with Hesperus” received second prize in the National Chamber Music Competition of Greece in 2004. Οne of his most recent creations, is the opera-oratorio“Eleni” (2019, libretto by Fergus Currie, based on the best-seller of Νicholas Gage), initially commissioned by MidAmerican Productions, which subsequently led to his announcement as “Distinguished Composer” at Carnegie Hall.
Nestor Taylor’s works are published worldwide by the Dutch Publishing House Donemus, Papagrigoriou-Nakas in Greece, and E. C. Schirmer in the Unites States.