David Taylor joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as assistant concertmaster in 1979. Born in Canton, Ohio, he first studied violin with his father at the age of four, and continued with Margaret Randall and Rafael Druian at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He later studied with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School, where he received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He became a member of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1974 as a first violinist. With the Chicago Symphony, he has made numerous solo appearances, including performances with Sir Georg Solti. He also has served as acting concertmaster of the St. Louis Symphony and concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
Taylor served as concertmaster of the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, which disbanded in 2015. As a lover of chamber music, he often appears in recital and solo performances in the Chicagoland area, at the Ravinia Festival and on WFMT-FM. He frequently performs with the Pressenda Trio with fellow CSO cellist Gary Stucka and pianist Andrea Swan. Taylor is also a soloist with the region’s local orchestras. He teaches privately at the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago and at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts. A coach of orchestral violinists, he has students in orchestras across the United States and Japan.
David Taylor resides in downtown Chicago with his wife, violinist Michelle Wynton. He plays a J.B. Guadagnini violin, made in 1744.
