Laurie Ann Taylor, lyric soprano, recently completed her Master of Music degree in voice at the University of Michigan studying with acclaimed countertenor, David Daniels. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in music with minors in religion and Italian studies summa cum laude in 2015 at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she studied with Bradley Howard. Most recently, she has been seen as Pamina in the Janiec Opera Company's July 2016 production of Die Zauberflöte, directed by Jeffrey Buchman and conducted by Jerome Shannon at the Brevard Music Center. She also sang Fiordiligi in the University of Michigan Opera Theater's production of Così fan tutte in March 2016, conducted by Kathleen Kelly and directed by Omer Ben Seadia. She covered Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream and performed additional concert work throughout the 2016 Brevard Music Festival.
In May 2015, Laurie Ann was one of 16 undergraduate vocalists selected to attend Houston Grand Opera's Young Artist Vocal Academy. She was named the top winner of her division in the 2014 and 2013 Georgia National Association of Teachers of Singing state competition, the 2013 winner of Emory’s Concerto and Aria Competition singing Rossini’s “Una voce poco fa,” and the 2013 recipient of the Atlanta Symphony Chorus Robert Shaw Memorial Outstanding Singer Award. In 2015, she was awarded the Emory Friends of Music Graduating Senior Award for excellence in performance and leadership.
Her artistic training has included the Houston Grand Opera YAVA program, Brevard Music Festival, and Castleton Festival among others, and she has studied with master teachers including Dr. Stephen King, Bill McGraw, and Dr. Joyce Farwell.
Upon graduation from Emory University, Ms. Taylor was awarded the Boisfeuillet Jones Medal, the top honor awarded to one Emory College graduate per year for "good citizenship, outstanding leadership, devoted service to Emory and the community, academic performance, and potential to become a 'Change Agent' in his or her chosen profession and society at large." Most recently she was selected as the recipient of Emory University's Charles Elias Shepard Scholarship for Graduate Study to pursue her M.M. at the University of Michigan and the Continuing Excellence Scholarship, which recognizes a graduating senior “who best represents passion for learning that is manifested not only in an excellent academic record, but also in leadership in action." Her diverse academic background, including membership in Phi Beta Kappa and administrative leadership among Emory's honor societies and choral program, has uniquely prepared her for the combination of mind and soul that music demands.
