Moira Smiley

Moira Smiley (Moira Gwendolyn Smiley, born 21 May 1976)[1] is an American singer, composer, lyricist and musician born in New Haven, Vermont. She is a multi-instrumentalist on banjo, accordion, piano, and body percussion.[2] Smiley's music has been influenced by folk styles, shape-note singing, classical song, and jazz.[3] Smiley has performed and collaborated with various artists including Billy Childs,[4] Solas, Jayme Stone's The Lomax Project,[5] choral composer Eric Whitacre,[6] Los Angeles Master Chorale,[7] New World Symphony,[8] and often tours with eclectic indie-pop group Tune-Yards.[9]

Moira Smiley performing at Celtic Christmas with Seamus Egan Project

Early life and education

Smiley grew up in rural New Haven, Vermont. As a teenager, she began teaching at the Village Harmony Summer Camps. Smiley was among the 9 composers from Village Harmony that were represented on the Endless Light recording in 1996.[10] She entered Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in 1994 as a Wells Scholar to study piano performance, and earned her degree in Early Music Vocal Performance.[7] 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 singing.[7][11]

Career

While at Indiana University she founded the vocal quartet VIDA, which won Bloomington Voice's Battle of the Bands contest.[12] They went on to perform across the U.S. and Europe as part of the IMG Artists roster.[13] 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.[7][14]

In 2005 she released her first solo album Rua. The following year she released Blink, her first album with her vocal group VOCO. In 2013 Smiley and her group VOCO performed "Music for a Three-Layer Brain" for the TEDxCaltech "The Brain" event.[15] In 2018 she began collaborating with the Seamus Egan Project, performing vocals and accordion. She sang "Days of War", her song written with Séamus Egan for a concert on Front Row Boston.[16] In 2018 she released her second solo album, Unzip the Horizon, which The Bluegrass Situation called "the work of a significant talent finding new possibilities in her voice."[17] In 2018 and 2019, Smiley led an immersive a cappella experience with the Los Angeles Master Chorale at the Walt Disney Concert Hall’s BIG SING California event.[6][18] In February, 2021 she released the vocal album, In Our Voices. [19]

Awards

In 2002, Smiley won the Barbara Thornton Memorial Scholarship for Medieval Music, given by the Sequentia Ensemble.[7]

In 2007, Smiley (along with fellow composers Ron Bartlett, Charlie Campagna) won the annual Lester Horton Award for "Music for Dance"[20] for a score commissioned by choreographers Regina Klenjoski and Monica Favand for Klenjoski’s The Black Drim, which was subsequently performed by Smiley & VOCO (along with the TRIP Music Ensemble) for the Synergy concert at the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, in LA.[21]

In 2007, her ensemble Moira Smiley & VOCO were named national champions of the 30+ year old Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival.[22]

Discography

Solo albums
  • Unzip The Horizon[23] (2018)
  • Rua (2005)

With VOCO
  • In Our Voices[24] (2021)
  • Laughter Out of Tears[25] (2014)
  • Small Worlds (2009)
  • Circle, Square, Diamond and Flag (2008)
  • Blink[26] (2006)

With VIDA
  • Blue Album (2000)
  • In Bloom(1999)
  • Vida (1997)

Soundtracks
  • Changing Woman (2002)
  • Sacred Ground (2001)

References
  1. Vermont Vital Records Request Service (https://secure.vermont.gov/VSARA/vitalrecords/search-tool.php)
  2. DeLoach, Doug (August 2018). "Moira Smiley Unzip The Horizon". Gramophone. 96 (1164): 97 – via Gale.
  3. Mohr-Pietsch, Sara (February 16, 2014). "Moira Smiley". BBC Radio 3 The Choir: The Choral Interview podcast (Podcast interview). Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  4. Mitchell, Cicely (November 17, 2016). "Jazz Picks: Billy Childs with Alicia Olatuja and Moira Smiley at NCSU". The News & Observer. Raleigh, NC – via NewsBank.
  5. Goldberg, Brianna (May 7, 2015). "Retracing the steps of a folk pioneer: Toronto musician revisits remarkable field recordings of legendary Alan Lomax". Toronto Star – via ProQuest.
  6. "Big Sing California". Los Angeles Master Chorale. July 21, 2018. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  7. "MOIRA SMILEY Composer". Los Angeles Master Chorale. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  8. "Moira Smiley". Bandsintown. Archived from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  9. "tUnE-yArDs blesses Houston with the Nikki Nack tour". Coog Radio – University of Houston Radio. 2015-04-14. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  10. Cooke, Nym (Winter 1999). "The Shapenote Album". American Music. University of Illinois Press. 17 (4): 472. doi:10.2307/3052661. JSTOR 3052661 – via Gale.
  11. Celsi, Anny (August 15, 2012). "For Moira Smiley, Global Music Journey Transcends Time". Voice of America News / FIND.
  12. Bambarger, Bradley (May 4, 1996). "Breaking away: Mysteries of Life, Vida, El Nino, Salaam Blossom in Bloomington". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 18. p. 1 – via ProQuest.
  13. Chorale, Los Angeles Master. "Moira Smiley". lamasterchorale.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-28. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  14. Gullard, Marie (April 23, 2010). "Strathmore pays homage to Mother Earth with special show". Washington Examiner. Washington, D.C. p. 20 – via ProQuest.
  15. "Moira Smiley | tedxcaltech.com". www.tedxcaltech.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  16. "The Seamus Egan Project — Live At Fraser". WGBH Boston NPR. March 1, 2018. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  17. Hochman, Steve (March 28, 2018). "The Giving of Voice: A Conversation with Moira Smiley". The Bluegrass Situation. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  18. "Big Sing with Moira Smiley". Los Angeles Master Chorale. 2019. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  19. "Jukebox Quartet Statewide Tour". Vermont Symphony Orchestra. 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  20. Heffley, Lynne (May 7, 2007). "L.A. dance awards honor diverse mix". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  21. Haskins, Ann (September 20, 2006). "Synergy". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  22. "National Champions". Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival. 2007. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  23. "Moira Smiley – Unzip The Horizon / a RootsWorld review". www.rootsworld.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  24. Farnsworth, Chris. "Moira Smiley and VOCO, 'In Our Voices'". Seven Days. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  25. "LAUGHTER OUT OF TEARS – MOIRA SMILEY & VOCO". FolkWorks. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  26. Blink, 2006-08-15, archived from the original on 2021-11-30, retrieved 2021-11-30
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