multitude of voyces

Undine Smith Moore (1904-89)

Undine Smith Moore was born in Virginia, USA. Her father was a railroad brakeman and her grandparents were slaves. Her early musical education combined a rigorous grounding in music theory (Moore began to compose at the age of nine) with the pervasive influence of African American work songs and spirituals.
Moore won from the Juilliard Graduate School a scholarship to study at Fisk University, a predominantly African American institution in Tennessee whose chorus was fêted for its performances of spirituals. At the end of her first year, Moore’s father gave her a Steinway grand piano, and for a while she considered becoming a concert pianist. She graduated in 1926 at the top of her class with joint honours in piano and composition. In 1927 she became a faculty member at Virginia State College, lecturing there for 45 years and establishing a Black Music Centre, of which she was co-director. Moore attended Colombia University Teachers’ College from 1931, where she completed an M.A. in music education. She furthered her studies at the Eastman School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music.
Retirement only increased Moore’s productivity, and she composed prolifically until just before her death. Her choral cantata, Scenes from the Life of a Martyr, depicting scenes from the life of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize after its première in 1982. In 1971, Moore visited Africa and was deeply moved by her experiences there. One of her last compositions was a trio for violin, cello and piano called Soweto, which is based upon Moore’s responses to apartheid.
She was awarded honorary doctorates from Virginia State College and Indiana University in 1972, and in 1975 the mayor of Petersburg proclaimed 13th April as Undine Moore Day.

©MoV 2020