Kermit Moore

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Kermit Diton Moore (born March 11, 1929 in Akron , Ohio , † November 2, 2013 in New York City ) was an American musician ( cello , violin , viola ), composer and orchestra conductor who worked in both classical music as well as was active in jazz and film music .

Live and act

Kermit Moore took piano lessons at the age of five and learned the cello at the age of ten. During his high school years he attended the Cleveland Institute of Music ; at the age of 19 he played solo concerts in New York. He then studied cello with Felix Salmond at the Juilliard School , parallel to composition and musicology at New York University , where he also obtained his master's degree. He later studied at the Paris Conservatory. He also took cello lessons with Paul Bazelaire , Gregor Piatigorsky and Pablo Casals , in composition in France with Nadia Boulanger and in orchestral conducting in Tanglewood with Serge Koussevitzky . In 1949 Moore was the first cellist of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. He taught a. a. at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford and at the Harlem School of the Arts.

In addition to recordings in the field of classical music with works by Brahms and Mendelssohn, Moore has participated in many productions in the field of jazz and pop, including a. with Roberta Flack (" Killing Me Softly with His Song "), Judy Collins , Janis Ian , Carly Simon , Van McCoy , Roxy Music ( Avalon , 1982) and also in the Philip Glass Ensemble on the soundtrack of the film Koyaanisqatsi (1982). In the area of Third Stream he worked a. a. from 1962 with Ornette Coleman , Joe Zawinul , in the field of jazz with David Fathead Newman , Yusef Lateef , Milt Jackson , Les McCann , Andrew Hill , James Moody , Phil Woods , McCoy Tyner , Ron Carter , Quincy Jones , Louis Armstrong , Hermeto Pascoal , Nina Simone , Charles McPherson , Frank Owens , Roland Kirk , Dom Minasi , Billy Cobham , Groove Holmes , John Tropea , Eumir Deodato , Randy Crawford , Ralph MacDonald , Harold Vick , Joe Farrell , Phil Upchurch , Jimmy Ponder , Jon Faddis , Eric Gale , Ryō Kawasaki , Sadao Watanabe , Cleo Laine , Grover Washington, Jr. , Lena Horne , Jim Hall, and Richard Tee . Tom Lord recorded 166 recording sessions in jazz between 1962 and 1996 in which he was involved.

As an orchestra leader and guest conductor, Moore has worked with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Detroit Symphony, the Berkeley Symphony and Opera Ebony. He was also the founder of the Symphony of the New World ensemble , formed in New York in 1964, which gave ethnic minorities and women more opportunities than other orchestras. He also founded the Classical Heritage Ensemble , which specialized in rarely performed works. As a composer, Moore created works such as Many Thousand Gone (for strings, flute, percussion and choir), string quartets and several pieces for cello. He also wrote the soundtrack for Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice , a documentary about an early African American journalist that was broadcast on PBS in 1989 . Moore composed the score for the PBS documentary Solomon Northup's Odyssey with Gordon Parks .

Discographic notes

  • Kermit Moore / Raymond Jackson (Caprico Records / Black Artist Series, 1980)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ His middle name refers to the Afro-American composer Carl Diton , whom his parents admired.
  2. ↑ a b c Obituary in The New York Times
  3. ↑ Tom Lord The Jazz Discography (online, accessed November 12, 2013)
personal data
SURNAME Moore, Kermit
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Moore, Kermit Diton (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musician, composer and orchestra leader
DATE OF BIRTH March 11, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Akron , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH November 2, 2013
Place of death New York City