A Brooklyn 7th grader, Grace Moore, has become one of the youngest composers to create original music for the famous symphony orchestra, the New York Philharmonic. The orchestra performed the piece on the streets of New York last month.
Moore composed the piece for the orchestra as part of efforts by the music group to introduce original composing to a broader spectrum of people including children.
The 12-year-old is part of the Very Young Composers program, an initiative by the New York Philharmonic which teaches children as little as age eight how to create music. Moore is very excited for the opportunity to create music for the esteemed symphony orchestra.
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She said she has not seen many people like her composing for the orchestra. “I haven’t really seen many people who look like me on stage,” she told CBS News. It’s her hope that her achievement will bring aboard more people of color into this genre of music.
“She was very excited about the fact that she could represent as a Black female composer and also such a young person,”, Clara Stewart Moore, her mother added.
According to Philharmonic President Deborah Borda, the Very Young Performers program is an initiative to expose as many new people as possible to classical music irrespective of their age, class or color.
Times have changed and many institutions have had to adjust their modus operandi which includes the New York Philharmonic. The coronavirus health and safety measures have prevented the group from performing inside the Lincoln Center.
To keep the music alive, the Philharmonic’s “Bandwagon Series” was introduced so musicians and opera singers get to perform from pick up trucks.
Moore’s debut performance with the orchestra was in October near the Brooklyn Bridge and in front of Lincoln Center. Not only did they play her music, but she also directed the group from start to finish.
“Music is universal,” Moore said. “It doesn’t matter where you are or where you’re from or what language you speak. Everyone can understand it.”
A lot of New Yorkers were able to enjoy the performances from their balconies and Moore had the opportunity of a lifetime to share her talent with the world regardless of the new normal imposed by the pandemic.
