Moore, Mary (Louise) Carr
Moore, Mary (Louise) Carr
Moore, Mary (Louise) Carr, American composer and teacher; b. Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 6, 1873; d. Inglewood, Calif., Jan. 9, 1957. Her father was a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army who sang; her mother authored several theater dramas; her uncle, John Harraden Pratt, was an organist. After the family went to Calif. (1885), she studied composition with her uncle and singing with H.B. Pasmore in San Francisco. She began her career as a teacher, composer, and singer; sang the lead role in her first operetta, The Oracle (San Francisco, March 19, 1894), but soon devoted herself fully to teaching and composition. She taught in Lemoore, Calif. (1895–1901), and in Seattle (1901–15), where she founded the American Music Center (1909); after teaching in San Francisco (1915–26), she went to Los Angeles as an instructor at the Olga Steeb Piano School (1926–43) and was prof, of theory and composition at Chapman Coll. (1928–47); was a founder of the Calif. Soc. of Composers (1936–38) and the Soc. of Native Composers (1938–44). As a composer, she devoted herself mainly to writing vocal works, particularly operas on American themes. Her most important score was Narcissa, or The Cost of Empire (Seattle, April 22, 1912), which was awarded the David Bispham Memorial Medal.
Works
dramatic: o p e r a:The Oracle (San Francisco, March 19, 1894); Narcissa, or The Cost of Empire (1909–11; Seattle, April 22, 1912); The Leper (1912); Memories (Seattle, Oct. 31, 1914); Harmony (San Francisco, May 25, 1917); The Flaming Arrow, or The Shaft of Ku’pish-ta-ya (1919–20; San Francisco, March 27, 1922); David Rizzio (1927–28; Los Angeles, May 26, 1932); Los rubios (Los Angeles, Sept. 10, 1931); Legende provençale (1929–35); Flutes of Jade Happiness (1932–33; Los Angeles, March 2, 1934). orch.:Ka-mi-a-kin (1930); Piano Concerto (1933–34); Kidnap (1937–38). chamber: 3 piano trios (1895, 1906, 1941); Violin Sonata (1918–19); 2 string quartets (1926, 1930); String Trio (1936); Brief Furlough for Quintet (1942); some 20 pieces for Various Instruments and Piano; 57 piano pieces. VOCAL: 57 choral works; some 250 songs (1889–1952).
Bibliography
C. Smith and C. Richardson, M.C. M., American Composer (Ann Arbor, 1989).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis Mclntire