My story

Graham Taylor grew up in Irvine, California, where he began studying trumpet with Bill Perkins at the age of 11. By 14, Mr. Taylor was studying with David Washburn, principal trumpet of the LA Opera and Chamber Orchestra, and began attending summer music festivals such as Arrowbear and the Idyllwild Arts Academy. As a high school student, Graham performed the Hummel Trumpet Concerto as the winner of the Orange County Youth Symphony Concerto Competition. Before graduation, he was awarded a music scholarship by the Orange County Music Union, Local 7, performing the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto at the award reception.

As a student at Northwestern, he performed as principal trumpet in the Symphonic and Chamber Orchestras, as well as in the Northwestern University Marching Band (NUMB). Fortuitously, during Graham’s freshman year, Northwestern made it to the Rose Bowl (1996), an event that has only happened twice in over 50 years. At Northwestern, Graham studied under the legendary faculty of Vincent Cichowicz, Luther Didrickson, William Scarlett, and Barbara Butler.

While living in Chicago, Mr. Taylor won his first orchestral audition, performing as 3rd Trumpet with the Elmhurst Symphony, and toured with the United States Air Force “Heartland of America Band.” He concluded the year (2000) touring Europe with the North Carolina School of the Arts International Music Program as Principal Trumpet before departing for graduate school in San Francisco.

Mr. Taylor received a Master of Music degree (2003) from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with David Burkhart. While in San Francisco, Graham performed as 1st trumpet with Opera Parallèle, a contemporary opera company that premiered works such as Terence Blanchard’s opera Champion, and also recorded and arranged music for Hiss Golden Messenger.

In 2004, Graham returned to his Southern Californian roots and quickly became a sought-after freelance musician in Los Angeles. As a regular with the Pacific Symphony, Long Beach Symphony, and in the LA studios, Graham premiered and recorded music of all kinds, including I Would Plant a Tree by celebrated film composer James Newton Howard.

Returning to the Bay Area in 2011, Graham joined the faculty of the Idyllwild Arts Academy, performed the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto with the Eureka Symphony, and became a member of the Pageant of the Masters orchestra in Laguna Beach. During the summers of 2016, 2017, and 2018, Graham participated in the Stockholm Chamber Brass Academy in Leksand, Sweden—intensive chamber music-focused weeks with master teachers from the Stockholm Chamber Brass, one of the great brass groups of the world.

As an educator, Graham has been on faculty with the Idyllwild Arts Academy, the University of San Francisco, the San Francisco Day School, the St. Paul Conservatory of Music, and, as of 2024, Luther College in Iowa.

Now living in Minneapolis, Graham is principal trumpet with the Mankato Symphony and the La Crosse Symphony and has played with the Minnesota Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Lakes Area Music Festival.

Graham lives in Minneapolis with his wife Alison and their nine-year-old daughter Waverly.