Maine’s New Maestro Has Southern Roots

(with thanks to CVNewEng.org)
 
Robert Moody (http://www.wssymphony.org/about_us/music_director.html [inactive 1/08]) was named Music Director Designate of the Portland Symphony Orchestra on May 30 after having been named by Principal Conductor Gerard Schwarz as one of the resident conductors of the renowned 45-year-old Greensboro, NC, Eastern Music Festival (www.easternmusicfestival.org). Moody also continues as Music Director of the Winston-Salem (NC) Symphony, a tenure that began in the 2005-6 season. The Portland newcomer, who will maintain homes in both cities, will conduct his first concert in New England since his appointment to the PSO position on May 8, 2008. This concert will feature Mahler’s Symphony No.1, which he conducted at the EMF on July 6. The maestro is also a frequent guest conductor across the US.
 
Spring 2006 brought the announcement of Moody’s appointment as artistic director of the Arizona Musicfest, a five-week winter event. This followed the conclusion of a successful eight years as Associate and later from 1998, Resident Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony. An alumnus of Furman University in his home town of Greenville, SC, he studied conducting with Donald Neuen at the Eastman School of Music. Later, Moody was mentored by Michael Tilson Thomas, according to Symphony Magazine. Moody, whose PSO appointment is for three years, joins Thomas Denenberg in recently selecting the Portland area to pursue his fine arts career, coincidentally moving there from Reynolda House in Winston-Salem. Denenberg’s tenure as Chief Curator of the Portland Museum of Art began in June 2007.
 
Last updated by CVNewEng on 7/30/07.