Barbara Hill Moore
Professor of Voice
Barbara Hill Moore, Meadows Foundation Distinguished Professor of Voice in Meadows School of the Arts at SMU, has taught at SMU since 1974 and served as department chair from 1977 through 1992. Prior to her SMU appointment (1969-1974), Professor Hill Moore taught at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, the St. Louis Public School System and the St. Louis Archdiocese. She received a B.S. from Lincoln University of Missouri and an M.S. as a graduate Fellow from the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.
Ms. Hill Moore has performed with orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. She was a frequent performer in Western Europe, especially Germany, where she sang in opera, concert and recital, premiering the works of many American composers. She sang in Theater Des Westens in Berlin, was a guest with the Nürnberg and Kiel Symphony Orchestras and sang concerts of American music annually from 1983 through 2009. A frequent performer in the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival and throughout northern Germany, Ms. Hill Moore sang with such international artists as Justus Franz and Leonard Bernstein at the celebration of his 70th birthday. She was frequently invited to the Zelt Music Festival in Freiburg, Germany, where she premiered songs composed for her by American composer Simon Sargon. Opera lovers in Berlin know Ms. Hill Moore for her interpretation of Jenny in Kurt Weill’s Three Penny Opera, which she sang in more than 50 performances in Berlin and Cologne, repeating the role with the Pittsburgh Opera in Philadelphia. She sang the role of Serena in the 50th anniversary performances of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in Charleston, South Carolina. Afterwards, she sang the role of Bess in concert and in opera productions throughout Europe and North America. Other roles include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and the title roles in Dido and Aeneas and Aida. Recent performances include the Berlioz Les Nuits D’ete with the Sherman Symphony, Porgy and Bess with the Victoria Symphony and solo recitals in Nürnberg, Hannover, Hameln and Heilbronn, Germany and Numana and Ancona, Italy.
In 1990, Professor Hill Moore founded Spiritual Voices, an ensemble of five soloists and accompanist specializing in the performance of the earliest composed negro spirituals. Spiritual Voices has sung concerts throughout the United States including recent performances in Texas, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. Their concerts in Europe since 1994 have included performances in Saarbrücken, Saarlouis, Hannover, Hameln, Eutin, Stuttgart and many other cities in Germany. Spiritual Voices will present a Christmas tour of six concerts in December 2009 in northern Germany. Ms. Hill Moore traveled in June 1999 with Mr. Sherow-Tatum and the Dallas Men’s Chorus presenting concerts of spirituals throughout Brazil. She collaborates annually with Mr. Sherow-Tatum and the Men’s Chorus in concerts benefiting minority students in voice at SMU.
Professor Hill Moore has presented master classes throughout North America, Europe and Africa. In 2000 she began a long relationship with the University of South Africa in Johannesburg, Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, the University of Cape Town, the University of Western Cape near Cape Town, the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, where she has presented annual seminars and master classes. She has also worked with students in townships, churches and provinces to provide lessons and scholarship opportunities for talented singers to come to America for study. In August 2005, she was invited to return for the third time to the international music camp for singers in Gwangju, Korea. Professor Hill Moore presented master classes in March 2007 at Seoul National University, Korean National University of Arts, Ewha Women’s University and the University of Gwangju, Korea.
In June 2008, Professor Hill Moore was named to a distinguished panel of four master teachers in the internship program sponsored by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. The NATS Intern Program is an exciting and innovative venture that seeks to pair experienced and recognized master teachers of voice with talented young members of NATS. Within a format designed to promote the dynamic exchange of ideas and techniques, the goal is to improve substantially the studio teaching skills of these promising young teachers. In addition to her work as a master teacher in Asia and Africa, Barbara Hill Moore is also a member of the distinguished artist faculty of the Amalfi Coast Music Festival located just south of Naples, Italy, where she teaches in the summer.
