Moses Hogan Chorale

Moses Hogan Chorale
Name	Moses Hogan Chorale
Origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Genres	Spirituals, Choral music, African American music
Years active	1993–2003
Associated acts	Moses Hogan, Tina Turner, Wynton Marsalis, Cecily Tyson

Moses Hogan Chorale The Moses Hogan Chorale was a professional choral ensemble founded by Moses Hogan in New Orleans, Louisiana that specialized in arrangements of African American spirituals and sacred music. The group performed in venues associated with Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and international festivals, collaborating with artists connected to gospel music, jazz, and classical music. The ensemble played a role in the late 20th-century revival of interest in spirituals alongside figures such as Shirley Caesar, Mahalia Jackson, Leontyne Price, and institutions like The Juilliard School.

History

Moses Hogan established the Chorale in the early 1990s after a career that included studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Juilliard School, and work with ensembles in New York City and New Orleans. The Chorale emerged during a period when ensembles such as the Robert Shaw Chorale revival and the King’s College Choir tours renewed public appetite for curated choral programming. Its founding intersected with initiatives by cultural organizations like the National Endowment for the Arts, Smithsonian Institution, and regional presenters including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The Chorale’s timeline encompassed collaborations, recordings, and tours that connected it to producers, conductors, and presenters from Los Angeles to Paris and Tokyo.

Personnel and Leadership

The Chorale’s leadership centered on conductor and arranger Moses Hogan, whose background included mentorships and study with faculty at Oberlin Conservatory, Columbia University, and private instructors linked to the Metropolitan Opera. Principal singers and section leaders included soloists who had affiliations with institutions like New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, and university programs at Howard University and Rutgers University. Administrative and executive roles connected the group to arts managers formerly with Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and municipal arts councils such as the Louisiana Division of the Arts. Collaborative conductors and guest directors included artists associated with Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and collegiate choral programs at Yale University.

Repertoire and Musical Style

The Chorale’s repertoire emphasized arranged African American spirituals, hymns, and sacred art songs by Moses Hogan and contemporaries like R. Nathaniel Dett, William L. Dawson, Hall Johnson, Undine Smith Moore, and Noel DaCosta. Performances featured works referencing composers and poets associated with the Harlem Renaissance, such as Langston Hughes and W. E. B. Du Bois, and drew on melodic and harmonic practices found in arrangements by Harry T. Burleigh and choral treatments popularized by the Paulist Choir. Stylistically, the ensemble blended techniques from Baroque contrapuntal writing as performed by ensembles like The Tallis Scholars with rhythmic language linked to Louis Armstrong’s New Orleans tradition and improvisatory gestures reminiscent of Duke Ellington. Their programs sometimes juxtaposed spirituals with art songs by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and transcriptions of works by Johann Sebastian Bach adapted for vocal ensemble.

Recordings and Media

The Chorale issued commercial recordings produced in collaboration with recording professionals associated with labels that had previously produced albums for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and Herbie Hancock. Releases were distributed in formats promoted on networks like PBS, and broadcast on radio platforms including NPR and public radio stations in markets such as Chicago, Atlanta, and Boston. The ensemble’s recorded legacy placed it alongside catalogues of choirs like The King’s Singers and soloists such as Jessye Norman, with liner notes referencing scholarship from publishing houses connected to Oxford University Press and databases curated by organizations like the Library of Congress.

Performances and Tours

The Chorale performed at major concert halls and festivals linked to presenters including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Royal Festival Hall, Sydney Opera House, and the Kennedy Center. Tours included performances in Europe and Asia with engagements at cultural institutions like the British Museum and festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Montreux Jazz Festival. The ensemble participated in collaborative events with orchestras and ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and chamber groups affiliated with conservatories such as Curtis Institute of Music and Royal Academy of Music.

Awards and Recognition

The Chorale and its founder received recognition from arts and civic bodies similar to honors awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Grammy Awards committees, and municipal proclamations from the City of New Orleans. Accolades placed the ensemble in contexts alongside recipients like Marian Anderson and organizations that have been honored by the Presidential Medal of Freedom and cultural awards administered by the Kennedy Center Honors panels. Scholarly citations and programmatic acknowledgments came from academic conferences organized by associations such as the American Musicological Society and the National Association for Music Education.

Legacy and Influence

The Chorale’s influence can be traced in the continuing prominence of spiritual arrangements in university choral curricula at institutions like Howard University, Spelman College, Berklee College of Music, and Vanderbilt University. Its interpretive approaches informed conductors working with civic choirs, youth choirs affiliated with Boychoir of Harlem traditions, and professional ensembles modeled after groups such as Cantus and Concordia Chorus. The artistic lineage extends to artists and educators who have cited the Chorale when programming works at venues like Carnegie Hall and in collaborations with performers from the worlds of jazz and opera.

Category:Choirs Category:African American music groups