Composers

Joyce Elaine Solomon Moorman

1946 -

About

Joyce Solomon Moorman (b. 1946), was born in the campus hospital of Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, but spent her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina, where she attended segregated public elementary and high schools. She earned her B. A. degree from Vassar College, the M. A. T. degree from Rutgers University, the M. F. A. degree from Sarah Lawrence College, and the Ed. D. degree from Columbia University. Her principal composition teacher was Meyer Kupferman. Her compositions have been performed nationally and internationally by Lilan Parrot, Triad Chorale, Wilson Moorman, LonGar Ebony Ensemble, the Woodhill Chamber Ensemble, the Brooklyn Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble, After Dinner Opera Company, Sandra Billingslea, the Plymouth Chorus and Orchestra, the Cygnus Chamber Ensemble, the Moravian Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Classical Symphony. In addition, she has performed as an accompanist nationally with chamber and choral groups. Dr. Moorman was a winner of the Vienna Modern Masters 1998 Millennium Commission Competition, received a performance award in the Andy Warhol Composers’ Competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and she was appointed by the Governor of New York to the Advisory Music Panel for the New York State Council on the Arts. She has recently retired as a Professor in the Music and Art Department at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Related Information

Works by Joyce Elaine Solomon Moorman

Title Collection Voice Type Range Poet
American Heartbreak Soprano
Coat of Many Fibers Voice Db4 - B5 L. Henry Dumas
Dance of the Streets Soprano
Danse Africaine Voice C4 - F5 Langston Hughes
Dream Variations: 1,2 Soprano, Chorus C#4 - F#5 Langston Hughes
Drum Soprano Db4 - F5 Langston Hughes
In the Time of Silver Rain SATB Chorus
Island Soprano
Only A Little While Soprano C4 - Eb5 Edwidge Danticat
Sing My People SATB Soloists, Chorus
Sometimes Soprano C#4 - D5 Rashidah Ismaili
Sorrow's Bride Mezzo-Soprano
Still I Rise Soprano C#4 - A#5 Maya Angelou
The Caged Bird Soprano C#4 - Gb5 Maya Angelou
The Sounds Begin Again…from Sirens, Knuckles and Boots Soprano E4 - Db6 Dennis Brutus
Title Published Size Solo with Ensemble Duration Range Level Orchestration
A Tone Poem for Victims of Racism and Hatred Yes Full Orchestra 5-10 Professional 2[1.2/pic] 2[1.2/eh] 2[1.2/bcl] 2, 1-ssx, 1-tsx, 4211-tmp, prc, (incl. xy, tam), str
Cape Coast Castle Yes Full Orchestra 10-20 Professional
Ethereal Yes String Orchestra 5-10 Professional
The Flood Yes String Orchestra 10-20 Professional
The Snow Storm Yes Full Orchestra 5-10 Professional
The Soul of Nature Yes Full Orchestra 10-20 Professional
Composer Title Work Instrumentation Level Number of Movements Accompanied Size Duration Range
Joyce Elaine Solomon Moorman A Summer Afternoon in South Carolina Piano 3 No Solo