George Taylor (10th year) (Viola, Chamber) – is active in practically every aspect of performance as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Mr. Taylor is currently Associate Professor of Viola at The Eastman School. Before joining the Eastman faculty, he was a member of the Ciompi Quartet of Duke University 1979 through 1986. He has taught at Musicorda, the Encore School for Strings, the Meadowmount School, the Manchester Music Festival and the Elan International Music Festival. He has served as a juror at international competitions in Europe and the United States. George Taylor has given numerous solo recitals and appeared as a chamber musician in concerts throughout the United States and at the Taiwan Cultural Center. He was co-founder and conductor of the St. Stephens Chamber Orchestra (Durham, NC), an ensemble that is still active in performance and recordings. An active advocate for the performance of music by African/American composers, Taylor was a participant in the National Black Arts Festival held in Atlanta, GA. He is a member of the Black Music Repertory Ensemble, which presents music of African/American composers in concerts throughout the country. Mr. Taylor has performed and premiered works written for him by many composers, including Ron Carter, Noel DaCosta, George Walker, David Liptak and Carmen Moore. A native of New York City, Mr. Taylor attended the Manhattan School where his teachers included Jaime Laredo, Raphael Bronstein and Burton Kaplan. Further studies on viola were with Michael Tree and Abraham Skernick. Chamber music studies were with such notables as Arthur Balsam, Joseph Seiger, Lillian Fuchs, Joseph Gingold, Mischa Schneider,and members of the Guarneri Quartet.