James Mooy is a Santa Barbara native who attended his first Santa Barbara Symphony concert at the Granada Theater in 1977. In junior high school he joined the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony and became hooked on orchestral music after performing the finale of Stravinsky’s Firebird. While attending Goleta Valley Junior High School and Dos Pueblos High School, he studied trumpet privately with Jimmy Valves and Ron Thompson who stressed the importance of being a well-rounded musician.

During his junior year in high school, he began giving private lessons to younger students and found it very rewarding to hear their improvement. While a student at Santa Barbara City College he decided to follow his passion for teaching, but continued to seek playing opportunities with the most challenging ensembles possible. Shortly after, he was accepted to the Music Academy of the West’s summer program where he performed with the Academy Orchestra and brass ensemble while studying with Anthony Plog. He now holds music and education degrees from UCLA (B.A. and M.A.)

James taught the band and orchestra program at R.A. Millikan High School in Long Beach for five years. During that time, he freelanced regularly in the Los Angeles area as a jazz, orchestral, and chamber musician. Upon returning to Santa Barbara in 1990, Mr. Mooy taught jazz ensemble and music technology at Santa Barbara City College while teaching trumpet and music education classes at Westmont College. In 2001, long-time Santa Barbara Symphony violinist, Dr. Jack Ullom, passed him the baton to the 70-piece SBCC Symphony Orchestra. Rehearsing and conducting this group is an honor that he continues to treasure to this day.

Mr. Mooy continues to serve as an adjudicator for numerous solo, chamber, wind ensemble, string ensemble, and jazz ensemble festivals. He has repeatedly served as conductor for honor bands, honor jazz ensembles, and honor orchestras throughout the United States. He visits local music programs for rehearsal, clinic, and critique sessions, and continues to admire the tenacity of our public-school arts educators.