Dr. Kristin Jonina Taylor
E-mail: taylork@waldorf.edu
Office Phone: 641-585-8180
Dr. Kristín Jónína Taylor is an Icelandic-American pianist who has been enthusiastically received for her performances of Nordic piano works, including the North American premiere of Jón Nordal’s Piano Concerto in 2003 and programs by invitation in Washington D.C. for the Ambassador of Iceland and President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. She has performed widely in the U.S. as well as in Reykjavík, Paris , Prague , Belgium , and Austria .
As a foreign student in Iceland when she was 16, Kristín studied piano with Halldór Haraldsson. At the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music, her mentors were Joanne Baker and Richard Cass. In June of 2006, Krist ín received the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she studied with Eugene and Elizabeth Pridonoff. She has also studied in Europe with Diane Andersen, Daniel Blumenthal, Jacques Lagarde, Perfecto Garcia Chornet, Vit Gregor, and Einar-Steen Nokleberg.
Dr. Taylor was the recipient of a Fulbright grant to Iceland in 2004-2005 to conduct research for her doctoral thesis on Jón Nordal ’s Piano Concerto. Additionally, Kristín was the Grand Prize Winner of the Naftzger Young Artist Competition and a national finalist in the Music Teacher’s National Association Young Chang Collegiate Competition. In 2003 she was invited to give a performance at the Classical Hall of Fame in Cincinnati , Ohio . She was a soloist with several orchestras, including the Independence Symphony, the Jefferson City Symphony, and the UMKC Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, she was featured with the University of Cincinnati College – Conservatory Philharmonia as winner of the Brahms d minor Concerto Competition and performed the Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain by invitation with the same orchestra the following year. Most recently, Kristín gave a performance of an all-Schumann program at the internationally prestigious Reykjavík Arts Festival in May of 2006.
In addition to being the Keyboard Area Coordinator, Dr. Taylor presently co-chairs the music department at Waldorf College and is the area coordinator for music history and collegiate recitals.
