November Unity In Diversity Luncheon 2026

Guest Speaker: Jordan B. Taylor

Dr. Jordan Taylor is a trailblazing classical guitarist, educator, scholar, and cultural storyteller whose boundary-breaking career has taken him from the concert halls of Europe and the United States to classrooms, communities, and stages across Ghana. An 11-time top-prize winner at international guitar competitions, Jordan has built an artistic life around challenging the traditional boundaries of the classical guitar and exploring what becomes possible when musical traditions, cultures, and people are brought into conversation with one another.

His performances have taken him to Carnegie Hall, the Paris Conservatory, and the Ateneo Theater in Madrid, among stages throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa. In Ghana, he made history as the country's first guitar concerto soloist with the National Symphony of Ghana, adding another chapter to a career defined by artistic curiosity and a willingness to venture beyond the conventional path of the classical guitarist.

The Brunswick News captured the heart of his artistry:

“Jordan Taylor’s performance is a captivating blend of storytelling and tradition, drawing from his years in Ghana to give voice to lost music. His mastery of the classical guitar and deep cultural insight offer audiences a lyrical, beautiful experience passed down through generations.”

The Brunswick News

At the center of Jordan’s genre-defying artistic work is a relationship with West Africa that stretches back decades. Having lived in Ghana for nearly fifteen years, he developed a deep connection to the country's people, history, and cultural traditions. Today, he is known for his expertise in West African Griot culture and harp-lute traditions, exploring the storytelling, improvisation, ornamentation, and musical language of the Mande and Asante peoples. Rather than simply placing African melodies on the classical guitar, Jordan’s work asks a deeper question: how can the guitar itself become a storyteller?

That question has shaped his work as both an artist and scholar, creating a distinctive musical voice that brings centuries-old African storytelling traditions into dialogue with the technique and sound world of the classical guitar.

Jordan’s connection to Ghana extends far beyond his childhood years. In 2015, he founded Ghana’s first classical music festival and first youth orchestra, the Ghana National Music Festival, beginning what would become more than a decade of educational and cultural collaboration between musicians in Ghana and the United States. That work ultimately helped inspire the creation of the Global Arts Initiative (the GAI), where Jordan serves as Founder and Executive Director. Through the GAI, he has helped build programs centered on music education, international cultural exchange, mentorship, and access to the arts.

Education remains inseparable from Jordan’s identity as an artist. With more than a decade of pedagogical experience, he has taught classical guitar, world music, and modern band and has coached chamber ensembles and large ensembles, mentoring young musicians from beginning students to emerging professionals. His teaching philosophy reaches beyond notes and technique, emphasizing curiosity, discipline, independence, empathy, and an understanding of the cultures from which our music emerges.

As conductor Jan Pellant, Guest Conductor of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, wrote:

“Jordan’s way of playing is very much intelligent and sensitive… a proven artist with extraordinary imagination and musicality.”

Whether onstage with a guitar, researching underrepresented traditions and sharing their stories to new audiences, mentoring young musicians, or building connections between artists separated by an ocean, Jordan has developed a career around bridging cultural divides through music. His work reflects a simple conviction: music can be one of the most important vehicles for positive change in our world and it is his responsibility to live up to that belief.