Kept on Wikipedia:Moira Smiley
Moira Smiley (born 21 May 1976) is an American singer, composer, lyricist and musician who was born in New Haven, Vermont to Susan and Jerome Smiley.
Smiley’s voice and compositions have been featured in TED conferences, on BBC Radio[1] and TV, NPR[2], ABC Australia, and live at venues ranging from the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall to Walt Disney Concert Hall and Royal Festival Hall. She’s performed with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tim O’Brien, Eric Whitacre, Los Angeles Master Chorale, New World Symphony, and The Lyris String Quartet, and many others.[3]
When she’s not leading her own vocal group, Moira Smiley & VOCO (a Los Angeles quintet with an eclectic mix of "post-folk symphonies"[4]), Smiley tours and records with pop artist Tune-Yards; Seamus Egan / Seamus Egan Project; the Irish Solas (group); Jayme Stone Lomax and Folklife Projects. She was a vocalist performing with Billy Childs’ on his tour for his Grammy Award winning album “Laura Nyro Re-Imagined”. [5] Reviews noted Smiley in particular: "Among the standouts was the second number, Smiley's "Gibsom Street." She gave Nyro's ominous warning about life's dangers a sense of both mystery and beauty...Smiley also energized "Save the Country," Nyro's urgent, optimistic message for an America reeling from riots, assassinations, and war."[6]
Early Life and Education
Moira Smiley grew up in a country farmhouse in rural Vermont. She studied piano performance and earned a degree in Early Music Vocal Performance at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. After college she traveled and studied the folk music and multi-part harmonies of Eastern Europe (Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria) as well as the traditional Irish Sean Nós (unaccompanied) singing.[7]
Career
While at Indiana University she founded the vocal quartet, VIDA, which won Bloomington Voice's Battle of the Bands contest.[8] They went on to perform across the U.S. and Europe as part of the IMG Artists roster. She also began performing and recording with early music ensembles such as Paul Hillier’s Theater of Voices, Sinfonye, The Dufay Collective and Fretwork Consort of Viols as well as with American composer, Malcolm Dalglish. In 2005 she released her first solo album Rua. The following year she released Blink, her first album with her vocal group VOCO. She began collaborating with the Seamus Egan Project in 2018, performing vocals and accordian. She sang "Days of War" her song written with Seamus Egan performed for a concert on Front Row Boston.[2] In 2018 she released her 2nd solo album Unzip the Horizon, which a reviewer called "the work of a significant talent finding new possibilities in her voice."[9] Also in 2018, she lead an immersive a cappella experience with the Los Angeles Master Chorale that involved the entire audience at the second Walt Disney Concert Hall’s BIG SING California.[10] Most recently in February, 2021 she released the vocal album, In Our Voices." [11]
Residencies and Educational Work
2010 Workshop residency at Oxford University and Leeds University
2011 Artist-in-Residence at Yale University
2013 Talk/musical program about the triune brain at TEDx Caltech[12]
2014 Workshop residency at California Institute of Technology
2015 Workshop residency at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden
2018 Workshop residency with womanSong Chorale
2019 Faculty instructor at Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville, NC
2019 Faculty instructor at Savannah Music Festival’s Acoustic Music Seminar
2019 Workshop residency with the Vancouver Youth Choir
2019 Keynote speaker at Vermont Young Writers Conference[13]
Musicianship
Moira Smiley is known for her vocal abilities, used as its own musical instrument, and for her harmonies with others. Along with solos accompanied by various ensembles, she frequently sings with a wide variety of choral groups. She performs playing banjo, accordion, piano, and often uses body percussion in her songs and performances.[14] Smiley has long had an interest in old American and Appalachian folk music, and vocal music with unusual harmonies such as can be found in Eastern European music. Speaking of her own music she said "What I love to incorporate is the element of surprise, always being open for improvisatory moments. I love modal music and the hierarchy of harmony that sometimes I feel like dominates everything. For that reason I love modal music, more sparse and open music, and I love music that is rhythmically complex or playful."[15] Her music frequently focuses on social justice themes, from the plight of refugees and ravages of war to the injustices and inequities faced by the oppressed in the world where she believes hope can ultimately be found in the creation and celebration of music with others. "Smiley also knows the power of a heartfelt lyric. And she has combined magnificent vocals with perceptive, insightful lyrics on her latest work "In Our Voices.” It brims with personal, political and social relevance."[16].
