Dorothy Rudd Moore facts for kids

Dorothy Rudd Moore (born June 4, 1940 – died March 30, 2022) was an amazing American composer and music teacher. She helped start the Society of Black Composers. Many people thought she was one of the most important Black women composers of her time. She wrote music for big groups like the National Symphony and Opera Ebony.

About Dorothy Rudd Moore

Dorothy Rudd Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware. She came from a musical family. Her mother encouraged her to study music and explore all her interests, including piano lessons.

Dorothy knew she wanted to be a composer from a young age. She took piano lessons at the Wilmington School of Music. She even learned to play the clarinet so she could join the all-male band at Howard High School. Music was a big part of her life. She studied music theory and was in the high school orchestra, choir, and church choir.

Becoming a Composer

Moore started college at Howard University to study music education. But she soon changed her major to composition. She was always making up new songs and melodies when she played. She once said, "I didn't even know that the word 'composer' existed... I just used to do the music."

She graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Music degree. After that, she won a special scholarship called the Lucy Moten Fellowship. This allowed her to study in France with the famous teacher Nadia Boulanger in 1963. She also studied with other great teachers later on.

Throughout her career, top orchestras asked her to write music for them. These included the National Symphony, Opera Ebony, and the Buffalo Philharmonic.

Teaching and Family Life

Moore worked as a private music teacher. She also taught at the Harlem School of the Arts, New York University, and Bronx Community College. In 1964, she married Kermit Moore, a talented cellist and conductor.

In 1968, Dorothy helped create the Society of Black Composers in New York City. This group supported Black composers. In 1969, Dorothy and her husband faced challenges when they were almost stopped from performing at a concert. Some people were worried about having two Black performers on the program.

Moore received many awards and grants throughout her life. Her musical works, Dirge and Deliverance and Songs from the Dark Tower, were released in 1981. In 1985, her opera, Frederick Douglass, was performed for the first time in New York City by Opera Ebony.

From 1988 to 1990, she was part of the music panel for the New York State Council of the Arts.

Awards and Recognition

Dorothy Rudd Moore received several important awards:

• Lucy Moten Fellowship, 1963
• American Music Center Grant, 1972
• New York State Council on the Arts Grant, 1985
• Meet the Composer grants

Dorothy Rudd Moore was celebrated for her amazing musical talent. She was a great singer and could play many instruments.

Dorothy Rudd Moore's Music

Her Musical Style

The American Composers Alliance said that Moore's music was "admired for its high level of artistry and its seriousness of purpose." She wrote a song called A Little Whimsy in 1982. This was her way of responding to critics who said her music was too serious.

Moore believed that being a singer helped her write really well for voices. She liked to take her time composing. She preferred to have her music completely finished before it was performed for the first time.

Famous Works

One of her well-known pieces is From the Dark Tower (1970). This is a "song cycle," which means a group of songs meant to be performed together. It was written for a famous opera singer named Hilda Harris. It was later recorded and released. The song cycle has eight songs. They use poems by Black writers like Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen. It is performed with a voice, cello, and piano.

Moore's only opera was Frederick Douglass. It was first performed on June 28, 1985, in New York City. The opera tells the story of Frederick Douglass, a famous abolitionist. A music critic described it as "a series of musical meditations on love, death, religion, political oppression and eventual deliverance."

Selected Works

Dorothy Rudd Moore wrote many different kinds of music. She composed song cycles, chamber pieces (for small groups of instruments), orchestral music, and an opera. Here are some of her selected works:

• Twelve Quatrains from the Rubaiyat, song cycle, 1962
• Symphony No. 1, 1963
• Three Pieces for violin and piano, 1967
• Modes for string quartet, 1968
• Lament for Nine Instruments, 1969
• Moods for viola and cello, 1969
• Songs from the Dark Tower, song cycle, 1970
• Dirge and Deliverance for cello and piano, 1971
• Dream and Variations for piano, 1974
• Sonnets on Love, Rosebuds, and Death for soprano, violin, and piano, 1975
• In Celebration, a collage to poems by Langston Hughes, 1977
• A Little Whimsy, piano, 1982
• Frederick Douglass, opera, 1985
• Transcencion, 1986