Angela Taylor

By Leah Sheleheda
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Angela Taylor put her powerful pipes on display at Chesapeake Arts Center on August 23rd to raise funds for the center and to showcase some of the new songs from her upcoming album - set to come out in the fall.

The CD pre-release concert and fundraiser began at 8:00pm when acoustic guitarist, Lanky, began his rousing set of "optimistic love songs," as he called them. Although the audience enjoyed his performance, you could sense they were excitedly anticipating the "one of a kind rock concert" that would include Angela Taylor, her band, and a chamber string orchestra.

Not only does Taylor have two Bachelor degrees and a Masters degree from Peabody Conservatory, where she is also a faculty member, she teaches flute and voice a few days a week at the Chesapeake Arts Center. Since she holds the center that is "near and dear to her heart" in such high esteem, it was fitting that she use this special occasion to support the center.

Her performance featured songs like "Today's the Day," and "We'd Always Be Happy," from her soon to be released album. Taylor took the opportunity to highlight the talented orchestral musicians that accompanied her and to add her flute to the harmonious mixture of alternative/pop melodies along with the violins, violas, and cellos of the orchestra.

Taylor epitomizes the saying "good things come in small packages." It is remarkable that such a strong and expressive voice could come from such a petite frame. Ironically, the record label she started in Baltimore is called Skinny Girl Records. Drawing from her degrees in music performance, recording engineering, and computer music, she works on all levels of her albums - writing, recording, producing, and performing. Her current album, "Songs for Strong Girls" was named "Best Regional Album" in 2001 by Music Monthly. Adding to her lengthy list of distinctions, Taylor was named "Best of Baltimore" 2001 by the City Paper and "Best Female Vocalist" by Music Monthly.

However, all the awards don't quite paint the picture of how extraordinary an artist she truly is. Watching the crowd enthusiastically bob their heads and sway to the beat, a requisite for any rock concert, says it all.

Not only were proceeds donated to the Center, a non-profit organization offering Anne Arundel County "culturally diverse and rewarding experiences in the literary, visual, and performing arts," Taylor hung around for a "meet and greet" with her fans after the concert. Taylor used the wine and dessert reception to sign autographs and to raffle a free CD and songbook.

Before one of her songs she spoke to the audience saying, "despite life's little idiosyncrasies and all the things that can go wrong, overall it's a wonderful life" - a sentiment encapsulating the entire evening. By sharing her extraordinary gifts and the variety of beautiful arrangements, beats, and melodies of the band and orchestra, the audience experienced the exhilaration music can bring to the world.

To learn more about Angela Taylor and her upcoming album, visit her website at www.angelataylor.com. For information about the Chesapeake Arts Center, visit www.chesapeakearts.org. - Severna Park Voice

By Mary Helen Sprecher
 
A career on both sides of the music industry and an upcoming concert makes Angela Taylor into Canton's coming attraction
 
Angela Taylor has a distinct memory of trying out for her high school musical-and being shot down.
 
"I remember they said, 'You really need to work on your singing,'" she laughs.
 
And the musical was…?
 
"Oh." She frowns, then puts one hand over her eyes, thinking. She sighs, tries again. After a few seconds, she gives up. "You know, I don't even remember." She laughs. "I just can't even remember it anymore."
 
Taylor wasn't exactly emotionally scarred by the incident. "I just kept on truckin,'" she says simply.
 
These days, the Canton resident is doing more than simply truckin'. Her debut album of original rock/pop music, "Songs for Strong Girls," was released in 2001, and she's preparing to launch a second CD this fall. In 2001, she was named "Best Female Vocalist" in the Music Monthly Readers' Poll, and won Music Monthly's "Best Regional Album." She's sung the National Anthem at Camden Yards and was a finalist in the Lilith Fair Talent Search. Taylor also has her own website, www.angelataylor.com and her own record label, Skinny Girl Records.
 
