Keys to happiness: Emmy-nominated composer Levi Taylor keeps the focus on community
The multitalented Arts Academy alumnus has composed for projects including Shark Week and a new opera focused on Black resilience.
Many composers seem to have a “sweet spot” of music where they truly excel, but Levi Taylor (IAA 99) is unusually hard to pin down. If you’re a beginning pianist, you might hear his tunes on the backing tracks you use during practice. You also might hear his melodies gracing Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, or sit down in one of the nation's most famous performing arts centers to watch his new opera The Seer.
Variety is Taylor’s strong suit, and it makes sense—raised in Black gospel churches, he has since embarked on a genre-crossing musical career that’s taken him from Japan to Ann Arbor to Los Angeles. Strengthened by his time under the stately pines, Taylor brings relentless determination to his work, along with an infectious passion for investing in local communities.
Growing up gospel
Taylor grew up in Belleville, Michigan and knew from an early age that he wanted to be a composer. His sense of music was deeply informed by time spent listening to R&B, Motown, and jazz, plus many years in his family’s church.
“There was a portion of the service where the pastor would say, ‘Does anybody have anything they want to share?’” Taylor remembers. “And someone would stand up and say ‘I want to sing a song.’ They’d start singing a song that nobody had ever heard of before. But all the musicians would play along, and before you knew it, the entire church was jamming.”
Taylor had a strong ear for music and would frequently spend hours at the piano teaching himself how to play songs he’d heard. Self-taught in composition for many years, he nevertheless earned national awards for his writing at the NAACPs ACT-SO competition. It wasn’t until his senior year of high school that he took his very first composition lesson at Interlochen Arts Academy. There, his teacher introduced him to composers like Ravel, Barber, and Rachmaninoff.
Compared to the soulful, improvisational music of the church, the discipline and structure required by classical composition felt like a “whole new world”. But Taylor knew he wanted to pursue it. Upon graduation, he charted a course for Millikin University to continue his studies.
The road to success
“Interlochen absolutely prepared me for college,” Taylor notes. Used to spending hours in the practice room, he had no problem adjusting to the rhythms of higher education and soon distinguished himself as a James Millikin Honors Scholar. After graduation, Taylor taught English in Japan for several years, then spent time in Ann Arbor. He played piano with a Gospel choir and a blues band, and also established a thriving business teaching piano to young students. But his passion for composition remained. The only question was how to turn his gift into a living.
Things started looking up for Taylor when he was called to write the score for the film Me, The “Other”. Soon after that, a producer from the University of Michigan invited him to compose music for the school’s bicentennial, and a chance conference connection led to a job writing sheet music for Faber. Then, Taylor’s big break came when he started working with talent agent Randy Gerston, who also represents composers like Jeff Russo (Fargo, Star Trek), and Emmy-winning Academy alumnus Joel McNeely (A Million Ways to Die in the West).
His reputation firmly established, Taylor decided to take the leap and move to Los Angeles—where he enjoyed a wealth of new musical connections, including many friends and alumni of Interlochen.
Levi Taylor in his composition studio.
Coming together through music
Since his move to L.A., Taylor has continued to shine as a composer for film and television. In October 2024, he won the Sphinx Foundation’s Emerging Composer award. In January of this year, his opera The Seer, which tells the story of an ambitious young Black office worker in Detroit, premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Taylor was chosen to be a part of The Cartography Project: Black Futures in part because of his investment in local communities: he was a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washtenaw County, and he also masterminded a free piano program for youth in Ann Arbor.
“I want to focus on something bigger than myself and my ego,” he says.
Taylor says he’s inspired by memories of growing up with neighbors who were Black Panthers or were active in groups like the NAACP.
“These groups were all about community, about people coming together and doing good for one another,” he says. “For me, it's all about creating access—whether that’s piano lessons, opportunities, or even basic nutrition. I firmly believe in that kind of community.”
For students from diverse backgrounds all over the nation, Taylor offers a striking example of what it looks like to pursue and realize dreams of success in the music world. With skills learned at Interlochen and beyond, Taylor has been able to build a life doing what he loves and making a difference while doing it. All he needed was a few good connections and a little luck. The keys to happiness have always been within reach.
