Latonia Moore Appointed Director of Engagement and Advocacy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Philadelphia, PA | October 1, 2025 — ArtSmart is proud to announce that acclaimed American soprano Latonia Moore has been appointed as the organization’s new Director of Engagement and Advocacy. A long-time champion of music education and an ArtSmart Board Member since 2021, Moore will step down from the Board of Directors to join the staff in this newly created role, helping to advance ArtSmart’s mission of providing transformative music mentorship to youth in under-resourced communities nationwide.

As Director of Engagement and Advocacy, Moore will serve as a prominent ambassador for ArtSmart, expanding the organization’s reach, deepening donor relationships, and strengthening its impact in schools and communities across the country. Through public appearances, patron cultivation, and community engagement, Moore will use her voice—both on and off the stage—to inspire action and support for equitable music education and youth development.

“Latonia Moore is a transformative artist and a passionate champion of the power of music to change lives,” said Ahmad Mayes, ArtSmart’s Executive Director. “As ArtSmart’s Director of Engagement and Advocacy, she will help us deepen our work in communities across the country, ensuring that more young people have the support needed to reach their full potential. Her impact extends far beyond the stage, and we are excited to have her join in this new and important role.”

“Music was my solace; it was my outlet… I feel like being a part of this organization is me helping out people like me; people who need the music to save them in some way.”
—Latonia Moore

A Grammy Award–winning soprano celebrated for her commanding performances on the world’s leading opera stages—including The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, and Opera Australia—Moore brings a unique combination of artistry, visibility, and dedication to mentorship. Her appointment reflects ArtSmart’s commitment to leveraging the talents of leading artists to advocate for music education as a vital pathway to opportunity and empowerment.

Moore will begin her tenure immediately, working closely with ArtSmart staff and leadership to host community and patron engagement  events, grow ArtSmart’s network of support,  and represent ArtSmart at key advocacy and community forums across the country.

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About ArtSmart

Through weekly one-to-one sessions over a full school year, ArtSmart students receive world class instruction and training from professional musicians. Using an evidenced-based curriculum, ArtSmart teaching-artists, titled the Maria Manetti Shrem Mentors, work with their students to set goals, learn music, develop a healthy self-esteem and ultimately, chart a course for the rest of their lives. 

“Having that one guiding light every single week, one mentor they can relate to and say, ‘this person cares about me,’ provides direct inspiration into all of their other studies. Inspiration leads to personal growth, emotional growth, and academic growth. Inspiration is the cure for success in school,” said Co-Founder and Executive Director Michael Fabiano.

ArtSmart was co-founded in 2016 by international opera singers Michael Fabiano and John Viscardi after a long analysis of the United States education system and the economic state of affairs for artists living and working in the United States. ArtSmart was born out of these central ideas: to create an organization that gives students in under-resourced communities an opportunity to pursue their dreams and grow as human beings, while supporting working artists to accomplish their professional goals. 

ArtSmart has provided over 55,000 music-menorship sessions and currently operates in San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA New York City and Troy, NY, Newark and Jersey City, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Chicago, IL, and in the Adirondacks region. The majority of ArtSmart students attend Title I schools, where at least 40% of students are eligible to receive free or reduced lunch, and 90% of ArtSmart Students identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).

About Latonia Moore

One of the greatest international sopranos today, Latonia Moore has sung at many of the world’s most important opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Staatsoper Berlin, and the Arena di Verona. She has pioneered performances of new operas highlighting untold African American stories and is outspoken on racial inequality and inclusivity in the arts. In 2023, Ms. Moore opened the Metropolitan Opera as Sister Rose in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, and reprised her role there as Billie in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, the first opera by a black composer to ever be performed at the Metropolitan Opera. In the 2021/22 season, she sang Emelda Griffiths in the New York premiere of Blanchard’s Champion at the Metropolitan Opera. Honors and awards include the Maria Callas Award from The Dallas Opera, a Richard Tucker Foundation grant, first prize in the Marseilles Competition, and first prize in the International Competition dell’Opera in Dresden. Ms. Moore is a native of Houston, Texas.

Contact:
Erin Alcorn
Manager of Communications
erin@artsmart.org