Christopher Taylor started playing the violin in the fifth grade under his mother’s suggestion and quickly fell in love with the instrument, desiring to further his education. He received Suzuki and Irish fiddle instruction from his first private instructor, Carol Thomas Downing, through the Academy of Music in Norfolk, VA, then joined the Bay Youth Orchestras of Virginia and the Governor’s School for the Arts, where he has since performed in Carnegie Hall, Germany, Austria, and among other places with these groups. At Bay Youth, Chris met Jorge Aguirre, who introduced him to Hampton Roads Chamber Players, and was under the incredible tutelage of both throughout high school. Chris received both his Bachelor of Music (2017) and Master of Music (2020) in Violin Performance from East Carolina University, where his playing was transformed with studies with both Hye-Jin Kim and Ara Gregorian. At ECU, Chris was also Joanne Bath’s Teaching Assistant in Suzuki Pedagogy, where he was able to learn from this renowned violin teacher as well as spread his love of teaching to Bath, NC, as part of his assistantship. Also at ECU, Chris was able to develop his love of playing chamber music through participation in the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival and Next Generation on the Road chamber music programs throughout every year he attended the school, as well as playing viola in different string quartets, premiering works by student composers. Summer opportunities that he was fortunate to be a part of include the David Kim Orchestral Institute, Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music, Richard Luby Violin Symposium, and ECU’s Summer Chamber Music Institute. Chris is extremely happy to be back in Hampton Roads, where he is currently teaching at the Academy of Music, Operations Manager of Hampton Roads Chamber Players, and first and foremost, excited to share his love of music with everyone around him.
