Local to be honored as Montana Symphony Volunteer of the Year

Music has been a part of Julie Moffitt’s life ever since she started taking piano lessons as a young girl, which morphed into a love of singing and Broadway musicals. So when she and her husband Jim relocated from Florida to Montana, getting involved with Glacier Symphony, Orchestra and Chorale seemed like a natural fit. For Moffitt, the mission of sharing classical music with the community was an important one, and she’s dedicated nine years of service to the symphony’s board of directors and held the role of board president from 2017 to 2019. Next month, Moffitt be recognized for all her hard work raising funds and awareness for Glacier Symphony when she’s presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award by the Montana Association of Symphonic Orchestras. The ceremony will take place Sunday, April 26, during the symphony’s Spring Festival at Flathead Valley Community College.

“It’s very gratifying that Glacier Symphony gets recognized above all the other symphonies in the state,” Moffitt said. “All of our board members are volunteers and many of the musicians are volunteers — they get just a stipend. … It’s a passion — a passion for the music.”

Moffitt said her primary role as a board member has been to get the word out about the symphony’s work and to fundraise to support the organization, which draws just 30% of its funding from ticket sales. Glacier Symphony is the most active symphony in the state of Montana, Moffitt said, carrying out up to two dozen performances annually including the eight-day Festival Amadeus, an outdoor symphony night at Rebecca Farm, along with the Christmastime classic, George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah.”

Although her work has been rewarding, Moffitt said raising the funds necessary to support the symphony isn’t without its challenges.

“It’s hard to raise money for a nonprofit like the symphony because we’re not curing a disease, not doing anything so noble as that, but we are helping the community with a lifestyle benefit,” she said. “Even though it’s not a direct remedy for what ails you, it is a remedy for your soul, for your spirit, for your outlook. It’s a benefit to all of us to have [the symphony] for our cultural, our spiritual and our emotional wellbeing.”

Over the years, she’s most enjoyed being a part of longtime director John Zoltek’s creative experience and watching as he grows the program, introduces new guest artists and brings new offerings to life.

“He finds these amazing young guest artists to bring to us,” Moffitt said, “and he raised the performance level of our resident musicians and attracted more people who might have been hesitant to join the local symphony.”

This June, Moffitt will be stepping down from her position on the board due to term limits, but will continue supporting the symphony, this time, from the crowd.

“I’ll just be a consistent and faithful audience member,” she said.

For those who are interested in getting involved with the symphony, Moffitt said there are a multitude of volunteer roles available from serving on the board to ushering at concerts or assisting the symphony office. ■