Jon-Michael Taylor

Meet Jon-Michael

A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, trumpeter Jon-Michael Taylor has enjoyed a varied career in both solo and orchestral music. Having performed 7 solo recitals since 2020, Jon-Michael actively commissions new music and writes for grants for his ensembles, which include the Grand River Brass Quintet - a finalist in the 2024 Wagner Chamber Competition. His chamber work connected him to Yale Ventures - where he is an associate developing creative projects - and the Tsai CITY development program. Previously, as a Graduate Assistant at Michigan State, he organized a grant-funded educational series inviting top orchestral players to be guest-presenters on “section playing.”

A distinguished soloist, Jon-Michael won the 2025 honors competition at Michigan State University, and was invited to perform Andre Jolivet’s Concertino for Trumpet, Piano and Strings with the MSU Symphony Orchestra. He was a finalist in the 2025 Frances Walton Solo Competition, hosted by the Ladies Music Club of Seattle. He was selected to play for soloist Hakan Hardenberger in his 2021 public masterclass at New England Conservatory. Acclaimed for a “glowing” sound that “broke through the orchestra” in performances of Shostakovich’s Fifth symphony (Boston Music Intelligencer) with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Jon-Michael attended the prestigious Aspen Music Festival and School in the summer of 2022, and was a fellow with the Cincinnati Symphony brass institute in 2024 and 2025. He has performed with the Cincinnati, Grand Rapids and Lansing Symphony Orchestras.

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