From her high school musical rejection, Taylor went on to earn dual bachelor's degrees in flute and recording engineering from the Peabody Institute, and a master's in computer music from Peabody.
 
She teaches flute and voice at the Chesapeake Arts Center and computer music at Peabody.
 
(A quick primer: computer music is the technical side of the music industry. It encompasses recording studio techniques, digital audio, using a specialized computer program to create music scores and more.)
 
It may sound dry, but it comes in handy-particularly, according to Taylor, if a musician wants to make a living in the music industry, as opposed to working a full-time job in a completely unrelated field in order to pay the bills, and squeezing music in on nights and weekends.
 
"I would advise anyone who really wants to be a musician to take lessons on their instrument," she says, "and to practice every day. And after you're good at your craft, you should take some time to learn the music business side of things."
 
Taylor initially explored computer music because it sounded interesting. She stayed because it was interesting. These days, she uses her technical skills on her own music, in which she composes, performs, records and mixes as recording engineer on her own record label, and makes some money music editing and sound mixing for television shows such as "America's Most Wanted" and "Top Cops."
 
"Some days, I tell myself, 'I wish I could concentrate on singing,'" she says, "but singing really is the black hole of income. I use the income from "America's Most Wanted" to finance my concerts."
 
Concerts consume cash. There is the venue to rent, musicians on a salary, overhead expenses that are incurred. Even with income from ticket sales, bills remain, and need to be paid-particularly if one wishes to continue performing.
 
"The musicians I'm using are mostly Peabody people, and everyone needs to be paid," she says.
 
For students who dream of making a living singing, graduation is a reality check. Unless one has connections in the music business or a good deal of money, it's hard to get noticed. That is a rude shock to people who haven't given much thought about how to get along outside the conservatory.
 
Taylor falls back not just on her technical expertise, but on her classical training. She has 20 years experience playing solo, chamber and orchestral presentations on the flute, and 10 years experience singing not just in classical recitals (she studied opera at Peabody) but in rock bands such as Lust and Termite. She is a composer in several genres as well.
 
If the secret of her success is diversification, the secret of her music is its own form of diversity-the use of classical elements, such as strings, to create a layered backdrop for her three-octave voice. Her upcoming concert, scheduled for August 23 at Chesapeake Arts Center, she says, will feature the sound she has come to be known for (described on her website as 'alternapop.')
 
"It will be the first concert where I'll have a string orchestra along with a rock band," she says, looking excited and pleased at the prospect.
 
Classical influences are returning to rock music after an absence of more than 20 years, gaining favor over the synthesized sounds that became popular in the 1980s. It's a trend Taylor likes.
 
She is fascinated by all genres of music and has wanted a music career as long as she can remember. She is bothered by the fact that many schools today are dropping music programs because of budget cuts. Children who study music in school, she states, have higher verbal test scores and do better in math. Not only that, but it is a fun and interesting subject that can open doors to new careers-or, at the very least, awaken constructive interests.
 
"If you take away all the fun part of school, what reason do kids have for going?" she asks, looking disturbed. It's a sore point for her; one of her greatest influences was her high school band teacher.
 
Her most important musical influence these days, she says, is Sheryl Crow, who is also one of her favorite artists. She also listens to John Mayer, Fiona Apple and Avril Lavigne, among others.
 
Growing up in Prince George's County (she attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt), did she go for any of the expected teenager bubblegum music as an adolescent?
 
Not a chance.
 
"I listened to WHFS," she laughs, "in its old format. The way it used to be- kind of quirky alternative music. That was when you'd have to put on the six-foot antenna to get it."
 
Today, the closest thing to the old WHFS, she says, is WRNR out of Annapolis. When she can get it, that is. ("When I get out the six-foot antenna.")
 
Which brings up the question, why not go to a city that is more music-oriented? Why not, for example, put down roots in New York? Or Los Angeles? Or even Nashville? Why live in Baltimore, a comparative backwater?
 
