Announcing Launch of Music & Moore Foundation, Created by Conductor Elliot Moore
The nonprofit organization plans to further the reach and accessibility of the art form through the commissioning of symphonic works from composers of diverse experiences and backgrounds; a children’s book series distributed nationally; an instrument donation program to assist lower socio-economic music students; and an educational show on classical music released to streaming services.
Conductor Elliot Moore announces the creation and launch of a philanthropic nonprofit, Music & Moore Foundation (MMF). The foundation’s mission is to create music that connects with a wide and diverse audience; that fosters a lifelong love of music; and that makes classical music approachable. Its vision is to assist as many people as possible to experience the joy of music, from childhood through adulthood.
It is dedicated to the creation of new music through commissioning; initiating world premieres; supporting music education through writing original children’s books; operating an instrument donation program to assist lower socio-economic music students; and filming educational shows on classical music for streaming services.
New Music Commissions and World Premieres
MMF aims to commission composers who represent diverse voices and backgrounds, and whose messages resonate with humanity’s collective experience. Each commissioned work will be given a world premiere performance. Planning is underway to present these in New York and Los Angeles.
The foundation commissioned the American composer Tyler Harrison to write his Third Symphony, “The Garden of Tears.” It is a personal response to overcoming mental illness.
“‘The Garden of Tears’ will be paired as an answer to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 ‘Pathetique’, considered by many to be a suicide note in music. Like Tchaikovsky, I am both gay and bipolar. I understand the struggle, stigma, and isolation caused by mental illness, as well as the inner strength and willpower needed to overcome it,” comments Mr. Harrison.
“I want to use this symphony as a way to give hope and purpose to those who are suffering. I can look back now and be thankful for what I went through. I want to spread the message that surviving mental illness is worth it, even when those suffering from it are unable to see it.”
Mr. Harrison continues by saying, “‘The Garden of Tears’ is the perfect metaphor for my life. The garden must be tended to thrive, but the garden of my life is watered by tears of suffering and now of joy.”
Children’s Book Series: The Chronicles of the Young Composers
Simultaneously to launching the foundation’s composer commissioning program, it is developing a children’s book series that supports music education. The Chronicles of the Young Composers is a series of books that share the youthful adventures of some of the greatest composers. As part of MMF’s mission to cultivate a lifelong love of music, but also approachable, the book series will share the stories of diverse composers – representing our society from the past and present.
The stories will be based upon each composer’s formative musical and life experiences with the intention that the adventures of the young composers resonate with and inspire a love of music in children of all backgrounds.
Books will come with QR codes that link to musical excerpts that can be played on an iPad or mobile device.
The first book is titled, Chronicles of the Young Mozart: The Adventure Begins. Illustrations are created by Colorado artist Marty Petersen. The initial book launch for the series will occur in New York. Further details to be announced.
Foundation Launch Event In-Person
The Music & Moore Foundation will host a public launch, in-person, at The Times Collaborative in Longmont, Colorado, on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 6:30 PM.
The special event will introduce the foundation to the local community where the founder, Dr. Elliot Moore, has cultivated a dynamic community of music lovers in his current role as Music Director and Conductor of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra.
The Music & Moore Foundation emerged as a pathway forward during the height of the pandemic. Maestro Moore comments:
“When I saw how the pandemic was disrupting the musical education of children in my community, nationally — as well as globally — I sought to create ways for children to continue their musical education. I began with videos that were meant to be conducting tutorials. The conducting tutorials for children then led me to create a TV show aired locally called Music & Moore. The show was meant to inform, entertain, and engage audiences who were missing orchestral concerts, as well as to K-12 students whose music classes had been interrupted by at-home learning. Once in-person concerts resumed, I stopped making the TV show, but began to think about the other goals that I had in life to demystify classical music into approachable simplicity for a wide audience with programming that is designed to engage everyone from childhood through adulthood. It was in this way that the Foundation was born.”
In addition to the aforementioned foundation’s programming, it plans to unveil additional initiatives that support its mission.
One program is to source musical instruments from around the U.S. as donations, then redistribute them to music students from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Another program is to create a show for streaming services that will reach a wider and diverse audience, bringing to life the foundation’s mission of making classical music approachable for people of all ages.
More details will be announced when available.