On May 30, 2007 the Portland Symphony Orchestra named Robert A. Moody as 12th Music Director of the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

With the 2008-2009 season Moody will begin a three-year term as Music Director. As Music Director, he will conduct on all of the PSO’s series, including Classical, Pops, Youth Concerts, Independence Pops and (beginning in 2009-10) Magic of Christmas. He will serve as Music Director Designate during the upcoming 2007-2008 season, where he will lead the final concert of the year featuring Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 on Tuesday, May 6 2008, as well as the final Pops concerts April 26-27, 2008 featuring Tiempo Libre. Moody will also participate in various community events throughout the upcoming season. Joseph Silverstein will serve as Artistic Advisor as previously announced.

Robert Moody’s most recent appearance with the PSO was November 14, 2006, as part of the Tuesday Classical series where he led a program of music by Marquez, Mozart and Tchaikovsky, featuring pianist Orion Weiss, a last-minute replacement. Prior to that he conducted a program entitled “Pops Goes to the Movies” in January 2006. Moody won over the musicians, search committee and audience with his resilience, musicality, and passionate interpretations of both the classical and popular repertoire.

He also drew critical acclaim, with the Portland Press Herald’s Christopher Hyde declaring Moody’s “one of the best Pops concerts in recent memory” with “no gimmicks... just good music brilliantly played.” Hyde’s enthusiasm extended to the Classical concert as well: “[Moody gets] the tiniest details right, then builds a monumental structure on that foundation. ... He is an energetic and engaging conductor who seems well-liked by the orchestra, which gave him their best performance in many months.”

The search for the Music Director was a two-year process. Finding the best person for the position was paramount with key focus placed on each candidate's artistry, leadership ability, unique vision for the Symphony’s role in the community, and, most importantly, chemistry with the orchestra musicians. The committee was composed of PSO trustees, musicians, leadership, and one individual from the USM School of Music. Input was formally solicited from all musicians, and was encouraged from the entire PSO community.

Robert Moody said: “You can tell when the chemistry is just ‘right’ between conductor, orchestra, audience, community. And that was overwhelmingly clear to me with my first Portland experience. In the past few decades no orchestra has fared better than the PSO under the incredible leadership of Toshi Shimada. I owe him so much for this internationally recognized orchestra I now inherit. This is obviously a key moment in the history of the PSO and I am eager to work with the musicians, board, staff and community to bring the orchestra to even greater heights and stability.”

Robert Moody is currently music director of the Winston-Salem Symphony. Leaders of both orchestras are discussing what creative potential might be achieved through shared artistic leadership. Possibilities such as collaborating on commissions, special trips by donors to hear both ensembles, and other innovations could be an unexpected benefit of creating a relationship between the two organizations.

Robert Moody was appointed music director of the Winston-Salem Symphony in 2005, and his talent, energy and rapport with audiences there have been credited with infusing new energy into the organization and growing audiences. He is also serving concurrently as Artistic Director of Arizona MusicFest, a five week festival during the winter in Arizona's Desert Foothills region. This season marks his eighth year leading the Oklahoma City Philharmonic's “Discovery” concert series.

In addition, Moody is a frequent guest conductor with orchestras across the United States. Other recent and upcoming guest conducting appearances include debuts with the Seattle, Grant Park (Chicago), Ravinia Festival, Kitchner-Waterloo (Canada), El Paso, Lubbock, Anchorage, as well as return engagements with the Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Ft. Worth, Tucson, and Annapolis Symphonies.

Last season marked the end of a tremendously successful eight-year tenure with the Phoenix Symphony, where Moody had served as Associate, then Resident Conductor since 1998. He also led the Phoenix Youth Symphony during his tenure there, and his casual manner and ability to speak with ease from the podium helped novices and enthusiasts alike gain a greater appreciation for orchestral music.

Moody made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 1999, the same summer he stepped in to conduct at the Santa Fe Opera, filling in to international acclaim for the company’s ailing director, John Crosby. His tutelage under the direction of conductor Michael Tilson Thomas with the New World and San Francisco symphonies was chronologued in the May 2002 issue of Symphony Magazine.

Moody's conducting experience with great classical and pops artists includes Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Evelyn Glennie, Doc Severinsen and Celine Dion.

A native of South Carolina, Robert Moody earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Furman University in his hometown of Greenville. He completed a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied conducting with Donald Neuen.

Moody is a slightly obsessed snow skier and runner. He ran his first marathon in 2005 as a proud founding member of The Phoenix Symphony Running Club. He also spends part of each year skiing in Keystone, Colorado.

Serving the city of Portland, the state of Maine, and northern New England, the Portland Symphony Orchestra is the largest performing arts organization in Maine. Founded in 1923, the orchestra is entering a period of significant evolution with new artistic and administrative leadership. With critically acclaimed performances and broad community engagement, the PSO is widely regarded as one of the top symphony orchestras of its size in the country.