Taylor laughs. It's a question she has heard before. Lots of times.
 
"Our friends in New York are always trying to convince us to move there," she says, "and my husband and I have had job offers in other places. And every once in a while, we do talk about it: 'Should we move somewhere else or stay here?'"
 
The decision always ends where it starts: in Baltimore.
 
"My family is in Prince George's County," she says simply, "and his is in Bel Air. So we live here."
 
But isn't there always the possibility that there will be better opportunities in other cities? More chances for that big break?
 
Maybe, she allows. Perhaps. But living in Baltimore-in Canton-surrounded by neighbors and friends, isn't so bad, really. And with one album under her belt, another on the way, a concert coming up, a full roster of students at Peabody and Chesapeake and a busy schedule of technical work for "America's Most Wanted," she is making a living, and she's doing it the same way she makes her music: by diversifying, by adding new elements, and by leaning on the classics.
 
"Sometimes," she says, "you're just creating opportunities out of thin air."
 
Angela Taylor performs at the Chesapeake Center for the Arts, 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park, on Saturday, August 23, at 8 p.m. Info: 410-636-6597. Angela Taylor's website is www.angelataylor.com
- Baltimore Guide

By DAVID EMANUEL
Staff Writer

The future is looking bright for singer/songwriter and Bowie native Angela Taylor.

She'll be filming for the TV Show "Eclipse Magazine" here in the city tonight, singing original songs from her current album, "Songs for Strong Girls".

The show will air sometime over the next three weeks.

Taylor also has an upcoming concert scheduled for Aug. 23 at Brooklyn Park (near Glen Burnie).

Taylor, an Eleanor Roosevelt High School graduate, still has close ties to Bowie.

Her mom, Susan Piatt, lives in the city and remains one of her greatest influences.

Taylor's mother was an aspiring concert pianist and her father a vocalist in the gospel group "The Quarter Tones".

Taylor's family definitely hit many high notes, as Angela's Accomplishments attest to.

She holds three degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and continues as a faculty member an active Alumna. She also serves on the Board of the national Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the organization that produces the GRAMMY awards. (In fact, her album is co-produced by GRAMMY winner John Jennings.)

Taylor has been in the spotlight locally and nationally, and has been named Best Female Vocalist by Music Monthly and was also a Lilith Fair finalist.

Taylor describes her original music as "mainstream-appeal alternapop," a "Hi-fi mix of indie pop and alternative style."

"Alternative music these days has more of a connotation of being really hard and edgy. But pop still denotes a 'bubble-gum' sound. I'm kind of in the middle. I'm very accessible," she said. "Plus, there's electric guitar. But I'm not an angry singer, either."

Her current musical influences include Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and Fiona Apple.

"Sheryl Crow is probably my favorite right now," she said. "She's just got this incredible talent. Her songs have such emotion, she can play classical piano, she has a great voice, and her lyrics are just as great. She's the whole package. And I aspire to be the whole package just like Sheryl Crow."

But, just in case she doesn't reach the level of superstardom, Taylor does have a Website Design business where she freelances, and also teaches voice and flute. She has also arranged music for a children's TV show.

And she recalls how as a very young child, she wanted to just sing at the top of her lungs - and maybe on TV someday as well.

"I have memories at the age of 3 of standing on top of the furniture with any available 'microphone' in hand," she said.

At that very young age, she even started to play the piano, at first preferring her own 12-tone compositions to the works of the masters.

Later in life, she became proficient in the flute, drums and guitar.

After receiving her Master's degree from Peabody, it was on to several of the country's leading concert hall stages, while she tried to make a living fronting for alternative bands like Lust and Termite, which landed her gigs "in every bar, club and university imaginable," she said.

Now, she is releasing her second CD sometime this summer.

And she's becoming more powerful than ever.

