Rachel Moore

In 2007, The Choral Project wanted to encourage the creation of original works for choirs, to enable new collaborations between performers and composers. That is how the annual choral composition competition for high school and college students was born. In 2017, The Choral Project patron Marie Moore, an emphatic supporter of the chorus and contest, decided to fund it and the competition was then renamed in honor of her mother, Rachel Moore.

Rachel Moore was a self-taught musician who learned to play the piano at an early age. Rachel started attending The Choral Project’s concerts as a beloved audience member, and she became an instant and ardent fan of our artistic director and conductor Daniel Hughes. Sadly, Rachel was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. While Rachel's love of music was one of the last things to leave her, it lives on in The Choral Project’s annual Rachel Moore Choral Composition Contest.

Marie puts it best when she says, “In honor of my mother, I feel it’s important to support up-and-coming artists. Mom’s life circumstances never provided her with an opportunity like this, so I am forever grateful to have her love of music live on through this competition.”