Raychel Taylor is an ardent educator, performer, and arts entrepreneur in northern Illinois. Motivated by her passion to provide young female percussionists with direct access to female mentorship, Raychel created Girls March, an organization that advocates for women in the marching arts. Her vision is realized through music and leadership seminars with some of the most influential women in the activity. She teaches percussion lessons, is a front ensemble and drumline instructor for a variety of high schools west of Chicago, and has been a clinician for events such as MalletLab and Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Days of Percussion.
Though she is a native Californian, Raychel earned Bachelor of Music degrees in Percussion Performance and Music Theory from the University of North Texas and a Master of Music degree from Northern Illinois University. Her drum corps experience includes Sacramento Mandarins (2008-2009), Phantom Regiment (2010), which earned the Fred Sanford Award for High Percussion that year, and the Santa Clara Vanguard (2011).
Raychel has taught the percussion ensembles for the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and served in an administrative role for the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2019, Raychel worked as Percussion Manager for the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, a Weill Music Institute program.
Raychel serves on the PAS Diversity Alliance and proudly endorses Innovative Percussion and Remo products.