"Female empowerment is definitely the theme of my CD," she said. "It's very important to me. I feel very lucky that today's women have become more empowered than any generation of women before them."
- Bowie Blade News

Seems Be-Cool.org -- a nonprofit association of music software developers, distributors and users that lobbies against software piracy -- chose Taylor (a supporter) as poster girl for its current ad campaign.

An Internet search led Be-Cool.org to Taylor, who as owner of Skinny Girl Studios, a computer music professor at the Peabody Conservatory and an engineer-producer for the TV show "America’s Most Wanted" enumerated a sizable list of music software tools and equipment on her résumé.

Full-page ads with text framing Taylor’s face emphasize the achievements of the “sultry songstress,” wrapping up with a clear message -- “Angela Taylor buys the software she uses.” The campaign has appeared in industry publications including EQ Magazine and Keyboard in the United States, Sound on Sound in the U.K. and Musikermagasinet in Sweden. - Washington Post

Angela Revis Taylor (Peabody '93, '94, '97) had a good year. Her 2001 debut album, Songs for Strong Girls, was named one of the year's best albums by the editor of Music Monthly and the magazine's readers named her best regional vocalist. In addition, Baltimore's City Paper awarded her a spot in their annual Best of Baltimore issue. She was also a finalist in both the Lilith Fair Talent Search and an IMX Discovery Contest.
Taylor earned all this acclaim for a CD published under her own label, with help from Peabody in the form of a small grant. Taylor, who double-majored in flute and recording engineering at Peabody, with a minor in voice, composed all the tracks on the "alternapop" album herself. "My biggest influences are probably Sheryl Crow and Fiona Apple," she says.
After spending four intense months in production, Taylor is now learning that the really steep part of the road to success comes after the album is released. "I'm on the phone and the computer 12 hours a day," she says, of her efforts to get her music played on the radio and elsewhere. In recent months she's aimed at getting exposure for her music on television and in films. So far, all of the tracks from Songs for Strong Girls have been featured on cable TV's Food Network.
 
—Emily Richards - Johns Hopkins Magazine

By Jason Howell

Early in her career, she performed lead duties for the band Termite until their breakup in 1997, when she decided to make a go as a solo artist. As a performer who was professionally trained at the Peabody Conservatory in Johns Hopkins University, Angela now brings a seriousness to her music writing that is, in some ways, over our heads.

Rooted in classical music, science and math, her music has earned praise from the wandering tastes of critics in the DC metropolitan triangle while satisfying less sophisticated ear pallets for Lilith Fair judges, reaching the regional finals in the 1998 and 1999 tours.

Her latest album, Songs for Strong Girls, showcases her crossover appeal that finds fans among critics and in the mainstream. From the independent label Skinny Girl Records, Angela displays her 7 years of conservatory training and her Madonna-like pop appeal on tracks like "Don"t You Know" and "Chicago 89". Still, the material girl hasn't released anything like Angela, who sings along with a strong rap performer mysteriously named "Ms. Olene" on "Don"t Give Him Your Love For Free". With the refrain of "Make him work, make him work," it's quite clear that this is indeed a song for strong girls.

If you visit Angela's website, look at the list of awards that she's won and at the other artists that have won the very same; you"ll see that she's at home in a pantheon of performers who still write, perform and live the songs they sing. Perhaps it's this direct connection to her music that moved Ms. Taylor to the top of the voting when she won Best Solo Music Artist in Baltimore in 1999, as decided by the readers of the Baltimore City Paper. In addition to teaching what's described as "computer music" at the Peabody Institute and being a freelance engineer and producer, Angela is performing limited engagements at the Kennedy Center (with the Next Ice Age) in Washington, DC during late September (20th - 22nd).

