Daniel Taylor

Countertenor

"The beauty of his voice will stop you in your tracks."

— Gramophone

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Biography

An exclusive recording artist for Sony Classical Masterworks, Daniel Taylor is simply one of the most sought-after countertenors in the world. His discography of more than 100 recordings includes Bach Cantatas/Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner (Deutsche Grammophone Archiv and SDG); Renaissance duets with Bowman/Actor Ralph Fiennes/TEM (BIS); Handel’s Rinaldo with Bartoli /AAM/Hogwood (Decca); Cantatas “Before Bach” with Collegium Vocale /Herrewege (Harmonia Mundi); Sakamoto’s pop-opera “Life” with the Dalai Lama and Salman Rushdie (Sony); Bach Cantatas with Bach Collegium Japan (BIS); a Bach recital with the Theatre of Early Music and a recital of Shakespeare’s songs (Sony); Vivaldi Gloria with the Bethlehem Bach Choir/Funfgeld (Analekta); Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater (BIS); and four recordings of Handel’s Messiah with Kammerchor Stuttgart/Bernius (Carus), American Bach Soloists/Thomas (Koch), a CD/DVD with Tafelmusik (Bravo Television), and a live recording with the New York Philharmonic/Rilling. Daniel has recorded the CD/DVD of Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Ensemble Orchestral Paris/Nelson (EMI Virgin) and also a CD with Kammerchor Stuttgart/Bernius (Carus). Recent recordings include Bach Cantatas with the Magdalena Consort/Chandos, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Kammerchor Stuttgart/Bernius (Carus), Handel’s Judas Maccabeus with Clarion/Fox (Telarc) and Handel’s Messiah with the Handel & Haydn Society/Christophers (Coro) and the Montreal Symphony/Nagano (Universal). Daniel can also be heard on recordings of Bach’s St. John Passion with the Bethlehem Bach Choir/Funfgeld (Analekta), a soundtrack with Cirque du Soleil (Universal), and a recital recording for Sony entitled “Come Again, Sweet Love.”

Recognized as “Canada’s star countertenor” and “Canada’s most prolific recording artist”, Daniel has received invitations from the world’s preeminent early and contemporary music ensembles, appearing in opera (Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne, San Francisco, Rome, Welsh National Opera, Canadian Opera, Opera North, Montreal Opera and Munich); oratorio (Gabrieli Consort, Monteverdi Choir/English Baroque Soloists, Bach Collegium Japan, Les Arts Florissants, Berlin Akademie fur Alte Musik, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, King’s Consort); symphonic works (Cleveland, St. Louis, Lisbon, Philadelphia, Tonhalle Zurich, Toronto, Gothenburg, Rotterdam, Montreal); recital (Vienna Konzerthaus, Frick Collection, New York, Forbidden Concert Hall, Beijing, Lufthansa Baroque Festival, Carnegie and Wigmore Hall, London) and film (Podeswa’s Five Senses for Fineline – winner at Cannes and also of a Genie). Daniel’s debut at Glyndebourne in Peter Sellars’ staging of Handel’s Theodora (recorded for Erato) followed his operatic debut in Jonathan Miller’s production of Handel’s Rodelinda (EMI). He then performed the title role in Gluck’s Orfeo at the Edinburgh Festival. His North American operatic debut was in Handel’s Cesare at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. More recently Daniel was featured in the world premiere of Robert Lepage’s production of Ades’ The Tempest, as well as Britten’s Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Other career highlights include Handel’s Messiah with San Francisco Symphony/Christophers, St. Louis Symphony/Christophers, Dallas Symphony/Rilling, Tafelmusik and Philharmonia Baroque/McGegan; Handel’s Rinaldo with the Academy of Ancient Music/Hogwood, Munich Opera House/Bickett and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires; Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the Cleveland Orchestra/McGegan and the BBC Proms with the English Baroque Soloists/Gardiner; Handel’s Saul with Bachakademie Stuttgart/ Rilling (for Hänssler Classics); Orff’s Carmina Burana with National Arts Centre Orchestra /Matheus, Taiwan National Symphony/Grossman (Koch) and Toronto Symphony/Oundjan; Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the National Arts Centre/Pinnock and Tonhalle Zurich Orchestra/McCreesh; Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Madrid National Orchestra/Goodwin; Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Philadelphia Orchestra/Dutoit; Buxtehude Cantatas with the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra/Koopman (Channel Classics); and Schnittke’s Faust Cantata with the Rotterdam Philharmonic/Gergiev. With the Gabrieli Consort/McCreesh, Daniel toured Europe in Purcell’s Odes and Dido and Aeneas, as well as appearing in recital on Polish Television. With the Monteverdi Choir/Gardiner, Daniel appeared on the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage joining in concerts and recordings across Europe and North America. Daniel also sang at a Pow-Wow of First Nations in Alberta and on Parliament Hill for Queen Elizabeth and the Prime Minister of Canada. He appeared on German Television for the Prime Minister of Germany, on Spanish Television for the Queen of Spain and in a recital for the King and Queen of Sweden.

As an educator, Daniel has offered master classes at the Beijing Conservatory, the Sao Paolo Conservatory, at the Royal Academy, the Guildhall and the Royal College of Music. He has also given classes at leading Universities across North America.

Daniel is Head of Early Music and Professor of Voice at the University of Toronto, Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa and an Artist-in-Residence at the L’Opera de Montreal. Daniel is Artistic Director and Conductor of the Choir and Orchestra of the Theatre of Early Music, which he founded in 2002 and which performs more than 30 concerts every year in concert halls all over the world. He is also Artistic Director of the Quebec International Festival of Sacred Music.