T2
Cello and Guitar Duo
Biography
T², short for Taylor Squared, is a genre-defying cello and guitar duo formed by brothers Jordan and Micah Taylor—both classically trained musicians with deep roots in Ghana and a shared passion for cultural storytelling through music. While grounded in the Western classical tradition, T² specializes in the performance of traditional West African music, drawing from the griot traditions of the Mande and Asante cultures.
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Jordan Taylor holds undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in guitar performance. A ten-time national competition prizewinner, he is the founder and Artistic Director of the Ghana National Music Festival (GNMF) and has performed internationally in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Paris Conservatory, and the National Theatre of Ghana. In 2019, Jordan made history by performing Ghana’s first-ever guitar concerto, hosted by the University of Ghana—a landmark moment in the country’s classical music development. His performance style blends the technical precision of classical guitar with the storytelling spirit of the West African harp-lute tradition, while performing on an instrument made from the forests of Ghana.
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In 2024, Micah received his Master of Music in cello performance from the Schwob School of Music under world-class cellist, Wendy Warner. Now, pursuing a performance certificate under the expert tutelage of Dr. Wesley Baldwin at the University of Tennessee, Micah’s pedagogical lineage directly connects him to two great cellists of the previous century, Mstislav Rostropovich and Janos Starker. As a highly sought after cellist, Micah has performed alongside artists of every genre, ranging from The Temptations and Shara Nova to Melissa White and Awadagin Pratt. As a composer and arranger, Micah focuses on adapting West African folk traditions for the cello, integrating rhythm, improvisation, and expressive tone into a contemporary concert framework.
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Together, T² creates immersive performances that reflect the brothers’ shared roots in both classical music and West African culture. Their work is closely tied to the vision of the Global Arts Initiative (GAI), an organization founded by Jordan Taylor to promote global connection, empathy, and social change through music. As lifelong collaborators shaped by their years living in Ghana, Jordan and Micah use their duo to explore the intersection of tradition and innovation. Through T², they use music as a transformative tool to connect communities, challenge cultural boundaries, and celebrate the shared human experience through sound.
