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Casey Taylor: Not Your Everyday Violist

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Kaitlin Provost Student Contributor, SUNY Oswego
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Oswego chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Casey Taylor, a junior adolescent education and English major, is not only involved when it comes to her studies.
 
She is also the President of Oswego’s chamber orchestra group, and has been playing the viola for 13 years. Taylor holds a steady job on campus in the Lake Effect Cafe, is part of the Ski Club, and is the treasurer of Ed2010.
 
“Between work and just taking 17 credit hours… I do it easily. My friends are supportive,” Taylor says. “When I know I need to take a break, I do so.”
 
Taylor participated in Oswego’s chamber orchestra last year, and took over this 
semester when the founding president graduated.
 
“I was super excited, actually. At first I was a little nervous, but I’m happy we’re continuing the chamber group and are still able to have fun with it,” she says.
 
Taylor says chamber is fun because of the laid back atmosphere.
 
“We get work done, but at the same time it’s a fun environment,” she says. “It’ll be ridiculous commentary. If somebody wrote down everything, I think you could make it a sitcom.”
 
 
Taylor started playing viola in third grade, and says she chose it because “I loved the name viola, so I just picked it. I’ve stuck with it ever since.”
 
The chamber group on campus was a natural progression for Taylor, who has been a part of the Community Orchestra for three years.
 
The chamber group performs in concerts around campus during the semester and is open to play for any events. They also perform at all orchestra concerts.
 
Taylor plans on sticking with her music groups as well as all of her other activities in the future.
 
“I think [the conductor] Juan will definitely get on my case if I don’t,” she jokes.

Photo, left to right: Calvin Chung, violin; Georgia Anderson, violin; James Denig, viola; Casey Taylor, viola; Taylor Pugliese, cello; Alicia Marcell, bass

Kaitlin Provost graduated from SUNY Oswego, majoring in journalism with a learning agreement in photography. She grew up in five different towns all over the Northeast, eventually settling and graduating from high school in Hudson, Massachusetts. Kait now lives in the blustery town of Oswego, New York, where she can frequently be found running around like a madwoman, avoiding snow drifts taller than her head (which, incidentally, is not very tall). She has worked for her campus newspaper, The Oswegonian, as the Assistant News Editor, and is also the President of the Oswego chapter of Ed2010, a national organization which helps students break into the magazine industry. She hopes to one day work for National Geographic and travel the world.