MOIRA SMILEY

Composer

An active composer and performer, Moira has written commissions for the LA Master Chorale, Conspirare, Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble, Mirabai, Stile Antico, American Choral Directors Association, Voces Novae, VocalEssence, Pacific Chorale, NOTUS, Ad Astra Festival and countless others.  Her arrangements and original compositions for choir – especially those with her signature body percussion – are performed by millions of singers around the world. The European premiere of Time In Our Voices was performed by the voices and mobile phones of Ars Nova Copenhagen under the direction of Paul Hillier. In 2018-2019 Moira released the album and choral songbook, Unzip The Horizon as companion to her The Voice Is A Traveler solo show. She continues composing and improvising in collaboration with artists in film, video game production, theater and dance, and her work can be heard on feature film soundtracks, BBC & PBS television programs, NPR, and on more than 70 commercial albums. Her most recent premieres include her secular liturgy, The Song Among Us for Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble and Keep On for VocalEssence. Her current projects include Utopias for voices and strings, and a re-telling of Ovid’s tale of Narcissus for mobile phones and voices. A new album of folksongs with string quartet, ‘The Rhizome Project’ will be released in 2024.

“Moira Smiley is a brilliant musician – an innovative composer and arranger, and a heartbreakingly beautiful singer. Her music transcends (and expands) boundaries.”

Billy Childs - multi-grammy-winning composer/pianist

“Moira has an innate ability to capture an elemental primal feel in her music” 

Thomas Baty - Choral Director

Select Works & Score Samples

Moira Smiley – “Silverlake” – Score Sample (pdf)

Moira Smiley – “Headwaters” – Score Sample (pdf) 

Moira Smiley – “Time in Our Voices” – Score Sample (pdf)

Moira Smiley – “Vonnegut Requiem: Light Perpetual”  – Score Sample (pdf) 

Commission Contact

    Commissioning Fee InfoFunding & Commission Resources
    (L/R) Jenny Wong, Shawn Kirchner, Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, Moira, Billy Childs, Grant Gershon perform together at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2016. `` Photo Credit AB Images