Dr. Brainerd Blyden-Taylor is a highly respected conductor and educator known for founding the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Canada’s first professional chamber choir dedicted to Afro-centric music of all styles. He moved from Trinidad and Tobago, to Canada, in the 1970’s. Falling under the tutelage of then Director of the University of Toronto Hart House Chorus, Denise Narcisse-Mair, Dr. Blyden-Taylor became her assistant in 1977. He became affiliated with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto, impressively holding a 25-year tenure.

Dr. Blyden-Taylor would form the Nathaniel Dett Chorale in 1998, after noticing the lack of Afro-centric representation in chorale music in Canada. The group has become well-known in Canada and the United States, conducting several universities, youth, and concert choirs.

He himself, has been asked as a guest conductor by a number of choirs and symphonies including, The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Hannaford St. Silver Band, The Nova Scotia Youth Choir, the Algoma Festival Choir, and the Chatham-Kent Roots Festival Choir, to name a few.

Dr. Blyden-Taylors contributions to music are equal to his contributions in education. He’s served on the teaching staff at the University of Toronto in their Faculty of Music, as well as for the Faculty of Music at the University of Queens. He is a Master Teacher with the Board of Education, teaching students and teachers the choral technique. He received an honorary doctorate from York University for his many contributions to education.

The internationally sought-after clinician, adjudicator, and lecturer, has performed and presented in Canada, the U.S., France, Turkey, Japan, and Israel. Dr. Blyden-Taylors continued dedication is single-handedly making the genre more inclusive for Black Canadians.