Meet Taylor Hurst | Singer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Hurst and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Singing is my communication salvation. With each song that I sing, I feel fluent in that moment. Check out my story below, and a song I’ve written about my personal journey with disfluency. You can access “Speak” below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mmjeTMJw7g

Singing was never a part of the plan .. it just happened.

My passion for music and singing began at the age of of 13, I noticed speaking was a challenge for me. I realized that it took more effort for me to fully express myself than it did for others. Although my speech blocks were not evident to others, it was something that I had to cope with. The effort it took for me to verbally share my thoughts was taxing.

I did not realize the impact this invisible disfluency had on me until music entered my life. I was placed in choir to fulfill an elective requirement during my Junior year of high school as it was the only class open. I was not happy about this because I had no interest in singing. The high school choral teacher moved me from my elective choir class up to the advanced choir group that same week. This was an unforeseen event as singing was foreign to me. His belief in my ability to express myself through song was life changing. Through choir I began my journey of self expression. Once I discovered that singing allowed me to be fluent, I began singing more frequently.
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Singing has taught me many things throughout my life. Most importantly, the way others perceive individuals with differences before getting to know who they are.
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Music is my passion..so come along and join me on my journey.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart from others is my story and how I began singing. I am here to inspire others and let everyone know that it is possible for individuals with challenges to express, be heard, and succeed. If it wasn’t for my speech disfluency, I would not be on this wonderful journey. There is still a lot to learn and still a lot that I would love to accomplish, but I am content with my progress so far!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
1 week SoCal itinerary!

San Diego – Pasta in Little Italy (Bencotto and Mimos)
San Diego- Gaslamp area
Carlsbad – Lagoon (Jet Skiing)
Morongo Casino – gamble
Temecula – Winery (Callaway)
Anaheim – Packing House
Irvine – Angelina’s Pizza
Newport Beach – Mama D’s (Italian)
Catalina Island
LA – Staples Center (King’s Game)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to my family and fiance for always supporting me on my journey. A huge thanks to my high school choir teacher, Mr. Rodriguez and college choir teachers Mr. McIntosh and Mr. Rogers for helping me discover my singing voice and realizing my potential. I would not be on this journey without them impacting my life in the way that they did.

Website: www.thurstmusic.com

Instagram: @taylorkhurst

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamthurst/

Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/taylorkhurst

Image Credits
Headshot Photo Credit: Dominic Dimalanta