Dian and Lydie discuss the confluence of music and theatre in Black storytelling and the musicality of dramatic literature with Artistic Director and Conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor.

Brainerd Blyden-Taylor is the Founder, Artistic Director and conductor of The Nathaniel Dett

Chorale, Canada’s first professional chamber choir dedicated to the creation, performance and

preservation of Afrocentric music of all styles. Born in Trinidad & Tobago, Mr. Blyden-Taylor

immigrated to Canada in 1973. He founded The Chorale in 1998, in response to a musical void in

Canada; there had never before been a professional ensemble dedicated to the diffusion of

Afrocentric choral music. The response that The Chorale has received in Canada and the United

States since its inception has certainly given credence to Mr. Blyden-Taylor’s vision.