You learn the darndest things about your Lutheran Services Carolinas teammates.
Take David Moore.
You may know him as Trinity View’s executive director and Licensed Assisted Living Administrator since July of 2024. He is also an accomplished vocalist, songwriter, and ukulele player/collector.
From boat paddles to flukes to pineapples and Polk-A-Lay-Lees, this man can strum. And strum he does: at Trinity View’s monthly “Fireside Songs with David,” at community events across Western North Carolina, and at his local church, where he is minister of music.
“When I was 17, I was working as a camp counselor at Camp Pinnacle in Hendersonville when a friend showed me the first two chords,” says Moore. “I was hooked.”
The diminutive stringed instrument loomed large in Moore’s life from that point on.
“At Mars Hill College, after a meal at Pizza Hut, my future wife, Denita, and I spread out a blanket on a grassy hill below my dorm. I played her the three or four uke songs I knew, and love blossomed.”
After working as a science teacher and in restaurant and dietary management, Moore’s career in long-term care started to bloom as well. Along the way, David and Denita welcomed three children – and David’s original uke took pride of place in the family living room.
That’s when the collecting bug hit. Moore fell hard for the “jumping flea” – a rough English translation for ukulele, possibly because of how a uke player’s fingers jump around the fretboard.
Moore’s Polk-A-Lay-Lee is a lanky surfers’ model whose curved neck is designed to stay put in a sand dune.
The banjolele, as the name suggests, is similar in size to a uke and is played the same way but packs the sonic punch of its country cousin.
And the Hydra, like its mythical namesake, has more than one neck. (Unfortunately, ukulele necks don’t grow back.)
Moore is hard pressed to name his favorite uke music. In addition to Elvis, Sinatra, and classic hymns, he leads a rousing rendition of “Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road.” And he has written over 100 of his own songs – including three about LSC.
“At Trinity View, I have shared them all with our residents – and I learn new songs every month to increase my repertoire and improve my skills,” he adds.
One thing is certain: Moore’s musical passion enriches the lives of everyone within earshot.
David Moore’s “desert island” ukulele playlist
- “Jake Shimabukuro is a Hawaiian of Japanese descent who has performed at Carnegie Hall, done duets with Yo-Yo Ma, and tours to this day doing solo ukulele concerts,” says Moore. “He became famous for his uke rendition of George Harrison’s ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps.’ He really showed me what a uke can do (and what I cannot!).”
- “The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is an amazing group that tours globally,” Moore notes. “They do a wide variety of pop, rock, silly and serious songs – including a seven-piece ukulele rendition of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.’”