Artistic Director and Conductor

Rebecca Barrineau Taylor

Becky is the Director of Music Ministries, Organist, and Choirmaster
at Church of the Ascension in Montgomery, Alabama.

In 2000, she earned a Master of Music Degree in Organ Performance and Choral Conducting at the University of Alabama, studying with Warren Hutton and Sandra Willetts. Prior to studying in Tuscaloosa, she had served at Ascension since 1984 as both Organist and Choir Director. Her under-graduate degree is in Music Education from Florida State University.

Becky's musical background is varied, including her two-year tenure as the initial director (and current board member) of the Montgomery-based Alabama Institute for Education in the Arts, which trains teachers in discipline-based arts education. She has taught music at both The Montgomery Academy and Saint James School. In addition to teaching summer programs and working with Jubilee and Children's Theatre for the City of Montgomery, she was founding director of the Montgomery Area Girls' Chorus. She has performed with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the Montgomery Symphony, among numerous performances as solo performer, accompanist, and conductor.

Becky served as accompanist for many years for the Montgomery Chorale and served as interim-director for the 1998-1999 season. She has been musical director for the Jasmine Hills Arts Council, helping to direct and produce five shows. While in Tuscaloosa, she was the organist at Christ Episcopal Church and was invited to prepare the choruses for the world premiere of a work written to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King by internationally recognized composer Gunther Schüller. She currently serves as Sub-Dean of the Montgomery Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and serves in the Department of Liturgy and Music for the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama.

Becky is married to baritone Bill Taylor, and her son, Patrick Padgett, is also a musician.