Marcel Moyse

Moyse studied at the Paris Conservatory and was a student of Philippe Gaubert, Adolphe Hennebains, and Paul Taffanel; all of whom were flute virtuosos in their time.

[3] Moyse taught on the faculty of the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal, and was a founder of the Marlboro Music School and festival in Vermont.

Among his students were James Galway, Paula Robison, Trevor Wye, William Bennett, Carol Wincenc, Bernard Goldberg, Robert Aitken, Arthur Kitti, Karen Reynolds, September Payne and Julia Bogorad.

[4] Moyse authored many flute studies, including De la Sonorite and Tone Development Through Interpretation, published by McGinnis & Marx.

Hennebains remarked favorably on the boy's abilities and accepted him as a pupil, a decision that brought Marcel one giant step closer to the Conservatoire.

[8] After just a few months of studying with Hennebains, Moyse made swift progress with him and was invited to audit Paul Taffanel's class at the Paris Conservatoire.

Under the guidance of Hennebains and with the approval of Taffanel, Moyse auditioned for and won a place in the flute class at the Paris Conservatoire in the fall of 1905.

[11] In 1906 with only one year of Conservatoire training, Moyse performed the newly written exam piece, Nocturne et Allegro scherzando by Philippe Gaubert.

If Moyse was nervous, he did not betray it in his performance, with the stretching melody of the nocturne and the skipping, whimsical turns of the scherzo were perfect vehicles for his expressive tone and nimble technique.

Gaubert, who had been impressed by Moyse's performance of his concours solo, was pleased to accept him as a private student, every Friday at five o'clock in the evening.

Moyse's career continued to flourish, and he became the first flutist with the orchestra of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire.

[16] In 1931, Moyse was teaching in Geneva when the flutist of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Marcel Welsch, committed suicide.

At the same time, a "Flute Celebration" was presented in London which paid tribute to the great flutist and teacher on his birth date, May 17.