Today we’d like to introduce you to Tarana Taylor.
Hi Tarana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My journey in music began in my native Azerbaijan, where I started studying piano at a young age and eventually graduated from Baku Music Academy, magna cum laude, with a Master’s degree in Piano Performance and Teaching, as well as an MBA in Marketing and Public Relations.
Throughout my career, I have always combined performing with teaching. I have worked as a classical pianist in solo, collaborative, and chamber music, but ballet has also become a very important part of my professional life. I have had the opportunity to work with prestigious ballet organizations in the United States and internationally.
When I came to Houston, I worked for six years with Houston Ballet, and I truly enjoyed that time. I learned a great deal about American ballet and its repertoire, and I had the opportunity to meet and work with amazing dancers, ballet teachers and choreographers. At the end of 2016, I decided it was time to move on and start doing something different. I wanted to continue working with ballet, but I also wanted to build something of my own, using all the knowledge and experience I had gained throughout my career.
My plan was to continue my career in ballet by working with Ballet Center of Houston and its performance company, Houston Repertoire Ballet, while building a private piano studio and becoming more deeply involved in music education. Teaching has been one of the most rewarding parts of my career, and I wanted to devote more time to it. Over the years, I have watched my students develop not only as musicians but also as confident young people. Some have participated in competitions and examinations and have had the opportunity to perform at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and Albert Hall in London.
Meanwhile, Houston Repertoire Ballet gave me an amazing opportunity to try my hand at conducting. Because of my extensive experience accompanying ballet and working with dancers, I already understood the close relationship between music and movement. I began pursuing conducting more seriously through private study and conducting workshops in Belgium, Serbia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Becoming a conductor was a major milestone for me. It required continuous support from the HRB management, a great deal of study, and, perhaps most importantly, the courage to step into something new. Eventually, I established an orchestra for the Houston ballet repertoire, where I now serve as Music Director and Conductor.
Conducting has opened another dimension of my musical life. I love bringing a group of musicians together and shaping a performance that becomes something greater than any individual performer. Ballet conducting is particularly fascinating to me because the orchestra and dancers have to communicate constantly through the music. I feel privileged to help them understand and support each other better.
Today, I am bringing all of these experiences together through my newest and most personal project, Mozart Academy of Music and Art in Houston.
The Academy grew out of my years as a teacher and performer, but there is also a very personal story behind it. For many years, my home was also where I taught piano and built my private studio. Recently, bars opened directly behind my house, and the late-night noise became so disruptive that I could no longer sleep normally. I tried to address the situation through the appropriate channels, but eventually I had to leave my home.
It was a difficult situation, but I decided not to look at it simply as something I had lost. Instead, I asked myself what I could build from it. That became the inspiration for turning the house into Mozart Academy of Music and Art.
So, in a way, the Academy represents a new chapter for me. What began as a successful private piano studio is becoming a larger vision—a place where students can study music and art, perform, collaborate, and develop confidence, while professional musicians and artists can also come together.
At this stage of my life, I feel very strongly about creating something that can continue beyond me. I want Mozart Academy to be a place where students can discover their potential and where music remains at the center of a vibrant artistic community in Houston.
Looking back, I can see that all of the different parts of my career—piano, business education, teaching, ballet, conducting, and working with other musicians—have been preparing me for this. Mozart Academy is really the place where all of those experiences come together.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it wasn’t a smooth road, but I was ready for the challenges. I could have stayed in a comfortable and familiar environment, close to my family, speaking the two languages I had spoken since childhood. Instead, I chose a path that required me to start over more than once. I knew that every major transition in my life would require me to learn something new, including English, and sometimes take a risk without knowing exactly where it would lead.
Moving to Houston was a major transition for me. I had already established myself professionally as a pianist and business woman, but coming to a new country meant learning a completely different professional and cultural environment. Working full time with professional ballet company gave me an incredible opportunity to grow, but when I eventually decided to leave, I was also leaving the security of a position I enjoyed. I knew I wanted to build something of my own, but I didn’t know exactly how that would develop.
Building my private piano studio took a great deal of time and energy. Teaching may look very less difficult from performing on a stage, but it comes with its own responsibilities. You are not only teaching music; you are helping shape a young person’s confidence, discipline, and relationship with art.
Another major challenge was stepping into conducting. I had years of experience as a ballet pianist and knew ballet repertoire well, but becoming a conductor required me to put myself in a completely different position. I had to study, accept that I was learning something new, and have the courage to stand in front of professional musicians and lead them. The support of Houston Repertoire Ballet’s management was extremely important to me during that period, but ultimately I had to push myself outside of my comfort zone.
Building an orchestra was another challenge entirely. Bringing professional musicians together, developing a reliable team, and creating an ensemble that can perform at a high level requires much more than musical knowledge. It requires leadership, organization, communication, and a great deal of persistence.
Now I am facing perhaps my biggest challenge yet: creating Mozart Academy of Music and Art.
