Lyle Moore, 1934-1958
Lyle Moore was born September 22, 1904, in Illinois. He grew up in a musical family, working on his family farm. Moore attended Eureka College, originally intending to be a surgeon, but became heavily involved with music at the school. After graduation in 1928, Moore accepted a position as a part-time director at Whitworth College. He began working at Gonzaga part-time teaching music and conducting a male glee club in December 1928, and assumed a full-time position at Gonzaga fall of 1929. Moore taught various classes and directed multiple choral groups throughout his teaching career, most notably the Men’s Glee Club. The Spokesman-Review, The Gonzaga Bulletin, and Signum spoke highly of Moore’s abilities, both as a director and singer, throughout his career. Moore served in the army as a pilot 1939-1946, and his return to Gonzaga spring of 1946 was greatly celebrated by the Gonzaga community. In 1952, the Glee Club took overall first place honors in the Fred Waring Heart program competition, a contest among more than 100 Catholic choral groups in the collegiate and seminary level in North America. The Glee Club officially came to an end in spring of 1958 at the last Spring Concert, following the University’s announcement that there would no longer be separate glee clubs for men and women. Moore continued teaching at Gonzaga, and adjudicated competitions at music festivals in the Northwest. In 1970, Moore received an honorary doctorate at the graduation ceremony, and formally retired from Gonzaga. Reunions of the Gonzaga Men’s Glee Club began in the 1960s, and continued through the late 1990s. Moore died at the age of 100 in 2005. His legacy continues on at Gonzaga through the Lyle W. Moore Endowed Scholarship, which provided scholarships to students who demonstrate strong academics, community involvement, and quality of character.
