St. Timothy′s Music
Brainerd Blyden-Taylor
We are fortunate to have Brainerd Blyden-Taylor as our choir Director. He is a talented conductor, clinician and adjudicator who has been making his musical reputation in Canada and the United States over the past 27 years. Mr. Blyden-Taylor was born in Trinidad and moved to Canada in 1973 to assume the duties of Music Director at Oakwood Wesleyan Church. Since then he has gone on to hold similar positions in two other prominent Toronto churches. He has also been director of several university, youth, and concert choirs including the Orpheus Choir of Toronto. He is currently director of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale (www.nathanieldettchorale.org), as well as Master Teacher/Consultant to two Municipal Boards of Education, coaching teachers and students in choral technique, and is an inspiring mentor and teacher to young professional singers and conductors. He is in frequent demand across Canada and the United States as a guest conductor, adjudicator, lecturer and consultant.
The Choir
Under the direction of Brainerd Blyden-Taylor, the choir meets Thursday evenings at 7:30pm. We lead the congregation in the hymns, sing anthems, and perform at the Advent and spring choral services. We also enjoy social events and share news of various upcoming musical events. We are currently looking for more members and invite you to join us. If you would like more information, please contact us.
Our Organist: Edward Connell
Edward Connell comes from Edmonton, where he won the Royal Conservatory's gold medal in piano performance while still a teenager. His early musical career was devoted to creating and directing music for professional theatre, including eleven original musicals. He has been head of music theory, piano and choral music at the Alberta College Conservatory, and was for several years Music Director of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, where he led one of the largest church music programs in Canada. His choral career includes being a singer, pianist and conductor with ProCoro Canada, the Artistic Directorship of Cantilena Consort, and founder and first conductor of Edmonton Vocal Minority. Mr. Connell has been the artistic director of Forte — the Toronto Men's Chorus since 2002. This past season, he led this fine chorus to enter the CBC Choral Competition, where Forte was named a national finalist. Mr. Connell's many academic honours include degrees and diplomas in piano, organ, music theory, composition and conducting. Although he is entirely self-taught as an organist, he is an honoured Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists with the Doreen Porter Prize, the Heather Spry Prize and the Healey Willan Prize. Since 2005, he has been concert pianist with the National Ballet of Canada, where, during the past season, he has performed 24 Preludes by Chopin, Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan, Rubies (Stravinsky's Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra) and Polyphonia (solo piano pieces by Gyorgy Ligetti). He joined St. Timothy's as organist in 2008.
Singing with Brainerd is a wonderful musical experience for me. I'm being introduced to different musical styles and improving my singing technique, but more than that, I′ve found wonderful friends among the choir members and I've regained that love of music that I had in my youth. If you have an interest in music, I strongly recommend that you join this choir.