Rhonda Taylor has been on faculty at New Mexico State University since 2003, where she is the College Assistant Professor of Saxophone and Music Theory. She completed her D.M.A. at the University of Arizona, where she studied with Kelland Thomas. She earned her M.M. as a graduate assistant of John Sampen at Bowling Green State University. Her additional studies include performances in master classes held by Fred Hemke and Eugene Rousseau, as well as attending Domaine Forget Music Academie to study with Jean-Marie Londeix and Jean-François Guay. In 2002, she was awarded a scholarship to the International Clarinet and Saxophone Connection held at New England Conservatory, where she studied with Arno Bornkamp, Jean-Michel Goury, and Kenneth Radnofsky.
Dr. Taylor is dedicated to the creation and performance of meaningful sonic art of our time. Her recent activities include presenting a recital of late 20th century solo saxophone works at Spivey Hall in Atlanta, lecture recitals on Gérard Grisey's Anubis et Nout at the Manuel Castillo Conservatorio Superior de Música in Sevilla, Spain, and at the Université de Montréal, as well as performances at the Group for Liquid Media's New Music for Saxophone(s) in Rochester (NY), North American Saxophone Alliance Biennials, World Saxophone Congresses, the ThreeTwo Festival of New Music (NYC), the Bowling Green State University 20th Annual Festival of New Music and Art, the University of Minnesota Duluth New Music Festival, and the University of California San Diego Spring New Music Festival. Her recording of Jeffrey Mumford's the milliner's fancy, a solo work she jointly commissioned with David Reminick, is available as part of the CD The Promise of The Far Horizon on the Albany label. Her live U.S. premiere of Ghosts, for solo baritone saxophone, written by Chris Arrell for her in 2006, is available on the Beauport Classical label. In 2009, she released a recording of new works by Rick Burkhardt, Audition. Her most recent release, Interstice, features new music by Ben Leeds Carson, Justin Rubin, Avi Tchamni, and Ben Grosser. Upcoming projects include taking part in a group commission for a new work for baritone saxophone and electronics by Nathan Davis, and she is currently working closely with Guggenheim Award winning composer Steven Takasugi on a new work for solo saxophonist and electronics to be premiered in 2013. Rhonda Taylor is a Conn-Selmer artist and plays on Selmer Paris saxophones exclusively.
From a recent NASA Update reviewing the 2011 NASA Region 2 Conference at UNLV, written by Allison Dromgold: "There were many fine performances throughout the weekend, but some really exceptional musicianship stood out in the performances of the PRISM Quartet and Rhonda Taylor...Rhonda Taylor also blew the audience away, performing SPP by Philippe Leroux with flawless technique and incredible control."