The Short End of the Stick

Nov 30 2007
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Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull

Geoffrey Moull is Music Director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. With an increasing artistic reputation built solidly on audience success, the ensemble has grown to become one of the best regional orchestras in the country. Under the direction of Mr. Moull, the CBC now broadcasts the TBSO regularly on national radio; their CD recording of Canadian compositions Variations on a Memory was nominated for a Juno Award in 2005.

Prior to his Thunder Bay appointment, Mr. Moull was Principal Conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera in Germany. His international conducting career has included performances with such renowned ensembles as the Southwest German Radio Orchestra, the State Opera Hannover, the State Opera Berlin, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire, the Metz Opera, the German Rhine Opera, the Luxemburg Opera, the San Remo Symphony, the Szombathely Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Springfield Symphony and the International May Festival in Wiesbaden.

Mr. Moull's innovative spirit has led him to program and conduct many premiere performances, and he is responsible for the rediscovery of important compositions of the 19th and 20th century, including works of Berlioz, Schumann, Mahler, D'Albert, Schreker, Martinu, Honegger, Krenek and Weill. In addition to recording for both radio and television, his world premiere CD recordings of Louis Spohr's Faust and Theo Loevendie's [i]Esmée[/i] were received with international acclaim. Das Orchester, Germany's leading music magazine, wrote that "his interpretation was magnificent, with wonderful judging of phrasing, atmosphere and warmth" and he is the recipient of Opernwelt's "Opera Production of the Year" prize.

After earning a degree in conducting at McGill University in Montreal, Mr. Moull was awarded the coveted DAAD scholarship of the German government and completed post-graduate degrees in both conducting and piano at the State Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany. He studied with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Edward Downes and Kyrill Kondrashin. In the course of his career, Mr. Moull was also Associate Music Director of the Münster Symphony and Opera and Principal Conductor of the Trier Symphony and Opera. Also active as a music educator, he was Music Director of the Orchestra of the State Hochschule für Musik in Münster and has given master classes for the State Music Councils of Bavaria and the Rhineland, and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

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In a nutshell, programming is a straightforward procedure accomplished through complex means; straightforward in that it’s no more than selecting just the right combination of works that ‘fit’ together, but complex because it requires a vast knowledge of the repertoire. I had the fortune in my younger years in Germany to work as an assistant to a very thorough Music Director. We would sit together in his office for hours, including late evenings and weekends, batting programming ideas back and forth and discussing in depth the merits of why piece B should follow piece A, and the reason that piece C won’t fit into that concept at all. Thus, long before I was programming as Music Director, I was able to experiment widely (and wildly) in theory and thought.

The basic premise: select an evening of pieces that go together, comparable to finding the right harmony in putting together a multi-menu gourmet meal, rather than simply letting your cherished guests loose on a smorgasbord. The concept of balance is an important element, both finding balance between the works within each individual program, and finding a balance arching over the entire season.

I request in advance from my board very concrete budget parameters regarding guest artists and orchestra sizes. Equipped with that financial framework, I then take into account what repertoire the orchestra hasn’t performed in a long time, or not at all, or is aching to perform again. Add to that my personal artistic mission to inspire and challenge audiences. Like every musician, each conductor has special interests: those composers and styles that we feel a symbiotic connection to. In addition to my (Teutonic) love of the three B’s, I personally have a distinct interest in re-discovering works and composers who I feel don’t deserve the neglect that history has heaped upon them, similar to a truffle hog. I also feel strongly that symphony orchestras shouldn’t relegate themselves to the role of a musical museum and I genuinely enjoy collaborating with (living!) composers.

Over the years, I’ve gotten into the habit of writing down titles of lesser-known pieces that I’ve heard, or read about, and generally find intriguing. When it comes down to the fine points of actually planning concerts, I review the list time and again. I prefer to take about six months between starting a season’s planning by booking concert dates and venues with my General Manager, and presenting a more-or-less programmed season to my Artistic Advisory Committee. That’s time wisely used to think, conceive, jettison, germinate and review.

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Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull

Geoffrey Moull is Music Director of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. With an increasing artistic reputation built solidly on audience success, the ensemble has grown to become one of the best regional orchestras in the country. Under the direction of Mr. Moull, the CBC now broadcasts the TBSO regularly on national radio; their CD recording of Canadian compositions Variations on a Memory was nominated for a Juno Award in 2005.

Prior to his Thunder Bay appointment, Mr. Moull was Principal Conductor of the Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera in Germany. His international conducting career has included performances with such renowned ensembles as the Southwest German Radio Orchestra, the State Opera Hannover, the State Opera Berlin, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Pays de la Loire, the Metz Opera, the German Rhine Opera, the Luxemburg Opera, the San Remo Symphony, the Szombathely Symphony, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Springfield Symphony and the International May Festival in Wiesbaden.

Mr. Moull's innovative spirit has led him to program and conduct many premiere performances, and he is responsible for the rediscovery of important compositions of the 19th and 20th century, including works of Berlioz, Schumann, Mahler, D'Albert, Schreker, Martinu, Honegger, Krenek and Weill. In addition to recording for both radio and television, his world premiere CD recordings of Louis Spohr's Faust and Theo Loevendie's [i]Esmée[/i] were received with international acclaim. Das Orchester, Germany's leading music magazine, wrote that "his interpretation was magnificent, with wonderful judging of phrasing, atmosphere and warmth" and he is the recipient of Opernwelt's "Opera Production of the Year" prize.

After earning a degree in conducting at McGill University in Montreal, Mr. Moull was awarded the coveted DAAD scholarship of the German government and completed post-graduate degrees in both conducting and piano at the State Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany. He studied with Franco Ferrara, Sergiu Celibidache, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Edward Downes and Kyrill Kondrashin. In the course of his career, Mr. Moull was also Associate Music Director of the Münster Symphony and Opera and Principal Conductor of the Trier Symphony and Opera. Also active as a music educator, he was Music Director of the Orchestra of the State Hochschule für Musik in Münster and has given master classes for the State Music Councils of Bavaria and the Rhineland, and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

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