Dr. Burns Taft (1939 - )

Recognized as a gifted musician and respected music educator in Ventura County, Burns Taft has been artistic director and conductor of the Ventura County Master Chorale since 1981. With academic credentials from Yankton College in his home state of South Dakota, and from the Yale School of Music, the University of Colorado and the University of Southern California, where he received his Doctor of Musical Arts, Taft’s artistic endeavors have been trend setting.

Shortly after assuming the artistic direction of the Master Chorale and Opera Association in 1981, Taft brought staged operas to the community-Die Fledermaus, Hansel and Gretal, La Boheme, Electra and The Marriage of Figaro-allowing choral singer musical challenges as they shared the stage with professionals from the opera world.

Singing under his inspired direction, the Master Chorale has explored challenging repertoire from the Renaissance to the Avant Garde and has performed in the most beautiful, historic, and acoustically rich venues throughout the county.

In his dedication to recognizing the professionalism of trained choral singers as well as soloists and instrumentalists, the Ventura County Master Chorale has offered performance opportunities to finalists from the Metropolitan Opera’s Western Regional Competition. Taft has also created a smaller, more elite performing ensemble, the MasterSingers.

As chairman of the Performing Arts Department at Ventura College, he instituted an innovative private music instruction program at a community college-a rarity in California.
In 1991, Taft established the Chamber Orchestra of Ventura County, drawing the finest professional instrumentalists from southern California’s most respected orchestras together to form a new intimate ensemble for this area.

Dr. Taft was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, where his father and mother moved during the great depression. Burn’s professional interests include both choral and orchestral conducting, teaching - from history to music theory and composition - along with performing. He has conducted as well as performed the piano solo in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy many times.

A man of diverse interests and a keen sense of humor, he is an avid horse fancier, especially Peruvian Pasos, loves the outdoors and dreams of starting a music festival at his mountain property in the Black Hills of South Dakota when he retires.