About Donegan

Donegan Moore is a singer, actor, and dancer working in various mediums including opera, musical theatre, straight plays, and film. She has earned dual degrees in music and in theatre performance from Oklahoma City University. She is currently living in Boston, MA where she is finishing her Master’s in Music at Longy School of Music of Bard College. 

Growing up, Donegan was continuously moving from place to place as her parents were both highway and bridge engineers and followed the roads for work. From being born in California to moving to Arizona, then to Nevada, on to Utah then to Oregon and dragged to Texas. These experiences have left her with a broad understanding of life and the world and gave her the ability to adapt to whatever situation she faces. In the midst of all this moving, she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that had her facing serval trips to the hospital as well as several medical tests at a young age.

No matter where Donegan lived or how sick she got, she always had dance. Her dance career began at the age of only two-years-old and led her to becoming a member of her first professional dance company by age twelve. She was then accepted to and attended high school at Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts as a member of the Academy Dance Company as well as the theatre program. Right as Donegan was getting ready for college auditions, she faced another set back. Doing what she loved, she was dropped in a dance lift that resulted in a broken back. After moving from wheelchair to back brace to LOTS of physical therapy, she was back on her feet! She turned to music throughout this time as a means of healing and found strength and power in finding her voice. 

Following high school, Donegan sought to further her education and evolve as an artist and looked no further than Oklahoma City University. She was accepted into the school of theatre, as well as the school of science with an individually crafted theoretical mathematics degree as a way to follow in her parents’ footsteps. However, as Donegan continued her journey in healing, she couldn’t shake singing and went for OCU’s music program, continuing her theatre degree but dropping her science degree. While working on two degrees, she had several performance opportunities in school and was even the school mascot, winning two national championships. She also had many opportunities outside of school, including her debut in Italy as a soloist for the Accademia Vocale Lorenzo Malfatti as well as in New York, as a part of Chelsea Opera's cast of Tosca.

When the pandemic hit, Donegan realized she wanted to do more for the world and was motivated to return to school for her Master’s degree. Longy School of Music was the perfect fit, as they encourage their students to “be the musician the world needs you to be.” With the encouragement of becoming a multifaceted artist and her past medical history, she focused on music as a healing art, pedagogy, and opera performance. She created new operas, telling new stories, connecting with today’s audiences. In her students, she looks to help them find their own voice as well as navigate difficult injuries or illnesses through music. 

Donegan has over a decade of teaching experience in many capacities. From working with new borns on introducing music as a sensory experience to senior citizens wanting to relive their glory days, maintain respiratory health, or facing dementia, she has taught students in all walks in life with various backgrounds. 

Donegan, a lover of life, is driven by her passion and seeks to share it with the world. Through her work she is able to initiate that same passion and fire in everyone she encounters.

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Artist Statement

VALUES

I am a singer, actor, dancer, teacher, and designer. Through my art, I seek to offer an avenue of hope, wherein others are invited to dream. I seek, through my performances, to draw diverse audiences in to shared experiences, and ultimately, to a deeper connection with one another, and with the world around them. In the future, I hope to share my own experiences with others through teaching at the collegiate level. I have experienced first hand the transformative power of music at this formative time in life, and I hope that I may help young artists find their voices, just as someone helped me to find my own. 

Teaching Statement

The use of one's voice can be an empowering thing. It can also be quite intimidating. As a woman, I have often found it difficult to speak up for myself or to take up space. Singing changed that for me. For this reason, as a teacher, I guide my students on a transformative journey of healing, confidence building, and expression. I also have experienced the health benefits of singing for physical ailments and share what I have learned with students that may be experiencing current or past injuries, shortness of breath, other respiratory issues, etc. I have experience working with students of diverse ages and backgrounds and am available to receive anyone where they are at in their walk of life. Through goal setting, self-discovery, and expression, I lead students to discover the power of their own voice. 

Diversity Statement

Growing up, I had a hard time understanding why I was excluded from things because I was a girl. In fact, I still have a hard time understanding it. I'm not expected to have opinions, let alone express them. Not allowed to have emotions, good or bad, because it was always "too much.” As I grew alongside fellow artists, I noticed they were also being excluded for just being themselves. Whether it was the color of their skin, their sexuality, gender identity, body shape, etc. I was upset for being excluded myself but became furious when the people I cared about were being told they weren’t enough when they gave me so much. Later on, I became very ill and injured and was expected to just give up on my dreams. That's when I found opera. Something that was larger than life, allowed me to take up space, be loud, and be “too much.” The industry, however, has a long history of excluding certain groups of people which is something I am seeking to change. I have been a part of creating new operas, telling new stories, as well as reimagined existing works that give new points of views.