Bio
R. Taylor Fleming is a pianist, composer, and educator from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. As a teen, he studied music at the Uptown Music Collective in Williamsport, PA. After graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance and Contemporary Writing & Production from Berklee College of Music ('21), Taylor launched a dynamic career as a performer, educator, and composer.
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During and after college, he performed with professional bands across New England before returning to Central Pennsylvania to establish a thriving private teaching studio, instructing over 30 students weekly. As an educator, he has written and taught courses, directed performance classes, and organized semi-annual recitals. Taylor also guest-teaches clinics and summer camps, sharing his expertise with aspiring musicians.
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In 2022, Taylor released and toured his album A Book About Birds and performed with the Mad Dogs and Englishmen Ensemble at the Berklee Performance Center. Around the same time, he began training with the Association for Body Mapping Educators to become a licensed Body Mapping Educator, focusing on biomechanics to refine his piano technique—a passion he now shares with his students.
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By 2023, Taylor co-wrote and released the crowd-funded album Friends of the Valley, dedicated to his hometown. He continued freelancing as a keyboardist, recording, arranging, and performing at blues festivals, jazz gigs, and pop events across Pennsylvania. His musical versatility spans jazz, salsa, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, flamenco, Indian classical, blues, rock, and pop styles.
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In 2024, Taylor expanded his artistic horizons by traveling to India, where he studied tabla with a master teacher and immersed himself in Indian classical music and culture. Upon returning to the U.S., he developed and taught an ear training course, Musician’s Foundations, and later returned to India to record and visit family in Rajasthan.
Outside of music, Taylor trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, studies biomechanics as they relate to the performing arts, and enjoys reading and exploring Indian classical music. His influences include Bill Evans, Cory Henry, Fred Hersch, The Bad Plus, Marquis Hill, Shai Maestro, and Steve Vai, among others.
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Notable teachers include Doug Johnson, Joanne Brackeen, Pat Bianchi, Dave Santoro, Lee Abe, Marti Epstein, Steve Rudolph, Vardan Ovsepian, Steve Mitchell, and Dave Brumbaugh.