In January 2006, Professor Hill Moore served on the distinguished artist panel of the UNISA Foundation International Competition in Singing held in Pretoria, South Africa. She is presently establishing an international study program through SMU in musical theater which will be held at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. In July 2011, SMU students enrolled in the program will study South African history and literature, discuss the politics of corporate communication and travel in South Africa to Drakkensberg Mountains, St. Lucia Wetland Park and the Hluhluve-Imfolozi Game Reserve. In July 2010, students will perform highlights from West Side Story with South African dance, drums and traditional rhythms in honor of the brilliant work of composer Leonard Bernstein and the international celebration of the ninetieth year since his birth.
Barbara Hill Moore is president of the board and founder of the Bruce Foote Memorial Scholarship Foundation in honor of her former teacher, NATS member, SMU colleague and friend, Bruce Foote. The Foundation, established in 1995, provides significant financial assistance throughout the year to singers of any gender, race or ethnicity for excellence in singing. The Foote Scholar is chosen annually by the Foote Advisory Board on the basis of talent, career potential, scholarship and need and receives a $1000 award. The Foote Scholars this year are graduate tenors Richard Odom and Mhlaba Buthelezi. In addition to the Foote Memorial Scholarship Award, the Foote Foundation awards scholarships, which totaled more than $50,000 in the 2008-2009 academic years, to South African students through special support made possible by the Schollmaier Foundation. The Schollmaier Scholars this year are baritone Selby Hlangu, tenor Mhlaba Buthelezi and mezzo soprano Silvia Nuñez. Additional information on the Foote Foundation and the Foundation Scholarship may be found by logging on to http://www.smu.edu/FooteFoundation/
Students of Ms. Hill Moore will sing this year with opera companies throughout the world, including the Houston Opera, Dallas Opera, New York City Opera, La Scala, Salzburg Opera, San Francisco Opera, Chicago Opera, Paris Opera, Berlin Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Sweden, Opera Norway and Cape Town Opera. In May 2005, Ms. Hill Moore was named the Meadows Foundation Distinguished Professor of Voice and she was recently named one of the 2009-2010 Distinguished University Citizens.
Education
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
University of Illinois, M.S. in Music Education
Lincoln University of Missouri, B.S. in Music Education
PRIVATE TEACHERS
Hermanus Baer, Bruce Foote, and Horst Günter
COACHES
Virginia Babikian, Martin Issep, Madame Re' Koster and John Wustman
Professional Experience
Professor of Voice - Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, 1974 - present
Professor of Voice - Amalfi Coast Music Festival Summer Opera Institute 2004- present
Department Head - Voice Department, Division of Music, SMU, 1977-1992
Assistant Professor of Voice - Millikin Univ., School of Music, Decatur, IL, 1969-1974
Music Specialist - St. Louis Public School System, St. Louis, Missouri, 1967-1969
Music Teacher- St. Louis Archdiocese, Most Holy Name of Jesus School, 1966-1967
Supervisor of Music - Kinloch Public Schools, Kinloch, Missouri, 1965-1966
Teaching
Voice
Publications
TRUE TO MY OWN VOICE: The ethical challenges in transmitting talent. (projected May 2010), Cary M. McGuire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility
Distinctions
Meadows Foundation Distinguished Professor
Mu Phi Epsilon Initiation into ACME 2006 (Artist Composers, Musicologists & Educators)
National Endowment of the Arts Recitalist's Grant
Schollmaier Travel Grant
Meadows Travel Grant
SMU Provost Travel Grant
SMU Research Travel Grant
Tower Fellowship Award
National Graduate Fellowship Board Appointment
Delta Sigma Theta National Arts Award
Shreveport Opera Singer of the Year Award
Achievement in Music Award, Committee of 100
Presented in Recital at National Convention by NATS
Presented in Recital at National Convention by NOA
Presented in Recital at National Convention by Pi Kappa Lambda
Willis M. Tate Administrator Award from the SMU Student Senate
M Award from SMU
SMU Distinguished University Citizen Award 2009-2010
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