Moses Hogan (March 13, 1957 – February 11, 2003) was an American composer, choral arranger, conductor, and pianist. According to the Friends of Moses Hogan Society, “[u]ntil his untimely death in 2003, Moses Hogan was one of the most celebrated contemporary directors and arrangers of spirituals.” Though he died at the young age of 45, he published 80 choral arrangements and 8 solo voice arrangements during his short lifetime. He credited both his classical piano training and his upbringing in the African American Baptist church as influences for his compositions and arrangements.
Hogan graduated from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and received a degree in piano performance from Oberlin College in 1979. He also briefly studied piano at Julliard. In 1980, he began arranging choral music and formed his first choir, the New World Ensemble. He later founded the Moses Hogan Chorale and the Moses Hogan Singers. His compositions have appeared on the 1995 PBS documentary, The American Promise, and have been performed by the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He also edited the Oxford Book of Spirituals, published in 2002 by Oxford University Press.
The mastery of Hogan’s compositions and his contributions to the choral world cannot be overstated, yet he remains a lesser known American composer. Hogan’s first published piece, Elijah Rock, as well as other notable pieces, are available through the library on Naxos Music Online.
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