Faculty & Staff
MICHAEL J Taylor
Percussion
Taylor (aka Michael Taylor) is a Tam Tam Mandingue Certified Professor*, Director of the Tam Tam Mandingue-Chicago School of Percussion, a percussionist, entrepreneur, educator, recording artist, performer and composer, specializing in the West African djembe and dounun drums.
*Tam Tam Mandingue Certification is a degree granted exclusively by Grand Master Drummer, Mamady Keita from Guinea, West Africa, who created a global network of schools called Tam Tam Mandingue Schools of Percussion.
Taylor founded his business Holy Goat Percussion in 1995 and established the Tam Tam Mandingue-Chicago School of Percussion in 2005. He teaches, performs, imports, sells and repairs drums and does classes and workshops. Taylor teaches in the Chicago area at the Old Town School of Folk Music, Steckman Studio of Music, Merit School of Music, in the Chicago Public Schools, in Oak Park, and at his studios, also in Oak Park.
He invented the DruMeditation, combining drumming with meditation to create a powerful healing experience, and also provides “transmeditational” drumming for the workshops he does with holistic healthcare practitioner Kurt Hill.
He has released two instructional DVD’s about the djembe, utilizing innovative interactive elements – most recently, “Akaran Iko Iko (learn again, again)” , focusing on the repetition that is part and parcel to true mastery, and another focusing on djembe technique entitled “Remembering How To Drum”. He has recorded 3 CD’s - entitled “Silence in the Rhythmic Soup – Rhythmic Environments for Yoga and Meditation”, “Silence” and “A Touch of Chaos in the Rhythmic Soup” which fuse traditional West African instruments with original composition.
Taylor has traveled to Guinea, West Africa to study his craft numerous times and is a founding member of the performing ensemble 'Dahui' and founder/leader of his own ensemble 'Holy Goat Ensemble'. A former corporate computer consultant and software trainer, Taylor also does team building with drumming in major corporations.
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Communication (emphasis in Public Relations) and a minor in Philosophy, Illinois State University, 1991
On the web:
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Group Class Offerings
Djembe 1
Wednesdays at 6:30 PM beginning 9/1/2010 for 8 weeks
4544 N Lincoln AveREGISTER NOW | Price: $160 | Member Price: $150
Introduction to the Dundun
Wednesdays at 8:00 PM beginning 9/1/2010 for 8 weeks
4544 N Lincoln AveCLASS CANCELLED | Seats Available: 0
Djembe 2
Sundays at 1:30 PM beginning 9/5/2010 for 8 weeks
4544 N Lincoln AveREGISTER NOW | Price: $160 | Member Price: $150
Djembe 1
Sundays at 3:30 PM beginning 9/5/2010 for 8 weeks
4544 N Lincoln AveCLASS CANCELLED | Seats Available: 0
Djembe 1
Wednesdays at 6:30 PM beginning 10/27/2010 for 8 weeks
4544 N Lincoln AveREGISTER NOW | Price: $160 | Member Price: $150
Introduction to the Dundun
Wednesdays at 8:00 PM beginning 10/27/2010 for 8 weeks
4544 N Lincoln AveREGISTER NOW | Price: $160 | Member Price: $150
Djembe 2
Sundays at 1:30 PM beginning 10/31/2010 for 8 weeks
4544 N Lincoln AveREGISTER NOW | Price: $160 | Member Price: $150
Djembe 1
Sundays at 3:30 PM beginning 10/31/2010 for 8 weeks
4544 N Lincoln AveREGISTER NOW | Price: $160 | Member Price: $150
SPECIAL EVENTS
PRICES
8-Week Classes for adults are $160, unless otherwise noted in the class description.
Financial aid is available. Click for info.
Click for registration and class policies.
INSTRUMENT RENTALS
The Different Strummer music store rents instruments for most group classes. Check for availability.
