Taylor Rankin To Perform At Bermuda Festival
Bermudian violinist Taylor Rankin will be performing virtually for the Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts on Saturday [July 17].
A spokesperson said, “Next up on The Festival line-up is Bermudian violinist Taylor Rankin, who will be taking the festival stage on Saturday, July 17th at 8pm ADT.
“Taylor, who is currently based in Switzerland, will be performing live to the virtual audience on Saturday night. Taylor’s show is informed by his desire to challenge himself through entering the realm of improvisation.”
Mr. Taylor said, “Virtual performances have always been strange for me. I love human contact, so I have had to find new joy in making this adjustment.”
The spokesperson said, “Taylor is the first festival performer to be offering a completely live show. Although the pandemic has forced him to readjust the way he approaches his craft, he has learned to think about treating remote performances as an opportunity to learn about the vast offerings of music.
“For him, music changes in every space he enters.
“Taylor’s decision to take on a live virtual show stems from a constant desire to expand his creative potential. He considered doing a pre-recorded show but felt that a live performance spoke truer to his relationship with music.
“He describes his show as an experience that taps into several genres, which he notes as parallel to his own upbringing of being influenced by several cultures through his time in different countries. These experiences exposed him to a vast array of musical and social diversity which has expanded his musical palette.
“In Taylor’s festival show, he hopes to reflect the experiences of his upbringing to the audience and link them into his improvisational performance. He is inspired by the situational beauty of music making and is excited by the possibilities of each musical context he encounters. He says that the promise he makes to himself and his audience when he performs, is that he is going to be honest with himself.
“Improvisation is the method through which he can make the most space for that honesty. His wish is that the festival performance inspires his audience to engage in a similar process of introspection.
“Taylor says that music accounts for much of his personal development and growth.”
Mr. Taylor said, “When I don’t play music, part of me goes away.”
The spokesperson said, “Growing up, Taylor admits that he often felt insecure about his capabilities as a musician resulting in a drive to absorb his disparate musical influences to help build his own craft.”
Mr. Taylor said, “I started to fill in different parts of myself; music shows me who I am the most.”
The spokesperson said, “He is hopeful that his festival performance reflects his enjoyment in pushing himself to a place of discomfort for the sake of self- discovery. For him, music serves as a virtual reality that reflects his own lived experiences.
“When the Festival team asked Taylor about how his music plays a special role in his relationship to Bermuda, he spoke about how he is itching to be back in his homeland. He is inspired by the Bermudian spirit, the ‘subtle yet powerful communication that Bermudians share with one another.’
“For Taylor, being Bermudian represents a unique ability to think freely, ‘an ordered yet confused spirit where every Bermudian is on a linked journey of self-discovery.’
“He is hopeful for a more colourful music scene on the island, where local creatives feel confident enough to share their art with the wider community. How can we enable folks to go out and struggle, but flourish.
“We have to be able to face rejection, but we don’t need to shapeshift, we can be our true selves. There are so many unsung heroes that are lifting artists up. If we all teamed up together, if you add the sum of the parts, we have something really special.
“You can find Taylor on his website, Facebook and Instagram and can watch his live stream festival show at www.bermudafestival.org and on YouTube.”
Read More About
Category: All, Entertainment, Music