Artists like Angela Taylor lend another layer of diversity to the Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia music scene that many of us lucky souls who live here take for granted every day (like the Washington Monument and the White House). If you don't live in the area, come visit us - we rock. If you do live here, well, you have no excuse. - Unsung Hero

By Susie Mudd

I didn't have a clue what to expect when I put Songs for Strong Girls from Angela Taylor in my CD player. I am floored. She blew me away, I never expected this. She's got it all happening, too. Everything, absolutely everything. This woman is one woman who should be heard and she should be heard for so many different reasons.

Angela Taylor was born to a Mom and Dad who were performers. Music has always been a part of her life. By the time college came, she knew she wanted to attend Peabody Conservatory of Music. She earned a Bachelor's degree in performance from the prestigious school, and went on to get her Master's degree in Computer music. Her education only enhanced what Angela already had, talent oozing from her pores. It was a matter of time until she did what she just did, which was release her debut CD, Songs for Strong Girls (I love the title!)
 
The one-and-only John Jennings got turned on to Angela, and it's been a union of magic from start to finish. I got this funny feeling inside, I do believe Grammy winner John Jennings may have found another one. This woman has massive potential. She's got it all!
 
Her voice is magical and goes everywhere. She can hit the high notes, and the low notes. She sings and screams, kind of. She has many voices, all of them shine on the disc. Crisp, ballsy, emotional, sensual-what a set of pipes. Taylor also writes some incredible songs. All nine songs were written by her, sometimes with the aid of Jennings, Richard Radford, Chris Mandra, Sean Finn, and Ms. Olene. Each cut stands out on its own. I'd be hard pressed to pull a single, she's got so much going on here. What an album!

Taylor does all the vocals, and is backed by Jennings, Radford, Finn, and Tim Yungwirth, Rich D'Alessandro, Jamie Kelley, Shea Welsh, and with the aid of Jared Weissbrot and Eric Chang. She is quite a woman. Her songs are so approachable, and so familiar-so grab you in the gut. I love "Now I'm in Charge of Me" and "Don't Give Him Your Love for Free", and those are just two. Wow! And then there is "Anything" with the violin of Noah Stone, viola by Miriam English, cello by Emily Stromberg and Hillary Kew. "Anything" is on the mark-it's a Top 40 tune waiting to happen. There are a couple of them. The only thing wrong with this effort is that it is too short. Believe me, you will be hearing Angela Taylor and hearing about her. This woman's got what it takes.
- Music Monthly

By Jason Howell

    So who is Angela Taylor? If you hang around the Baltimore music scene a bit, you’ll learn that she was voted 1999’s Best Solo Music Artist and was one step away from rocking the Lilith Fair two years in a row. You’d learn that her music leaves you feeling ‘green’ (great and serene) mirroring the juxtaposition of the fun of pop with the strings of classical. Her precise musicianship (is that a word?) is better than most of us deserve or will every really comprehend; unless you too attended a conservatory for music. Take a few moments and meet someone you wish you could share a cup of coffee with. If the interview inspires you, check out her website at www.angela-taylor.com.

UR: Who are you?
AT: I am Angela Taylor! Singer/songwriter and many other things.

Talk about your music: your attraction to it, how you got into it and why you’re sticking with it.
OK. Well let me start with how I got into it. I’d been playing music my whole life and I decided that I wanted to go to music school when it was time to go to college. With a background of science and technology, I decided to go to the Peabody [Institute] which is part of Johns Hopkins [University]. That way I could get a world class music education and I could also do top notch science and math classes – a challenge. I got this whole immersion in serious music. I studied music theory extensively. What was disheartening was that a lot of people go to school and study classical music very seriously, but there’s not a very big audience for classical music and the audience dwindles year by year. So I got interested in music that was more accessible and more popular. I found this kind of music on my own, and taught myself about pop music.

What do you think draws you to music?
It’s my core.

What is it about music though? Do sounds somehow do something to the brain?
It’s been scientifically proven that classical music anyway gets the alpha waves going in your brain. If you want to come down to hard science, I suppose you could look at that research.

