Maybe you’ve been in one of his classes. Maybe you’ve been in an orchestra or choir he directed. You’ve likely seen him in chapel directing music. Now, Dr. Michael Moore is settling into his new role as the dean of the School of Fine Arts and Communication at Bob Jones University.

Dr. Moore’s time at BJU began in 1986, when he was a fifth-grade student at the academy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from BJU, as well a PhD in music education from the University of South Carolina. For 20 years, he served BJU as head of the Division of Music. He conducted a number of musicals, operas and concerts in that time, including Saint-Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila,” Rossini’s “La Cenerentola,” “A Tale of Two Cities: The Musical,” “Little Women: The Musical” and “Titanic: The Musical.” In 2019, he earned first place in The American Prize for conducting Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.”

Outside of work, Dr. Moore is a train enthusiast. He loves both real trains and models, and he has a model railroad at his house in Taylors. He doesn’t spend much time indulging this hobby these days, though the railroad has been a great way to connect with his four children. Dr. Moore also enjoys mountain biking, and you might find him braving the gravel trails of the North Carolina mountains near Hendersonville and Brevard. Also, it comes as no surprise that Dr. Moore enjoys poetry and songwriting. He has written a few songs that are often sung by students in chapel, songs that were inspired by his devotional Bible reading.

The new dean enjoys both sides of his work: the long office hours during the day and preparing performances with students at night. He sees his new role as an opportunity to equip and empower the fine arts and communication faculty to deliver their mission in the best possible way.

“It’s a privilege to be able to support our faculty,” Dr. Moore said. “And I’m enjoying getting to know more about the good work that our faculty are doing in the Division of Communication, Division of Art and Design. I’m pretty familiar with what goes on in the Division of Music, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to broaden my horizons, broaden my opportunities and abilities to support more of the mission here in a broader sense.”

As a child, Dr. Moore was fascinated with music. His grandfather bought his family a piano when he was nine years old, and he fell in love with it. However, it never occurred to him that he might teach music professionally until his high school band director asked him to lead a sectional rehearsal after class one day.

“That’s about the time that I realized that whatever skills and talents I thought I had were not ones that I had created, and that they were actually entrusted to me,” Dr. Moore said. “And if they were going to be of any good, I would need to give those back to God, so to speak. They were His to begin with, and I needed to acknowledge that.”

For Dr. Moore, giving his gifts and talents back to God meant acknowledging that their ultimate purpose was to glorify Him.

“Romans 12:2 says you’re not being conformed to the world, but you’re being transformed by the renewing of your mind,” he said. “So, it’s a very counter-cultural look. Our culture says art is about self-expression, and it’s not. It’s about expressing the image of God. And the beautiful thing is that as we become window rather than walls, so to speak … then we’re operating in a way that God designed us to, and we’re becoming more what he intended us to be, which is so much more satisfying.”

Moore works alongside his wife Deanna, who he has been married to for 28 years. They met at BJU as undergraduate students.

“The Lord has allowed us to continue to be involved in church music ministries over the years as we worked on our doctoral degrees at USC and then here in Greenville,” Dr. Moore said. “Deanna’s faithful, steady presence has been a solid rock for me and our four children (Charlotte, Wilson, Margaret and Connor). It is a joy to see God using her gifts for his glory and the good of others in gathered worship as well as the classroom, studio, concert hall and of course, our home.” 

As dean, Dr. Moore has a burden that BJU students, faculty and alumni would value the arts in the Christian life for the right reasons.

“I think that it’s easy to kind of put the arts in a silo as a special sort of treat or add-on, a luxury that we might stop and enjoy every now and then,” he said. “And it is that, in a sense, it can be thought of as that, but I believe that because of the way God made us as human beings and image bearers, there’s something structural about what the arts bring to the Christian life. It’s more than decorative. It’s more than diversion.

“When I look at Genesis 1, one of the things that just jumps out at me on the page is in the rhythm of God’s work. He doesn’t wait until the seventh day to pause. He actually paused at the end of every day and took time intentionally to view his work and assess it, reflect on it, and I think that’s an important part of the idea of what healthy work is. And I think the arts can help create those moments of reflection and facilitate that in a productive way in the Christian life.”

Dr. Moore will direct the BJU Symphony Orchestra concert on April 30, accompanied by GRAMMY award-winning conductor Richard Kaufman. Tickets are available on Showpass. The public is invited to attend.