CGE 2022-23 Mentor
Rhonda Taylor
Rhonda Taylor is a saxophonist dedicated to the creation of meaningful sonic art. Early in her career, she was focused on generating new music for the saxophone through the process of seeking out and collaborating with unique modern composers. More recently, she has chosen to develop her own creative voice through the art of free improvisation. Her work is focused primarily on exploring the parameters of sound and perception. Although Taylor often performs solo, she has also had the pleasure of collaborating with such diverse artists as Jaap Blonk, Kyle Motl, Chris Icasiano, Tara Khozein, Tatsuya Nakatani, Ron Stabinsky, Assif Tsahar, Mark Weaver, and Neil Welch. Her solo albums (Audition, Interstice, Nocturne, Necropolis, NTH Volumes One, Two, and Three, and Afterparty) are available on Bandcamp, CD Baby, and most other online music distributors. Dr. Taylor has served on faculty at New Mexico State University since 2003, where she is the College Associate Professor of Saxophone and Music Theory. Rhonda Taylor is a Conn-Selmer artist and plays on Selmer Paris saxophones exclusively.
"In total, AFTERPARTY is very of its time, in the way that art made during or directly after major world events often inescapably is, indelibly marked with the conditions of its creation. Rhonda Taylor, however, finds new meaning in treading this ground, resulting in a gripping album on the loneliness of being where people once were (“abandoned houses,” as she says in her liner notes). Her performance here is admirable. Virtuosic at times, contemplative at others, and with a surety of purpose throughout, Taylor finds personal expression in the paradoxically communal experience of being alone." Diego Rocha for I Care If You Listen (2021: Afterparty) https://rhondataylor.bandcamp.com/
"In total, AFTERPARTY is very of its time, in the way that art made during or directly after major world events often inescapably is, indelibly marked with the conditions of its creation. Rhonda Taylor, however, finds new meaning in treading this ground, resulting in a gripping album on the loneliness of being where people once were (“abandoned houses,” as she says in her liner notes). Her performance here is admirable. Virtuosic at times, contemplative at others, and with a surety of purpose throughout, Taylor finds personal expression in the paradoxically communal experience of being alone." Diego Rocha for I Care If You Listen (2021: Afterparty) https://rhondataylor.bandcamp.com/