That’s why I’m interviewing you: because you’re the music and science person. (No sarcasm was intended here and I believe none was taken.)
Music is based upon science. The intervals that music is based upon are all mathematical. Like an octave is a doubling of the note below it. It’s all actually quite scientific.

Well, who are the musicians that currently make you feel good. Either scientifically or just make you feel good?
I just bought a CD by this girl who kicks ass! Her name is DJ Rapp.

Is she a DJ?
I think she started as a DJ spinning, but then she decided to write her own album. It’s so good. It’s breakbeat pop. It’s a new genre! Like I’m making my new genre.

And how would you describe your “genre?”
God, I don’t even know what to call it!

You’ve been calling it [on her web-site www.angela-taylor.com] “radio friendly alterna-pop with a twist.” My question is, what’s the twist?
Classical. It’s a classical twist. Strings and sustained harmonies. Things that you don’t ordinarily find on a pop record. I know there are other artists using strings but what I gather, I think most of them are paying other people to do their string arrangements. I’m not paying anybody to do anything.

Yes, I believe that.

Frank Zappa once said years ago that you can be a great songwriter or you can be a pop artist – there’s a huge difference. Do you still believe that it’s the same in the now?
[Yes.] To write popular music there is some degree of dumbing down, because it’s repetition. Pop songs are based upon repetition and in classical music, we tend not to hit our audience over the head so much with the same thing over and over again.

When did you start playing in the college scene?
When I was in college! Like 1990.

Do you still keep up w/local music and who are some favorites?
Governor Soul, Another Lincoln, and Great Mutant Skywheel. The reason I have an affinity for GMS is because I used to be in a band with three of their members and I’m using those same guys to play on the tracks that I’m recording for my album now.

What are their names (GMS)?
Sean Finn, Jamie Kelley, Chris Mandra.

When did they start playing?
After my band ‘Termite’ broke up in ’97. You see we broke up because I said we needed to play cover tunes to play in the bars and they said, “We hate cover tunes.” And then we said we’d do a demo of cover tunes and we went in the studio and recorded three songs and I thought it sounded really awful. I was like “This sucks! We can’t send this to any bars.” And they thought it was fine. We went back and forth, and eventually that was why we broke up: over this STUPID COVER SONG DEMO. It’s funny how those three guys who I put together then decided to go off and be in their own band. But I think it’s great because I think they’re great guys.

You left them with something.
I suppose. It’s funny though. There’s this song called ‘Army’ by Ben Folds Five. One of the lines was like, “Citing artistic differences the band broke up in May. And in June reformed without me...”

Do you think people in college ever identified with ‘Termite?’
They seemed to like it. It was harder than what I do now, as in edgier – not harder to play.

Do you think the Peabody Institute is still influencing you, forming how you’re writing? You said you do a lot of mainstream but yet you have this amazing background.
Oh yeah! That’s how I compose. When I compose I think about the intervals and I think about the harmonies and I think about the voicing and I think of all of the stuff that I learned in my Baroque composition classes. You can use all those “rules” that you learn and totally use it to write good music today.

What’s one basic rule?
Avoid parallel fifths.

Which are?
If you have a C and a G and you decided to move to a D and an A, that means you’re moving in parallel fifths. It’s better to have contrary motion than to have…

Parallel fifths.
Yeah. Like parallel thirds and parallel sixths are OK, but parallel fifths and parallel octaves are not OK.

I’ll be sure to put that down for anyone who’s reading the article.
(Laughing) OK!

Do you have a message for your music? Is there something you’re trying to say? Is there a general theme?
My life.

The fall and rise?
Um. The continual evolution of my life and…how do I word this? Sort of like a gathering of momentum as I go. I’m figuring “it” out. The big “it.” And every year I figure “it” out a little more.

Wow.

When did Skinny Girl Records start?
When I decided to make my own album. Two years in the making! I tried with ‘Termite’ but then [we] broke up.

