Conductor Profile: Libby Moore Slade

Libby Moore Slade and her son, Jacob.

Greetings, VWC friends!

It's Libby Moore Slade, your former conductor of 2000 - 2005. I'm writing to you from frozen, rural Ohio where I have been with my family since my husband Pete took a professorship starting in August of 2006. Our daughter Anna is now 5, and our son Jacob is 3. Time flies when you're sleep deprived. I'm sure some of you can relate. I feel infinitely blessed, though my current hiatus from conducting leaves me with some longings. I'm delighted to get to wave my arms around in front of you once more this coming April! I'm even more delighted that I'll be able to see such dear old friends again, hear your singing, and sing with you. Thanks so much for including me.

A word about the pieces I've chosen to conduct in the concert:
I remember Durufle's beloved Tota pulchra es from my undergrad days singing with VWC, and I shared it with the group again as director. The Latin text is from a 4th-Century Marian prayer. Durufle's quirky rhythms and haunting melodies, based on Gregorian chant, make this motet both exciting to sing and an important piece of women's choral music history. I look forward to enjoying it again with you.

Out of all of the wonderful pieces we shared, it was difficult to choose only a couple. I've always felt, and feel even more strongly today, that our music should draw us closer in community with each other and with the world. This conviction, combined with my interest in folk music traditions, led me to think back on the small collection of songs we performed some years ago from the island of Hispanola, or modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Aires de Quisqueya ("Quisqueya" being another name for the island from the native Taíno language meaning "mother of the earth") will be our tribute to the people of Haiti. With these songs we will remember our sisters and brothers there, and salute their courage and the courage of those helping them to rebuild their lives. Though some of you remember performing these pieces in a Spanish/ Taíno dialect, we will draw from an English version to make the spirit of the music more immediately accessible to us.

What a blessing it will be for me to make music with you again!

With love and gratitude,
Libby