Under his artistic leadership, AZ Musicfest has become the premiere Winter Music Festival Orchestra in North America, boasting a roster of players from the world’s greatest orchestras.  The Memphis Symphony has enjoyed exponential growth in programming, recording, new commissions, and endowment growth to well over $25 Million dollars. Baltimore Chamber Orchestra boasts top players from the top orchestras in the Baltimore/Washington area and presents innovative and “out of the box” live orchestral programming at world class levels in the Mid-Atlantic. 

Prior positions have included music director for both the Portland Symphony (Maine) and the Winston-Salem Symphony (North Carolina), and Principal Conductor for Lakeland Opera (Florida).  Earlier in his career, he held conducting positions with the Phoenix Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Santa Fe Opera, Brevard Music Center, Interschool Orchestras of New York City, and apprenticed at Landestheater Opera in Linz, Austria.

Guest conducting this season includes debuts with Cincinnati Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony, and Winnipeg Symphony.  He also will return to Lakeland Symphony, and lead concerts with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in Toronto, Canada, and the IberAcademy Orchestra in Medellin, Colombia. 

Maestro Moody has conducted many of the world's major orchestras and opera companies, including Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, Dallas and Houston Symphonies, Kansas-City Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Aachen and Baden Baden Symphony Orchestras in Germany, Wushi and Shenzhen Orchestras (China),Orquesta Filarmonica de Bogotá (Colombia), the Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Austria), Tampere Philharmonic (Finland) and Banatul Orchestra (Romania).  He is also a frequent guest conductor in South Africa, returning often for concerts with the three major orchestras there – the Cape Town, Johannesburg, and KZN (Durban) Philharmonics.

A frequent collaborator with opera superstar Renée Fleming, he will conduct her on multiple occasions in the upcoming season in China, Canada, and the United States.  In 2024 he performed the full orchestra world premiere of Voices of Nature: The Anthropocene, a song cycle created by Ms. Fleming in collaboration with National Geographic.

Moody’s work can be found on several commercial recordings, including the Canadian Brass albums Bach and Legends, R. Carlos Nokai’s Fourth World, and with Memphis Symphony Orchestra and trumpet legend Ryan Anthony on Re:Mission Rubato.

Robert is also a close friend and collaborator with Grammy winning composer Mason Bates.  Their friendship spans over 30 years, and Moody was the first conductor to commission a full orchestral work from Bates. Robert also commissioned several major works of Mason’s, including Rusty Air in Carolina, and the much lauded Desert Transport.  Last season he conducted the world premiere of Bate’s triple concerto Silicon Hymnal with the Grammy winning ensemble Time For Three. 

A South Carolina native, Moody holds degrees from Furman University and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned his conducting degree with Donald Neuen.  Additional studies included an undergraduate study abroad in Vienna, Austria, and a summer of study with Otto Werner Mueller at Le Domaine Forget in Quebec. He is a Rotarian, and has served on the boards of AIDs Care Services, Winston-Salem YMCA, WDAV Classical Radio, and the Charlotte Master Chorale.

Moody celebrates the life and work of organist/conductor Jimmy Jones, his spouse of 18 years who passed away unexpectedly early in 2024.  He now dedicates all his musical endeavors to Jimmy.

Moody lives in Memphis with their two dogs; he is an avid runner, swimmer, history buff, “Jeopardy!” addict, and snow-skier.