Nestor Taylor (b.1963) 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 the ALCM in Conducting, LGSM in Composition, LGSM and GSMD in Choral Composition & Orchestration. He completed his M.Mus and M.Phil degrees in Composition at Royal Holloway under John Woolridge and Peter Wiegold. In 2005, Taylor was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, which enabled him to carry out research as a composer at Yale University.
Taylor’s music has been extensively performed throughout Greece: Megaron Concert Halls in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greek National Opera, etc., 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, etc. 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.
Taylor’s concert music includes two piano concertos: “Concerto Romantico” & “Jigsaw”, music for large and medium-sized orchestras: “Pandemonium”, “Vocalise”,” The Path of the Archangel”,
chamber & choral music: “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 Puzzle-Musik.
Οne of his most recent creations is the opera-oratorio “Eleni” (2019, libretto by Fergus Currie, based on the best-selling book by Νicholas Gage), initially commissioned by MidAmerican Productions, which subsequently led to his announcement as “Distinguished Composer” at Carnegie Hall.
On December 3, 2022, “Eleni” was world-premiered in a fully staged production directed by Guy Montavon under the baton of the renowned Greek conductor Myron Michailidis at Theater Erfurt in Germany – to standing ovations as well as rave reviews by the German press: “Thunderous applause” – “A very beautiful and courageous work” – “Bravo for this truly successful world premiere!”
Nestor Taylor’s works are published worldwide by Donemus, and E. C. Schirmer in the US (choral music).