What do you use Skinny Girl Records for? Distribution, accounting?
Yeah, just because if you have a record company it’s got to have a name. No big deal.

Are you ever concerned with being PC and the name ‘Skinny Girl Records’ and how that might affect younger women today?
Well anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a skinny girl! So if anyone has a problem with it they can just… [The following has been edited for those of you under 21]

Do you think people will generally accept this music?
It’s very accessible music. I think people will accept it. [An artist] has to figure out what format is their music and what percentage of the population listens to that format. If you can get your music on the radio, people will buy it. That’s the bottom line.

It’s not that easy though.
It’s not that easy. No, it’s very hard. Usually the only stuff that gets airplay is stuff that’s on a major label. And since I don’t intend to sign to a major label, I’m going to have to figure out ways to get airplay.

Do you plan on maybe having SGR help anyone else in the future?
I don’t have time to help other artists right now. I’m running on 110%, 110% of the time. Perhaps in the future after I’m established.

What else do you do?
Well I do web-design to support my music habit. I also [teach] figure skating. I teach college classes in electronic music and I’ve been trying to get this album out!


If you want more you should meet this alterna-pop of a person at an upcoming show. Or go to her web-site www.angela-taylor.com to check out her latest shows and her biography. Most of all you should wait patiently for an upcoming album slated for release at the beginning of the new millennium. Angela has a lot to say, but nothing more defining than her comment regarding the way she lives her life and how we might begin to live our own: “I got tired of waiting for success, so I decided to start without it.” Angela attributed this quote to Gary Bennett of ‘BR549’, but now it will be forever retained in my memory of the pink alterna-pop pucker of Angela Taylor.
- University Reporter: Washington DC

By DIANA ZEIGER
Retriever Weekly Staff Writer

   Is it possible for one person to be both an award-winning alternapop musician and an instructor at an honors university? Angela Taylor is proving that it is.
   On Mondays, she teaches two three-hour sections of Electronic Music I (MUSC 427) in which students learn digital recording techniques, songwriting and a history of electronic music. In addition, Taylor is working on her first full-length album to be released on Skinny Girl Records, her own label.
   It's not easy to balance two such seemingly disparate lifestyles. "My life is insane," Taylor laughs. However, because she enjoys both making music and teaching others to do so, she would find giving up either to be a hardship. Teaching is a passion for Taylor, who earned her Bachelors degree at the Peabody Conservatory with a double major in flute and recording engineering and a minor in voice, as well as a Masters Degree (also from the Peabody) in Computer Music.
   She feels that the most rewarding aspect of being an educator is having the opportunity to pass her knowledge on to others, but she doesn't confine her instructional skills to music alone. Besides her classes at UMBC, Taylor also teaches figure skating, something she has done for 10 years.
   Sitting in on a class one Monday evening, it's easy to see how much Taylor enjoys her work. Every student is encouraged to participate in the discussion, which centers on the concept of contrast in songwriting. Students read and discuss a handout, and Taylor leaps up periodically to play songs that illustrate key points. When the time comes for the students to play their own compositions, she offers words of praise for each piece, and only constructive criticism is given.
   Taylor feels that such a positive approach can only serve to encourage students' interest. "Of the carrot and the stick, I prefer the carrot," she says.
   Teaching is only one part of Angela Taylor's very full life. At the moment, she is in the process of completing her album, which she anticipates will be released by the end of the year, "come hell or high water," she adds determinedly.
   The songs on this album are all composed, performed and recorded by Taylor, who sings and plays flute on the tracks. Some cuts from her current demo reel are available for download on her official website, www.angela-taylor.com, but alas, my computer was too cranky to download and play back properly.
   However, by her own description, "The style of my album is acoustic alterna-pop, which is heavily influenced by my training at Peabody." She draws on her classical training in both her songwriting and her arrangements of songs, trying to use chords that are interesting and different, as well as string and drum arrangements that are not typical to most pop music.
   Taylor also makes extensive use of the most modern recording technology available. She feels that it's very important for musicians today to be computer-savvy and that the wide availability of good but inexpensive recording equipment has opened up a lot of opportunities for aspiring musicians. At the same time, it has also raised the standard: "These days," she says, "it is unacceptable to put out a record with errors."
   Angela Taylor's musical accomplishments clearly demonstrate her talent and ability. Recently, she was named "Best Solo Music Artist" in the Baltimore City Paper 1999 Readers Poll. Just as exciting is the fact that for the last two years she has been a finalist in the Lilith Fair competition for performers.
   A friend told her about the web contest in 1998; she entered and made it to the finals in that year and again in 1999. Of the 250 artists who entered, Taylor was among 20 finalists who were chosen to compete at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Even though she didn't win the big prize, Taylor nevertheless enjoyed both the contest experience and the Lilith Fair as well. She mentions that Sheryl Crow was her preferred act this year, while the fair's founder, Sarah McLachlan, was her favorite in 1998.
   A topic about which Taylor has strong opinions is that of opportunities for women in music. She confesses to a certain disappointment that more women don't seem interested in the technological aspects of the music industry, and advises young women not to be intimidated by it all. "If you represent yourself as a strong and confident person, people will see you that way," she maintains.
   And she follows her own advice. She is rightly very proud of Skinny Girl Records, a venture that will allow her to recognize her musical visions on her own terms. Angela Taylor has very clear ideas of where she wants to go, and the determination to realize those ideas.
   So while the balancing-act between teaching and performing makes a lot of demands on her, she is nevertheless happy. "It's a lot of work; you've got to love it to do it," Taylor says, "but I'm doing exactly what I want to do."
- The Retriever Weekly

