Allan Taylor came to Westfield State in 2006. Over the past five years he has taught a variety of courses in addition to theory, including conducting, orchestration, sight singing and ear training, music history, and piano. Now an assistant professor, he also conducts the University's two fine arts choral ensembles, Festival Chorus (60 voices) and Chorale (18 voices). Outside of Westfield State Mr. Taylor leads an active life as a performing musician. He is the Minister of Music at the First Congregational Church, Westfield, a position he has held since 1987. He also directs Novi Cantori, a concert choir of approximately twenty voices that is known throughout the area for its blend, precision, and expressiveness. Mr. Taylor is also the music director of the Hampshire Choral Society, one of the largest community choruses outside the Boston area. Numbering around 160 singers, the Hampshire Choral Society regularly performs major works of the choral repertoire, with full orchestra. Recent performances have included the St. John Passion and B minor Mass of Bach, as well as Mendelssohn's Paulus, Handel's Messiah, and the Schubert Mass in E flat.
First Congregational Church of Westfield