Moses George Hogan (March 13, 1957 – February 11, 2003) was an American composer and arranger of
choral
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...
music. He was best known for his settings of
spirituals
Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the ...
. Hogan was a pianist, conductor, and arranger of international renown. His works are celebrated and performed by high school, college, church, community, and professional choirs today. Over his lifetime, he published 88 arrangements for voice, eight of which were solo pieces.
Oxford AASC: Hogan, Moses /ref>
Hogan was musically educated from a young age, first enrolling in Xavier University Junior School of Music. In his sophomore year of high school, he was accepted to New Orleans Center for Creative Arts High School and was in its first graduating class of 1975.
Hogan was awarded a full scholarship to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Music degree. Immediately after graduation, he began graduate studies at the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...
of Music, which he did not complete, and later went to study classical music in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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. During his piano performance years, Hogan won several competitions including first place at the 28th Annual Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition in New York. He returned to
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
, where he was offered the opportunity to work for his doctorate but decided not to pursue it.
In 1980, he formed the ''New World Ensemble'' and began arranging choral music. In 1993, he founded the ''Moses Hogan Chorale'' and the following year published his first arrangement, "
Elijah Rock
"Elijah Rock" is a traditional spiritual. It bears some lyrical similarities to another spiritual, "Mary Don't You Weep."
Lyrics
:Elijah
:Elijah
:Elijah
:Elijah Rock!
:Elijah rock shout shout
:Elijah rock comin' up Lord
:Elijah rock shout sho ...
". The choir was invited to sing at the 1996 World Choral Symposium in
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
.
In 1997, he founded the ''Moses Hogan Singers''; their first album was released in 2002.
A year later Hogan died at the age of 45 of a brain tumor. His surviving relatives include his mother, brother, and four sisters. He was interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery and Mausoleum,
Moses Hogan Chorale
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important Prop ...
and the
Moses Hogan Singers
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...
*1st place in the 28th annual "Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition" in New York
*Appointed artist in residence at
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans ( , ,PBS documentary ''
The American Promise
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
''
*Recorded and conducted several arrangements with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
*Critically acclaimed by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...
fraternity
*Single-handedly introduced the professional choral spiritual and revitalized the Negro spiritual tradition.
Arrangements
Holiday
Started on November 20, 1999, and is known as Negro Spiritual/Moses Hogan Chorale Day.
Discography
* ''Voices'' – soundtrack to the 1995 PBS documentary, ''An American Promise''
* ''The Moses Hogan Choral Series'' 2003: This Little Light of Mine
* ''Give Me Jesus'' – performed by the Moses Hogan Singers/produced EMI Virgin Records
* ''An American Heritage of Spirituals'' – performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir/conducted by
Albert McNeil
Albert John McNeil (February 14, 1920 – November 29, 2022) was an American choral conductor, ethnomusicologist, author, and founder of the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers. His career was dedicated to upholding choral music traditions with the p ...
and Moses Hogan
* ''Deep River''
* ''The Moses Hogan Choral Series'' 2002
* ''Lift Every Voice for Freedom'', a collection of American ''folk songs, poems, hymns, songs of faith and patriotic songs''
* ''This Little Light of Mine: Moses Hogan Choral Series'' 2003
Songbooks
*''Feel the Spirit'', author, Vol. 1, Mar 2008
*''Feel the Spirit'', author, Vol. 2, Jul 2008
*''Oxford Book of Spirituals'', editor, 1914 to 2001
*''Ain't That Good News'', author, Nov 2005
*''The Deep River Collection'', author, August 2000