 Joan Catoni Conlon and her contributing authors cast a wide net with a new book, Wisdom, Wit, and Will: Women Choral Conductors on Their Art. Knitted together by the overarching, unifying theme of women in choral music, the resulting catch is expansive, varied, and thought-provoking. Given the large scope of the book and the impossibility of appropriately summarizing all articles, this review will simply talk about the contents, hopefully showing how the book will enrich the libraries of all choral conductors, especially those working in colleges and universities. This compendium is divided into three main areas: “Our Music,” “Our Teaching,” and “Our Lives.” Within each area are multiple chapters (all at least mainly written by women) about women and/or about topics of interest to women. The chapters deal with professional development and personal histories, and they include insights on the art and education of choral music, personal and career-related advice for conductors, and concerns about gender inequities. | “Conducting the Choral-Orchestral Work” by Beverly Taylor may well become required reading in graduate programs. These instructional chapters are complete yet concise, the quality of the content matched by clarity of expression.  Choral Journal February 2010 |
"The excellent University of Wisconsin-Madison Concert Choir, led by Beverly Taylor, delivers the text convincingly and seems at ease with its lone partner, who sometimes plays a jazzy bass line." -Classical Recordings review of Luna Pearl Woolf: Apres Moi, le Deluge
 Choral Union: blending town and gown for 104 years!
Newsletter of the College of Letters and Science University of Wisconsin-Madison Volume 3, Number 2 Spring 1998 "I always knew I wanted to be here," says Bev Taylor, Director of Choral Activities in the UW School of Music. "I had known of Robert Foundain for years. I had heard the chorus and visited here to observe rehearsals. When the position opened up, it was very attractive!" Taylor, previously Associate Director of Choral Activities at Harvard, joined the L&S faculty in the fall of 1995 as the successor to the late Robert Fountain. She admits that stepping into the shows of such a venerated director was a daunting challenge. |
