All Creatures Great and Small - A Benefit Concert about Animals

All Creatures Great and Small - A Benefit Concert about Animals by the Taylor Festival Choir.

The concert is dedicated to Ellen Dressler Moryl, Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of Charleston, and a dedicated animal lover and animal rights activist.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit animal advocacy groups in the greater Charleston area, including, but not limited to: SPCA of Charleston and Pet Helpers.

The program will be presented twice:

I’On Amphiteater (Mt. Pleasant) on Saturday, May 5 at 4 pm. Here, concert goers are invited to bring a picnic and their pets to the amphitheater’s green lawn.

Circular Congregational Church (150 Meeting, Charleston) on Sunday, May 6 at 4 pm.

CHARLESTON ANIMALS – The nationally renowned Taylor Festival Choir (TFC), led by Dr. Robert Taylor, is celebrating All Creatures Great and Small with a unique and fun concert themed around animals. All musical selections will be based on animal themes, including Animal Crackers Vol. I and II by the popular composer Eric Whiatcre; Murray Shaffer’s hilarious Medieval Bestiary; and the cute Prayers from the Ark—musical prayers literally from the perspective of the animals on Noah’s famed ship!

Purchase your tickets and CD recordings at www.TaylorMusicGroup.org $15.

$15.00 – General Admission – at the door/amphitheater beginning one hour before the concert

or purchase online at www.taylormusicgroup.org

$10.00 – General Admission Student – with valid student ID

The Taylor Festival Choir is a semi-professional chamber choir based in Charleston, SC. Founded and conducted by Robert Taylor; the choir is inspired by the life and career of Bob Taylor, the conductor’s late father and a noted choral musician and pedagogue. Since its inception in 2001, the Taylor Festival Choir has been heard in prestigious venues and festivals throughout the US, and has garnered a reputation of excellence among critics and choral specialists alike. Their recent MSR Classics CD release Sing We Now of Christmas has been called “a choral feast that will linger long in your memory after you’ve heard it.” In 2009 the Taylor Festival Choir was one of only two American adult chamber choirs featured at the prestigious 2009 American Choral Directors Association National Convention and 50th anniversary celebration.

Dr. Robert Taylor is the Founding Artistic Director and President of the Taylor Festival Choir and Taylor Music Group, Director of Choral Activities at the College of Charleston, and the Director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the CSO Chamber Singers. Called a “rising star in the national choral scene,” Taylor’s choirs have been described as sounding “more musical than would seem possible,” and have received numerous plaudits from critics and choral specialists for their technical proficiency, musicality and beautiful sound production.

Upcoming events for the Taylor Music Group:

Na Fidleiri performs at St. John the Beloved in Summerville on May 20, 2012 at 5 pm. Visit www.TaylorMusicGroup.org for more information.

The Taylor Music Group (TMG) is a non-profit umbrella organization hosting sister ensembles Na Fidleiri and the Taylor Festival Choir (TFC). Led by Robert Taylor, DMA, TFC performs the finest choral literature from all eras, with particular emphasis on music of the 20th and 21st centuries, and folk music from the Celtic nations. Na Fidleiri (“the fiddlers” in Irish) is an auditioned group including violinists, pennywhistle, bodhran and guitar and performs primarily folk Irish tunes entirely from memory with traditional accompaniment. The two ensembles are united by the same core values: TMG believes that the connection between “high art” and “art of the people” is a sacred one that is vital for the continued viability of all art. TMG also believes that the performing arts are inexorably linked to arts education and instruction. With programmatic activities, both performing and educational, TMG brings its mission to life in the Lowcountry and the Nation.