Shows feature conductor Elliot Moore, the Longmont Symphony and a Beethoven wig

By Izzy Fincher Sept. 15 at 11:10 a.m.

Elliot Moore had to reimagine the 2020-21 season. It started with a TV show. 

“I have always had a belief that we need to bring the art to the people, not that the people have to come to the concert hall,” Moore, the conductor of the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, says. “We need to make the artists, who perform the music, accessible to the public. Due to social distancing, I thought to myself, a television show is a way of bringing the music to the people.”

This led to the creation of the program “Music and Moore,” produced by the Longmont Symphony Orchestra and Moore. New episodes are released every other week in partnership with Longmont Public Media.

The first episode, released Aug. 21, explores Smetana’s symphonic poem Vltava, known in English as The Moldau.Composed in 1874, The Moldau depicts the longest river in Bohemia, or today’s Czech Republic, a source of national pride for Smetana. Continuing the theme of water, the second episode, released Sept. 4, focuses on Debussy’s La Mer (The sea) and his inspiration from Hokusai’s print “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” Both episodes include LSO’s own archived performances from 2018, filmed and produced by Phil Huff. 

Moore also diversifies the show with other content. He believes music alone is not enough outside of the concert hall, so he hopes to create “a fusion of Mr. Rodgers meets world news tonight,” allowing for “depth with entertainment and educational value,” he says.

The show has a bit of everything—music history, comedic relief, coffee-making, interviews, archived performances, new virtual collaborations and a fan Q&A. He even dresses up as Beethoven with a scraggly brown wig and vaguely German accent, to make the show “feel a little bit less isolating,” he says.

Moore hopes the Beethoven persona and fun approach to classical music will engage a younger audience. He says he wants to “create connections between school children and the Longmont Symphony.” Learning packets for each episode, created by music educators, also increase engagement and serve as an educational resource for local K–12 students and teachers. 

Beyond Longmont’s youth, Moore hopes to reach a wide audience in terms of age and classical music knowledge. 

“I’m not sure if it matters how old you are,” Moore says. “I think it can be pretty easily understood from a third grader to a musicologist. It’s fun, and it’s light in a way they can relate to. What I hope is that it breaks down some barriers. It can be sophisticated, but at the same it is very basic and very human. It’s something we all experience.”

In future episodes, Moore hopes to move beyond music history to relevant topics of social justice, classical music stigmas and diversity. He also looks forward to in-person conversations on “Music and Moore” when the LSO can safely resume, though Beethoven will still be his favorite co-host.

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“Music and Moore”
Featuring Elliot Moore, the Longmont Symphony and “Beethoven”

Episode 3 to be released Sept. 18.