Andrew

“Life without music is unthinkable. Music without life is academic. That is why my contact with music is a total embrace.” ~ Leonard Bernstein Biography Andrew “Drew” Jefferson Taylor was born in Covina, CA on December 21, 1988, to Americans Robert and Susan Taylor. His middle name was given to him due to his supposed lineage and relationship to Thomas Jefferson, but this has never been proven, nor disproved either. There are Jeffersons on his father’s side of the family, but there has been some genealogy gap from around the 1820s. Drew’s parents met in the 70s while attending college at UCLA. His father was a biology major and mother was a German major. When she became pregnant in 1981 with Drew’s oldest sibling, Ashley, his mother dropped out of school. Andrew has 5 other siblings – Jennifer, born 1984, Benjamin, born 1987, Kelly, born 1990, Joseph, born 1993 and Grant, born 1995. Upon graduation, Robert took up a job as a zookeeper at the San Diego Zoo. He worked there until after Jennifer was born, as he and Susan decided they needed more money to raise two children. So, he took up a job as an operator at AT&T. In 1991, he was promoted to a first level manager and was transferred to the Chicago area. This is where Andrew’s musical journey would begin. Growing up, Andrew had always been envious of the things his older brother, Benjamin would do – academically, musically, and socially. He was a leach to his older brother and wanted what he had. In 1993, Benjamin began piano lessons, and just like his brother, Andrew had to follow suit and take lessons as well. He was very competitive, and what Benjamin did, he felt he could do, and better, just like the song. Benjamin had more talent than Andrew, but Andrew worked harder and harder drive. It was not long before Andrew began to pass his older brother in piano method books and started appearing in contests, winning 1st place. Classical music became Andrew’s life, and he would immerse himself in learning about the well-known composers like Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, but strove to learn of the lesser known as well. By 1995, Benjamin had taken up music composition, and it wasn’t long before Andrew had to do the same. At the age of 10, Andrew began percussion lessons in addition to piano. He was quickly advancing his studies, as the five years of piano foundation helped to strengthen his percussion skills. His favorite instrument in the percussion family was the timpani, and he would practice at home with the timpani part to orchestral pieces while playing along with a recording, pretending he was performing. Interest quickly began to focus more on percussion and composition and less on piano. While a member of a youth orchestra, he arranged piano work for his ensemble. His brother was impressed with his orchestration in the work and ability to hear the instruments. He wrote his first symphony at the age of 13 and it was performed by the local community orchestra and was given well praise. His private instructor felt that Andrew’s musical abilities surpassed what he could learn at his public school system and sent him off to attend the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy. Andrew was given a full scholarship as a double major in Percussion and Music Composition at Interlochen at the age of 14. He was surrounded by like-minded artists and musicians and was thriving in his musical element. He performed orchestral works by the greats and lesser known. The orchestra at Interlochen and chamber groups performed his compositions. Guest conductors and solo musicians took note of his abilities, and in his sophomore year he took up conducting lessons. By this point, he had discovered that orchestral conducting was his true calling. He wanted to quit percussion and composition, but there was no major as conducting. Working with the Dean of Students and Head of the Music Department, they created an Orchestral Conducting curriculum for him for his Junior and Senior year, but he had to continue taking percussion lessons and performing with the orchestra. In addition, he was required to compose a symphony, and conduct his own work for his senior project. During his final year, he auditioned for conducting, with a minor in music composition, at the New England Conservatory of Music, Peabody Conservatory, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He got into all four but chose to attend the Royal Academy of Music for the culture opportunity. Andrew’s time at RAM-London was incredible. He conducted the orchestra at the Academy, and guest conducted the London Symphony on 2 occasions. Upon graduating, he attended The Juilliard School for his Masters in Orchestral Conducting, before attending the Peabody Conservatory for his D.M.A. in Orchestral Conducting, while still taking composition lessons from greats such as John Corigliano and Augusta Reed Thomas. While getting his D.M.A, he was appointed as Associate Conductor with the Baltimore Symphony. He has composed over a dozen orchestral works that have been performed by orchestras all over the world, and he has guest conducted for the L.A. Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. From 2018 through 2022, Andrew was the Music Director and Conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada. He recently moved to LA where he took up his new role as the Music Director and Conductor of the LA Philharmonic. Education Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting, Peabody Conservatory Masters in Orchestral Conducting, The Juilliard School Bachelors in Orchestral Conducting with a Minor in Music Composition, Royal Academy of Music - London RP Hooks The Phil: He's the Music Director and Conductor of the LA Philharmonic. The Classics: Easily a favorite and a focus for music. Educated: Has a Doctorate in Musical Arts. Night Life: He likes having a good time. Conducting Experiences Music Director and Conductor, LA Philharmonic, 2023-Present Music Director and Conductor, National Arts Centre Orchestra, 2018-2023 Associate Conductor, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, 2014-2018 Guest Conductor appearances: New York Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra List of Compositions By Opus Number (Fame rating is among classical music genre) Op. 1: Three Little Pieces for Piano (1998) (Fame-0) Op. 2: March for Snare Drum (1999) (Fame-0) Op. 3: Diversions by Norman Dello Joio arranged for Orchestra (2000) (Fame-1) Op. 4: Symphony No. 1 (2001) (Fame-1) Op. 5: Grandiose for Marimba and Piano (2002) (Fame-0) Op. 6: Piano Sonata No. 1 (2003) (Fame-1) Op. 7: Piano Trio (2003) (Fame-1) Op. 8: Illusions for Percussion Quartet (2004) (Fame-0) Op. 9: Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra (2005) (Fame-1) Op. 10: Symphony No. 2 (2006) (Fame-1) Op. 11: Scientific Notations for Percussion Sextet (2006) (Fame-0) Op. 12: The Elysium Cycles for Orchestra and Choir (2007) (Fame-3-high school senior project) Op. 13: Symphony No. 3 (2008-2009) (Fame-2) Op. 14: Piano Sonata No. 2 (2009) (Fame-2) Op. 15: "Heliotrope" Ballet in Two Acts (2009-2010) The Royal Ballet-London Premiere 2011 (Fame-3-Particularly in ballet genre) Op. 15a: Suite from Heliotrope" for Orchestra (2012 (Fame-1) Op. 16: The Planets, by Gustav Holst, arranged for Percussion Ensemble (2013) (Fame-0) Op. 17: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2015) (Fame-1) Op. 18: Symphony No 4 (2015-2017) (Fame-2) Op. 19: Concerto for Orchestra (2018) (Fame-2) Op. 20: "When the Dead Awaken" Opera in Three Acts - Based off the play by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen (2018-2020) New York Metropolitan Opera Commission (Fame-3-Particularly in opera genre, also garnered some mainstream publicity) Op. 20a: Suite from "When the Dead Awaken" for Orchestra (2020) (Fame-2) Op. 21: Symphony No. 5 (2021-2022) National Arts Centre Orchestra Commission (Fame-3-Biggest and most well-known symphony in classical music genre to date) Contacts NAME - Will say something here at some point. NAME - Will say something here at some point. NAME - Will say something here at some point. Gallery Vital Stats Full Name: Andrew "Drew" Jefferson Taylor Appears As: Andrew Apparent Age: Thirties Occupation: Music Director Conductor (L.A. Philharmonic) Demeanor: Affiliation: None yet. Notable Stats Expression 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ Performance 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ Artistry 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ Fame 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ Resources 🔴🔴🔴🔴⚫️ Academics 🔴🔴🔴⚫️⚫️ Etiquette 🔴🔴🔴⚫️⚫️ Logs Logs No logs found!