When Moses Hogan passed away last week at age 45, the news barely made a ripple on the wires. Hogan was never a true international celebrity. However, he was something much more important.
He was a peacemaker.
An immensely gifted arranger and conductor with a spirit as wide as his beloved Mississippi Delta, Hogan drew people together, then quickly drew the best out of them.
Over the years, he made many trips to Utah. He arranged and conducted several songs featured by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Sunday mornings and on CD. He worked with young singers in Box Elder County and other areas of the state. He used every opportunity to use music as the universal language.
When asked how an African American conductor hoped to draw true "soul" from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Hogan's response was sure and memorable.
"All good music has soul," he said. "There's soul in Mozart, soul in Bach. The only difference here is the color of the horse — the color of the voices."
Born in New Orleans — the hot-bed of American jazz — Hogan came from the womb with soul. He studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and Juilliard in New York. His heart, however, would always be with the music of the people. He had a genius with spirituals, hymns and other popular forms. On the "American Heritage of Spirituals" CD with the Tabernacle Choir, Hogan was able to coax a hushed and holy sound from the choir that is spellbinding. His versions of "Lord, I Want to Be a Christian" and "Elijah Rock" will be sung by American choirs for decades to come.
Yet, in the end, music was merely a means to an end for Moses Hogan. The true end was the spirit of goodwill. As artistic director for the Moses Hogan Chorale, he became an ambassador of brotherhood. And for brotherhood to work, people must not only be willing to extend themselves, but there has to be someone on the other side of the divide, extending a hand to draw them across.
Moses Hogan spent his short life extending that hand.
Far too soon, it would seem, he was called to the Promised Land across the Jordan.
Fortunately, his talent, temperament, grace and genius have remained behind, encoded in the recordings he left us.