Composer Spotlight: Undine Smith Moore
The cornerstone of TWC's April 4th concert, Free at Last, is Undine Smith Moore's "Scenes from the Life of a Martyr." We'll be sharing more about the work in the weeks to come, but we would be remiss if we didn't take some time to discuss the composer herself.
Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989) was a prolific composer and steadfast music educator. She has been called the "The Dean of Black Women Composers," and she described herself as “a teacher who composes, rather than a composer who teaches." In her early years, Moore did not think herself capable of becoming a composer, commenting on one occasion that “one of the most evil effects of racism in my time was the limits it placed upon the aspirations of blacks, so that though I have been ‘making up’ and creating music all my life, in my childhood or even in college I would not have thought of calling myself a composer or aspiring to be one.”
After a childhood full of music in her hometown of Petersburg, VA, her post-secondary education began at HBCU Fisk University where she studied piano, organ, and music theory, earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1926. From there, she obtained her Master of Arts at Columbia University Teachers College in 1931. Additionally, Moore studied at the Juilliard, Manhattan, and Eastman Schools of Music, and was notably the first Fisk graduate to receive a scholarship to Juilliard. She joined the faculty at what is Virginia State College (now Virginia State University) in 1929 and remained there until her retirement in 1972.
Her compositional style drew influence from the classical tonal tradition as well as her African-American spiritual heritage, particularly as she developed that style over the course of her life. She drew upon that same influence in her teaching, championing the inclusion of African-American music in the schools and universities through the Black Music Center at Virginia State College that she co-founded in 1969.
To learn more about her (and other wonderful Black American composers), we highly recommend the online docuseries "We, Too, Sing America" by Aural Compass Projects. You can find the episode about Undine Smith Moore below!
We also love the following articles and videos about her:
Classical FM’s “Who was Undine Smith Moore? Discover the life and music of the ‘Dean of Black Women Composers’”
Northwestern’s “Black Composer Showcase: Undine Smith Moore”
UM’s Gershwin Initiative: “A House of Many Mansions: Undine Smith Moore and the Fight for Black Music”