Peter K Moran

Peter K. Moran was an Irish-born composer and organist who spent much of his career in New York, where he arrived in 1817. Born in Ireland and dying in the American city on 10 February 1831, he is a useful figure for understanding New York's musical life in the first decades of the nineteenth century, when European musicians were a notable presence.

Before emigrating, Moran had already published at least twenty-one works in Dublin. He reached the United States with his wife, a singer, and both took part in the city's concerts; their daughter made her debut as a singer and pianist in 1820, at just five years old. Moran held organist posts at Grace Episcopal Church and St John's Chapel, and collaborated with the Handel and Haydn Society and the New York Choral Society. He also played the cello in García's opera company and served as concertino of the Musical Fund Society. Between 1822 and 1823 he ran a shop selling pianos and sheet music.

His catalogue, much of it reissued in New York, includes popular songs, arrangements of traditional airs and adaptations of religious works by Handel. His variations and rondos for piano, such as The Carrier Pigeon, enjoyed considerable circulation, and only James Hewitt surpassed his output for piano in the city. Some dates of his publications appear doubtful, so they should be treated with caution.