Alex Taylor

In a podcast recorded on March 24, 2013, during the Auckland Pride Festival, composer Alex Taylor discusses life experiences, including growing up, education, bullying, and the development of a creative spirit.

Raised by lesbian parents, Taylor encountered some covert bullying and developed a cautious approach to friendship, maintaining privacy about family structure except with close friends. Despite the challenges, a supportive home environment allowed Taylor to thrive creatively from an early age, enjoying activities such as origami, playing instruments, and composition.

The interview delves into the evolution of Taylor's musical composition interests, propelled by an attraction to contemporary music heard during university studies. The experience of learning music not only altered Taylor's creative trajectory but also influenced the way music was ingested - transitioning from passive listening to active engagement with musical structures and audience-performer dynamics.

Taylor candidly reflects on their journey towards embracing their homosexuality, which began with the realization during their early teens but faced delay in open acknowledgement until after leaving high school. The environment of the all-boys school they attended was pointedly homophobic, creating a climate of dread and concealment. It wasn’t until 20 or 21 that Taylor conveyed their sexuality to their parents, who were supportive despite the delay.

The conversation covers Taylor's openness about being a gay composer and how creativity intersects with personal identity, stating that emotions, informed by sexuality, invariably feed into their artistic expression. This was exemplified in Taylor's piece "Feel," composed with the National Youth Orchestra as a narrative of coming out - moving from a place of closure to an openness, symbolic of the coming-out process.

Despite the significance of the piece, only one individual directly engaged with its conceptual content post-performance, leaving Taylor somewhat disappointed by the lack of explicit audience engagement with the theme.

Taylor also mentions the unique "After Lilburn" concert, which celebrated queer composers, named provocatively after Douglas Lilburn - a pivotal figure in New Zealand's music history, now generally accepted as having been gay. The event, full of heartfelt energy, featured compositions by queer composers, though it drew criticism for an alleged lack of overt gay content and absence of camp fun.

Reflecting on visibility, Taylor underscores the importance of openly celebrating queer identity, not just as a personal reality but as an inspiration to others grappling with similar issues, suggesting that there remains a need for more discourse on the intersection between creativity and queer identity.

In summary, the podcast captures an intimate portrait of a queer artist in Aotearoa New Zealand, weaving a fabric of personal history, societal challenges, creative passion, and the continual progress towards greater visibility and acceptance within the arts community.

This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.

Alex Taylor

2010s, after lilburn (2013), alex taylor, annea lockwood, aotearoa new zealand, arts, auckland, auckland pride festival, bullying, claire cowan, coming out, composition, creativity, david hamilton, douglas lilburn, family, feel (2012), gareth farr, gay, give us a kiss (william dart), homophobia, jack body, john ashbery, john elmsly, lesbian, lilith lacroix, love sonnets of michelangelo (composition), music, nelson, nzso national youth orchestra, origami, parents, poetry, samuel holloway, school, school counselor, sexuality, single sex schools, songs to the judges (mervyn thompson and william dart), visibility, westlake boys high school, william dart, youth

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