The 2007-08 season marks Scott's 20th with the MSO. He remembers fondly the days when he chatted with his colleagues at Intermission about the latest recordings of Mahler symphonies; now sadly, he has seen the topic of those conversations turn to such matters as difficulty seeing the music and estate planning.
In addition to his duties with the MSO, over the years Scott has also performed with the Chicago Symphony, the St. Louis Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the National Symphony, and the Toronto Symphony. He has recorded and performed with the Nashville
Chamber Orchestra, and with I Fiamminghi, the Orchestra of Flanders. He has served as a Mentor with the Hot Springs Music Festival, and on the faculties of the Sewanee Summer Music Center and the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts.
As a soloist, Mr. Moore has appeared with the San Antonio Symphony, the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, the Tennessee Summer Symphony, the Chattanooga Symphony, and on numerous occasions with the Memphis Symphony. He was a featured Guest Artist at the 1994 International Trumpet Guild Conference. A review of that recital in the International Trumpet Guild Journal praised his "superbly fluid and beautiful trumpet playing". The Nashville Chamber Orchestra's 2002 Naxos recording of Aaron Copland's music featured Mr. Moore in Quiet City for solo trumpet, English horn, and strings. Classicstoday.com lauded his "smooth-as-silk trumpeting". on that recording.
Scott Moore has a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from McNeese State University. His teachers have included Charles Schlueter, Arnold Jacobs, and Michael Ewald.
Scott enjoys spending his free (??) time with his daughters Shannon and Sarah Grace, and with his cat Meeko.
Some Facts About Scott
Hobbies: Cooking (which stems from my love of eating), running (which also stems from my love of eating), golf (I can stop anytime I want), and trash-talking, in-your-face Scrabble. I am also a proud member of Red Sox Nation, and have been known to plan summer vacation trips based on the Red Sox road schedule.
If he hadn't become a musician, Scott: Always wanted to be an astronaut. I'd still give it all up for a ride on the Space Shuttle.
What he's reading now: Zen Golf (actually great for the trumpet-playing too). Recent favorite reads have included Absurdistan, The Audacity of Hope, The Alchemist, The United States of Arugula.
Favorite Memphis Restaurant: Hard to pick one: Some of the best meals I've had anywhere in the world were at Erling Jensen. You are probable most likely to find me at Bari, Boscos, La Espiga, or Lobster King.
Favorite Vacation: I love the Yucatan, especially away from the resorts.
Worst non-musical job Scott has held: Probably working as a welder's assistant at Ingalls Shipyard in my hometown of Pascagoula, MS when I was 19. I was paid to stand by when a welder would install a coat hook or something. I then had watch the weld for 30 minutes to make sure nothing (on a ship made of aluminum and steel) caught fire. I of course then had to file a report in triplicate stating that nothing caught fire.
Scott's Most Influential Teacher: Michael Ewald, who taught me from high school through four years of college. He taught me about different styles of music in a way few teachers are capable, and he also taught by example how to be a good person and member of a community.
Earliest Musical Memory: That would have to be all the four-part Southern Baptist congregational hymn singing. (I now attend an Episcopal church with a lot of former Baptists, I think we do alright too).
Favorite Composer: Hello!!! I'm a trumpet player! Mahler, of course.
What he listens to in the car: Radio is mostly tuned to the Soul Classics station, but my teenage daughter has been turning me on to some of her bands lately (it's only fair, since I've forced her to listen to Queen for years).
What he enjoys most about performing: I think anyone enjoys doing something that they do well. That's the great thing about playing in an orchestra like ours: because of the level of ability it takes to win an orchestra job, everyone onstage knows what they're doing. Even so, every once-in-a-while, something exra magical happens, and there's an electric, palpable presence on the stage, and it's like we all look at each other and say, "OK, game on!" There are few things in life that have moments like that.
