Angela Taylor: Bio

Taylor has been making music as long as she can remember. She has memories (at age three) of standing on top of the furniture with any available “microphone” in hand, singing at the top of her lungs. She also started to play the piano at this tender age, at first preferring her own twelve-tone compositions to the works of the masters. Her early musical aptitude is not surprising when one considers the musical backgrounds of both her parents: her mother was an aspiring concert pianist, and her father a vocalist in the gospel group The Quarter Tones. Taylor picked up many other instruments along her musical development including flute, drums, and guitar, and was a virtuoso flautist by the end of her grade school career.

Taylor continued her studies as an undergraduate at The Peabody Conservatory with a double degree in Flute and Recording Engineering, and a minor in Voice. She also received a Master’s Degree in Computer Music from the Peabody. Her classical talents have placed her on some of the country’s leading concert hall stages, while her pop stylings landed her on many stages throughout the US, from The 9:30 Club in DC, to Kenny's Castaways in NYC, to Anastasia’s Asylum in LA.

She scored her first major solo success when she was named to the Finals of the Lilith Fair Talent Search. Taylor was also honored to be chosen as a finalist in the IMX Discovery Contest, and twice voted "Best of Baltimore" as Best Solo Music Artist by Baltimore City Paper. Music Monthly Editor Suzie Mudd named Songs for Strong Girls Best Regional Album, and Music Monthly Readers voted Taylor "Best Female Vocalist". Taylor was also honored to have been named Artist-in-Residence at the prestigious Strathmore Hall in Washington, DC.

Taylor has been featured in local and national print (including EQ, Keyboard and Electronic Musician magazines), and is receiving airplay on XM Satellite Radio, DMX Music Choice, and over 50 terrestrial radio stations nationwide. She has also performed on-camera in local and national television, including Food Nation with Bobby Flay (Food Network), Top Cops Awards Show (Fox TV), Eclipse Magazine, and FOX Morning Show.

With 7 years of classical conservatory training behind her, Taylor displays a vocal control and range uncommon for most pop musicians. Her conservatory experience also molds her distinctive compositional style, including the usage of winds, strings, piano, and classically-inspired motifs. Taylor's pop influences include Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Kelly Clarkson, Michelle Branch, Dana Glover, Jessie J, and Howie Day.

Taylor composed, recorded and mixed her debut album Songs for Strong Girls, which was Co-Produced by Grammy award-winning producer John Jennings. Available on Skinny Girl Records, the album was named "Best Regional Album" by Music Monthly Editor Suzie Mudd. Additional awards include winning the MASC Pop Songwriting Competition with her song "Anything".

Taylor's second album "Pop/Classical Crossover" was pressed especially with booking agents in mind - the CD contains live and studio tracks in both audio and video formats. Taylor's original pop songs are featured in Acoustic and Full Band arrangements backed by string orchestra. Songs from this album have also won prizes in the MASC Pop Songwriting Contest.

Since the birth of her son James in 2006, Taylor has taken a break from touring but continues to perform in the Baltimore/DC area. She also produces/engineers/writes with/for numerous pop/rock/country/R&B clients in her studio, Skinny Girl Audio.

When James was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at age 2, Taylor devoted herself to finding a natural cure for his Autism. By following a strict gluten-free/sugar-free/lactose-free regimen (known as the GAPS diet), she recovered James from Autism by age 4. Taylor's new passion is to help other parents recover their children from Autism and other disorders on the spectrum. (Asperger's, ADHD, PDD-NOS, etc.) Her website www.brainfoodcookbook.com features her book "The Brainfood Cookbook", as well as numerous health and lifestyle suggestions. As an author, Taylor is represented by Whimsy Literary Agency in NYC.