About the Taylor School
Founded in 2007, the Taylor School is the community music program of Mississippi College. The school provides superior music instruction to the Clinton, Mississippi community and beyond. Our mission is to be a distinctive community music program committed to facilitating musical development and promoting a lifetime of enjoyment by students of all ages.
Facilities
The Taylor School has full access to the facilities of the Departments of Art and Music at Mississippi College. This includes studio space, practice rooms, two 7' Steinway grand pianos, music technology laboratories.
Instructors
All Taylor School instructors hold degrees in music, including undergraduate and graduate degrees in Piano Performance, Piano Pedagogy, Vocal Performance & Pedagogy, and Music Education. Taylor School instructors are members of national professional organizations such as Music Teachers National Association, National Association for Music Education, and National Association of Teachers of Singing, as well as state and local organizations such as Mississippi Music Teachers Association and Music Forum of Jackson. Taylor School instructors include faculty members of Mississippi College as well as graduate students and other local musicians who have distinguished themselves in specific areas of instruction.
Community Engagement
The Taylor School seeks to be an active participant in the local community. We strive to develop projects that engage a broad spectrum of the community. Ongoing community engagement projects include:
- providing piano lessons to students at the Mississippi School for the Arts in Brookhaven, Mississippi at no cost to the students.
- a partnership with the Mississippi College student chapter of the National Association for Music Education to provide music classes for students at the CARES school in Jackson, Mississippi.
About Dr. Ralph Taylor
The Taylor School is named after Dr. Ralph Taylor, who retired from the Mississippi College Department of Music in 1999 as Professor Emeritus, having completed a 43 year career as professor of piano and music history. His time at MC began as an undergraduate in 1952. After receiving a B.M. in piano performance from MC in 1955, he went on to complete a M.M. in piano at Florida State University where he studied with Edward Kilenyi and Ernst von Dohnanyi. He returned to begin teaching at MC in 1956, leaving for brief periods of further study. He received a Fulbright Scholarship to Innsbruck, Austria, where he studied German at the university and piano with Hans Hoepfel. In 1971 he completed a Ph.D. in music history, with a minor in German, at Louisiana State University. Additional study was done at Eastman School of Music and the University of Colorado.
During the early years of his tenure at MC Dr. Taylor frequently performed on both solo and chamber recitals. In later years more emphasis was given to family, travel and German studies. His students were his main focus throughout his teaching career. Many students went on to further study at the masters and doctoral levels and several have had distinguished careers in college, university and seminary positions. Many more students hold positions in church music and other performing venues and maintain private studios. His students were frequent winners of piano competitions at the college level.
Dr. Taylor held the position of church organist at several area churches with the last being 20 years of service at First Baptist Church, Clinton. Since retirement Dr. Taylor enjoys continuing his German studies and spending time with his family.
