Guest artist George Taylor, Associate Professor of Viola at the Eastman School of Music, is active in practically every aspect of performance as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Before joining the Eastman faculty, he was a member of the Ciompi Quartet of Duke University, a position he held from 1979 through 1986. He has served on the artist faculties of the Encore School for Strings, the Meadowmount School, the Manchester Music Festival, and the Elan International Music Festival, among others. He has also served as a juror for international competitions in Europe and the United States.  

George Taylor has given numerous solo recitals and appeared as a chamber musician in concerts throughout the United States and at the Tainan Cultural Center in Taiwan. He was also co-founder and conductor of the St. Stephens Chamber Orchestra (Durham, NC), an ensemble that is still active in performance and recordings to date. An active advocate for the performance of music by African/American composers, Taylor was a participant in the National Black Arts Festival held in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a member of the Black Music Repertory Ensemble, which presents music of African/American composers in concerts throughout the country. Taylor has performed and premiered works written for him by many composers, including Ron Carter, Noel DaCosta, George Walker, David Liptak, and Carmen Moore.

Concertato is the string orchestra of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. It is comprised of all violin, viola, cello and bass students enrolled in the music department. These 10th, 11th and 12th grade musicians stem from orchestral programs throughout the state. Performing entirely without a conductor, Concertato players rotate seating throughout each section, giving all partcipants experience in leadership positions.  

Since its founding in 2002, Concertato String Orchestra has established itself as a vibrant and innovative ensemble. In 2003, Concertato was featured in a SC-ETV production entitled "Dom Spiro, Spero," a 30-minute televised performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8. Concertato has recently performed for the 2004 Women in Government Conference in Columbia, the Summerville Music Club Recital series, the Winterclassics recital series held at Christ Church, Greenville and appearances at the 2005 and 2006 Piccolo Spoleto festivals in Charleston. Concertato was a featured ensemble at the January 2006 Columbia (SC) Mozart Festival at Trinity Cathedral, a performance that was taped for broadcast on South Carolina public radio. In March of 2006 Concertato was named Grand Champion Ensemble at the annual American String Teachers Association High School Orchestra Competition held in Kansas City. Concertato has been invited twice to perform at the annual South Carolina Music Educator Association Convention. Concertato musicians have also toured abroad and performed on stages in Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy. 

Committed to supporting state string programs, Concertato members frequently collaborate with South Carolina string educators to build and sustain orchestra programs. Recent project have included outreach activities and performances in Anderson, Beaufort, Chester, Dorchester, Greenville, Jasper, Lexington, Pickens and York counties.