By JENNIFER MARTIN
Staff Writer

   If you like the distinct guitar of musical artist Sheryl Crow or Fiona Apple's edgy lyrics and Dido's sweet sounds, then you should stroll down to Annapolis Tuesday night to hear former Bowie resident, Angela Taylor, belt out her original tunes, music she calls, "alterna-pop".

   The performance, which will be held at 8:30 p.m. at Rams Head Tavern, will include songs from her new album, "Songs for Strong Girls", released and recorded on her own label, Skinny Girl Records.

   Music, she said, has always been in her blood. Taylor, whose mother is a pianist and father a singer, started playing piano at the age of three. While


attending Prince George's County public schools, she played in many orchestras and sang in several choirs.

   During her senior year of high school - she attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School - Taylor's family moved to Bowie. "I come back frequently because my mother still lives there," said the Baltimore resident.

   After high school, Taylor, 30, attended Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory where she majored in flute and recording engineering and minored in voice. She also earned a Masters degree in computer music from Peabody.

   Locally, Taylor was voted 2001's Best of Baltimore Best Solo Music Artist by the Baltimore City Paper 2001 Reader's Poll and nationally, she was chosen as a finalist in the "Lilith



ANGELA TAYLOR


Fair" and the "IMX Discovery" contests.

   Taylor's tunes can also be heard on various Annapolis and Eastern-shore area radio stations such as WRNR 103.1 FM, WRNV 89.7 FM and WMUC 88.1 FM stationed in College Park. Her songs are currently topping the charts on Salisbury's WSUR 107.5 FM.

   Taylor, who released her album


in June, composed, performed and recorded all the songs. She describes the album as "mainstream-appeal alternapop, but heavily influenced by my training at Peabody."

   When not singing or recording, Taylor spends some of her time teaching computer music courses at Peabody. She also serves on the Board of the Washington DC Recording Academy (NARAS).

   "I am just so thrilled to be playing at The Rams Head," said Taylor of her upcoming local concert. Tickets are $13.50 and table reservations are highly recommended. For information call 410-268-4545 or log onto Taylor's website at www.angela-taylor.com.

   The writer may be reached at jmartin@bladenews.com. - Bowie Balde News