Claire Taylor embodies the diverse talent and entrepreneurial spirit needed to make a living in today’s music world. Besides teaching bassoon and theory and coaching ensembles for Millikin, she is Music Director at First Presbyterian Church, owns and operates Claire Taylor Woodwind Repair, and is an active performer throughout Central Illinois. She is Principal Bassoon of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, Second Bassoon of the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra, and regularly plays with several other area orchestras, including the Heartland, Peoria, and Illinois Symphonies. Also an accomplished jazz musician and woodwind doubler, Professor Taylor was a saxophonist for Celebrity Cruise Lines and has appeared in the pit of the national tour of Chicago and numerous Millikin Theater and Little Theater on the Square productions, as well as with groups such as the Decatur Big Band, Rock of Ages, Moroccan Soul, and the Claire Taylor Trio. Holding undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Biology from Butler University, she worked for several years in the conservation biology and agricultural chemistry fields before returning to the University of Illinois for her Masters in Bassoon Performance and Literature which she received in 2017.
School of Music Claire Taylor
Adjunct Faculty