Discography
Solo Albums
- Unzip The Horizon (2018)
- Rua (2005)
With VOCO
- In Our Voices (2021)
- Laughter Out of Tears (2014)
- Small Worlds (2009)
- Circle, Square, Diamond and Flag (2008)
- Blink (2006)
With VIDA
- Blue Album (2000)
- In Bloom(1999)
- Vida (1997)
Soundtracks
- Changing Woman (2002)
- Sacred Ground (2001)
Awards
In 2007 her ensemble Moira Smiley & VOCO were named national champions of the 30+ year old Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival.[17]
In 2002 she won the Sequentia Ensemble's Barbara Thornton Memorial Scholarship for Medieval Music, and recorded disc three of the Complete Hildegard Works with Sinfonye (Celestial Harmonies).[18]
Other Appearances
In 2017 she lead 1,000 high school students for a performance of her "Bring Me Little Water, Silvy" for the Los Angeles Master Chorale's 28th Annual High School Choir Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall.[19] In 2020 once the COVID pandemic hit, musical venues had to turn to new ways to offer performances while concert halls were closed. On October 23, 2020 Smiley performed a virtual concert for the University of Vermont Lane Series live from the UVM Recital Hall, which was live streamed on the Lane Series Vimeo site for their audience.[20] Most recently, in 2021 Smiley was the special guest for the Jukebox Quartet's fall statewide tour.[11] Jukebox consists of four musicians from The Vermont Symphony Orchestra (Brooke Quiggins, Laura Markowitz, Stefanie Taylor, and John Dunlop on cello).
TV and Radio Appearance
Smiley sang with Tune-yards on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert (February 22, 2021); Jimmy Kimmel (March 18, 2021); Jools Holland (June 22, 2020); Conan (September 12, 2014).
References
- ↑ Mohr-Pietsch, Sara (February 16, 2014). "Moira Smiley". BBC Radio 3 The Choir: The Choral Interview podcast (Podcast interview). Retrieved November 27, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Seamus Egan Project — Live At Fraser". WGBH Boston NPR. March 1, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Artist publicity announcements and concert program notes.
- ↑ Nickson, Chris (Autumn 2007). "Moira Smiley And Voco: Blink". Sing Out!. 51, no. 3: 130 – via Gale Literature Resource Center.
- ↑ Artist profile. Discogs https://www.discogs.com/artist/928158-Moira-Smiley
- ↑ Gross, Cristofer (2021). "TREASURE FOUND Billy Childs brings Laura Nyro's music back to the glory river". TheaterTimes. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
- ↑ Celsi, Anny (August 15, 2012). "For Moira Smiley, Global Music Journey Transcends Time". Voice of America News / FIND. ProQuest Central.
- ↑ Bambarger, Bradley (May 4, 1996). "Breaking away: Mysteries of Life, Vida, El Nino, Salaam Blossom in Bloomington". Billboard. 108, no. 18: 1 – via ProQuest Central.
- ↑ Hochman, Steve (March 28, 2018). "The Giving of Voice: A Conversation with Moira Smiley". The Bluegrass Situation. Retrieved November 28, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Big Sing with Moira Smiley". Los Angeles Master Chorale. 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Jukebox Quartet Statewide Tour". Vermont Symphony Orchestra. 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-28. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Music for a three-layer brain: Moira Smiley & VOCO at TEDxCaltech, retrieved 2021-09-19
- ↑ "2019 Workshop Leaders Keynote Speaker: Moira Smiley". Champlain College Young Writers' Conference. 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ DeLoach, Doug (August 2018). "Moira Smiley". Gramophone. 96, no. 1164: 97 – via Gale General OneFile.
- ↑ Hallenbeck, Brent (December 1, 2011). "Vermont-born musician Moira Smiley comes home (Interview)". The Burlington Free Press. p. F6 – via ProQuest Central.
- ↑ In Our Voices. Folkworks. https://folkworks.org/review/in-our-voices/
- ↑ "National Champions". Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival. 2007. Retrieved November 27, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Moira Smiley Composer (performer bio)". Los Angeles Master Chorale. 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Los Angeles Master Chorale (April 30, 2017). "Bring Me Little Water, Silvy - Moira Smiley". YouTube. Retrieved November 27, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Kehm, Nicholas (February 4, 2021). "Melody in a Pandemic: How the UVM Lane Series is keeping Music Alive". University of Vermont College of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved November 27, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links
Category:Songwriters from Vermont
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