Turning a house into a professional music and arts academy is a much larger undertaking than simply opening a studio. There are architectural, construction, financial, administrative, and artistic challenges, and the cost of creating the facility has been greater than I initially anticipated. At the same time, I know what I want the Academy to become, so I am looking for creative ways to make that vision possible.
The circumstances that led me to create the Academy were difficult as well, but they taught me a valuable lesson: sometimes you don’t get to choose the circumstances that change your life—you get to choose what you do with them. Instead of seeing leaving my home as the end of my studio, I decided to turn that experience into the beginning of something much bigger.
I think the biggest lesson my career has taught me is that you cannot be afraid of change. Sometimes you have to leave something comfortable, sometimes you have to start again, and sometimes you have to take a risk before you can see the result.
I also could not have taken many of these steps without the support of my husband. He has been beside me through the changes, the risks, and the uncertainty, and his support has given me the strength to keep moving forward. Building Mozart Academy is a big undertaking, and I am very grateful to have his support as I begin this new chapter.
The road has not been smooth, but I wouldn’t want to erase the difficult parts. They have made me more determined, more adaptable, and much clearer about what I want to create.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Mozart Academy of Music and Art is much bigger than a traditional music school. My vision is to create a place where different forms of art can come together under one roof and where students can develop not only music skills, but also creativity, confidence, discipline, and a lifelong appreciation for the arts.
The Academy is built around music and art education, with private instruction in different instruments, group programs as choir, music theory, music and art history, art classes. I believe students should understand that music is not isolated from the rest of the artistic world. Learning about composers, artists, history, culture, and different forms of artistic expression can make a student a much more complete and creative musician.
What I especially want to create is a community rather than simply a place where students come for a lesson and leave. Students will have opportunities to perform, collaborate, learn from one another, and experience different aspects of the arts. Our goal is to provide a supportive environment where a beginner can feel comfortable starting their first lesson, while a more advanced student can continue developing and challenging themselves.
What sets Mozart Academy apart is also the experience behind it. I am not looking at music education only from the perspective of a teacher. I bring my experience as a professional pianist, ballet musician, conductor, music director, and orchestra founder into the Academy. I understand what it means to prepare a student for a performance, but I also understand what happens behind the scenes in a professional rehearsal room and on a professional stage. I want our students to have access to that broader musical perspective, to understand that an artist doesn’t have to exist inside one category..
My vision for Mozart Academy extends beyond the programs we offer today. As the Academy grows, I would like it to become a multidisciplinary arts center where music, visual art, dance, and performance can all interact. In the future, I envision concerts, recitals, workshops, collaborations, and artistic events that bring students, teachers, professional musicians, dancers, and artists together.
I am also proud that the Academy is being built around the idea of accessibility and encouragement. Not every student will become a professional musician, and that is not the only measure of success. To be educated in art, music, to gain discipline, concentration, creativity, and the courage to perform in front of others are qualities can stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Ultimately, what I am most proud of is the vision itself. Mozart Academy is growing from my private piano studio into something much larger. I want it to become a place with its own artistic identity—a place where education and performance meet, where different art forms inspire one another, and where people of different ages and levels can feel that they belong.
I hope that when people hear the name Mozart Academy of Music and Art, they will think not simply of lessons, but of a creative community and a place where music and the arts can truly come alive.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
I have been very fortunate to have people around me who supported me at different stages of my journey. I don’t think success is ever completely individual. There are always people who believe in you, give you an opportunity, encourage you, or simply stand beside you when things are difficult.
My husband, John Taylor, deserves a very special place in that story. He has supported me through many major changes in my life, from moving to Houston and building my career here to leaving a secure position, developing my private studio, becoming a conductor, and now creating Mozart Academy of Music and Art. There have been many moments when I was taking a risk without knowing exactly how things would turn out, and having his support gave me the confidence to keep moving forward.
Ballet Center of Houston and Houston Repertoire Ballet also played very important roles in my professional development in Houston. Both organizations gave me opportunities during my transition after I left Houston Ballet and became an important part of my journey as both a pianist and conductor. The support and trust of Houston Repertoire Ballet’s management gave me the opportunity to develop my conducting and establish the orchestra for its ballet productions.
I also want to recognize Dilan Selek, a professional trombone player who is also the Manager of the Houston Repertoire Ballet Orchestra. Building an orchestra was a completely different challenge from being a pianist or conductor. Dilan helped me tremendously during that process. Her willingness to work alongside me was very important in building the orchestra into the team it is today.
And, of course, my students and their families have been an important part of my journey. When I built my private piano studio, families trusted me with their children’s musical education, and many stayed with me through different stages of my career. Seeing students grow, perform, gain confidence, and develop a genuine love for music has been one of the greatest rewards of my work.
Each of these people contributed in a different way. Some opened doors, some gave me opportunities, some simply believed in me. Mozart Academy of Music and Art is my vision, but it has been shaped by many of the people who have walked alongside me. I am very grateful for all of them.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @mozartacademyhouston
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/MozartAcademy
- Youtube: @taranataylor1231
- Other: https://taranataylorstudio.com
