Daniel Taylor
Countertenor, founder and artistic director of TEM
Biography

"Canada’s star countertenor...there is a sense of conviction and honesty that sets him apart from the others"
(Globe and Mail)

An exclusive recording artist for Sony Classical/Bmg Masterworks, Daniel Taylor is one of the most sought-after countertenors in the world. Daniel’s debut at Glyndebourne in Handel’s Theodora (recorded for Erato) was greeted with critical praise and followed on his operatic debut in Jonathan Miller’s production of Handel’s Rodelinda (recorded for EMI). His North American operatic debut was in Handel’s Cesare at the Metropolitan Opera New York. He receives invitations from an ever-widening circle of the world’s leading early and contemporary music ensembles, appearing in opera (Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, San Francisco, Rome, Welsh National Opera, Canadian Opera, Opera North and Munich); oratorio (Gabrieli Consort, Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists, Bach Collegium Japan, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Les Arts Florissants, Berlin Akademie fur Alte Musik, Collegium vocale de Ghent, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, King’s Consort, Academy of Ancient Music); symphonic works (Cleveland, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Toronto, Rotterdam, Montreal); recital (Vienna Konzerthaus, Frick Collection, New York, Forbidden Concert Hall, Beijing, Lufthansa Baroque Festival and Wigmore Hall, London) and film (Podeswa’s Five Senses for Fineline - winner at Cannes and also of a Genie).

Highlights of past engagements include Handel’s Israel in Egypt at the BBC Proms with the Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists/Gardiner, a CD/DVD of the Bach B minor Mass with Ensemble Orchestral de Paris/ Nelson (for EMI); performances of Handel’s Messiah with San Francisco SO/Christophers, Cleveland Orchestra/McGegan, with the Munich Radio Orchestra/Koopman, St. Louis Symphony/Christophers, Toronto Symphony/Edison, North Carolina Symphony/Llewelyn; Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Toronto Symphony/Oundjian; Bach Christmas Oratorio with the National Arts Centre/Pinnock and also with Tafelmusik; Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Philadelphia Orchestra/Dutoit, concerts and the recording of Handel’s Saul with the Bachakademie Stuttgart/ Rilling (for Hänssler Classics); a tour in Japan with the Bach Collegium Japan (recording for BIS), Buxtehude Cantatas with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra/Koopman (for Channel Classics), Zelenka Masses with the Kammerchor Stuttgart/Bernius (for Sony), Bach B minor Mass with the Munich Radio Orchestra/Koopman, Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Taiwan National Symphony/Grossman (recording for KOCH) and Schnittke's Faust Cantata with the Rotterdam Philharmonic/Gergiev. Daniel also recently sang at a North American Indian Pow-Wow in Alberta and appeared on Parliament Hill for Queen Elizabeth and the Prime Minister of Canada.

2008 engagements include Handel’s Israel in Egypt (recording for Hänssler Classic) with Helmut Rillling and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart; Purcell Odes with the Gabrieli Consort and Paul McCreesh for Dutch Television; Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, also with McCreesh, at Wigmore Hall; a European tour of the Bach St. Matthew Passion with the Kammerchor Stuttgart/Bernius, Handel Duets with Carolyn Sampson and Tafelmusik, Bach Cantatas with the Bethlehem Bach Choir/Funfgeld, the role of ‘Bertardio’ in Handel’s Rodelinda with the Gabrieli Consort/McCreesh; a recital tour of South America with the Theatre of Early Music, ‘Goffredo’ in Handel’s Rinaldo with the Bayerische Staatsoper/Bickett; Schnittke’s Faust Cantata in Lisbon with the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra/Beck, a Handel recital with the Göteborg Symphony/McGegan and Handel's Jephtha with the Hannover Radio Orchestra/Manze.

Daniel appears on more than 70 recordings which include Bach Cantatas/Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner for Deutche Gramophone and SDG; Renaissance duets with James Bowman and the Actor Ralph Fiennes (BIS); Handel’s Rinaldo with Bartoli /AAM/Hogwood (DECCA); Theodora with LAF/Christie (Erato); Cantatas ‘Before Bach’ with Collegium Vocale de Ghent/Herrewege (Harmonia Mundi); Sakamoto’s pop-opera ‘Life with the Dalai Lama’ (SONY), Bach Cantatas with the Bach Collegium Japan (BIS) and Purcell duets with James Bowman (Analekta). Upcoming recordings include Handel’s Jephtha/McCreesh with the Gabrieli Consort for Deutsche Gramophone Archiv and Bach’s setting of the Pergolesi Stabat Mater with Emma Kirkby and the Theatre of Early Music (BIS).

Daniel studied Literature, Music and Philosophy at McGill University, and Music and Religion at the University of Montreal. Daniel Taylor is Artistic Director of the Music Festival at St. Sauveur, an Adjunct Professor at McGill University, a Visiting Artist at the University of Toronto and Artist-in-Residence at Banff Centre for the Performing Arts. Daniel is Founder and Artistic Director of the Theatre of Early Music, a period-instrument ensemble and choir based in Canada comprised of musicians from all over the world.

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