Andrew Moquin is not a musician, but ...

By Vanessa Lyons

July 1999 - In front of every orchestra stands a conductor - who waves his baton and directs the individual musicians to produce one synchronized and harmonious piece.

Andrew Moquin's job as the president of the Bellingham Festival of Music is similar to this. Each year he must work with hundreds of individuals to produce the festival.

The theme of the 1999 festival, which runs from July 30 through Aug. 15, is again "Beethoven in Bellingham".

Beethoven holds a special place in the heart of Moquin, who had no exposure to classical music early on in his life. While attending college in Massachusetts, he happened to see a performance of the Boston Symphony doing Beethoven's Ninth.

"It just bowled me over - and since then I've been an admirer of classical music, I've just loved it from that point on," Moquin said.

Although not a musician, Moquin went on to take music appreciation classes and sang in the glee club, while completing his liberal arts degree at St. Stephens College in Dover, Mass.

After graduation, a job with a marketing and public relations firm led Moquin to a job with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, where he was director of development and public relations for 15 years.

While working with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, which performed 10 concerts in Milwaukee, also became part of his life.

He then was invited to work for the Detroit Symphony, where he worked for five years. He also wanted to pursue his passion for food, and after leaving the symphony he opened a food business and restaurant in the area.

Working in the music world developed Moquin's business skills as well as his love of music.

"Hearing orchestras like the Chicago Symphony, the Milwaukee Symphony and the Detroit Symphony gave me good exposure to music and I grew to love it even more," Moquin said.

Moquin met his wife Kay Moquin while living in Michigan, and the two decided they wanted to establish themselves elsewhere. After searching for a place with a perfect mixture of climate, culture and natural beauty, the couple decided on Bellingham and moved here 10 years ago.

In 1993 the couple bought Il Fiasco restaurant, which Moquin said was a wonderful way to get to know the community. They sold the restaurant last October, but Moquin said the sale had nothing to do with his newly gained position. He was just going to have some quiet time, he said.

The quiet time never came, and now Moquin is one of the two full time employees that work on the festival.

Moquin, 57, has worked with the festival since its inception seven years ago. He served as a member of the festival's board of directors for six years -- where he worked doing fund raising and became familiar with the organization.

After being appointed president in 1998, Moquin's responsibilities increased dramatically. Besides soliciting funds from sponsors and the community, Moquin works closely with the media to promote the festival.

Part of his job is to keep in touch with all the various people involved with the festival. He works on contracts with the artists, with musical director Michael Palmer, with Western Washington University staff, as well as up to 200 volunteers, 26 board members and the more than 300 people whom contribute funds.

For example, he just met with people from two major record companies that plan to release live recordings of some of the festival performances.

Although Moquin says that the festival is much more work than he anticipated, he also says that he enjoys working with all the people that make the festival happen. He says that working with Palmer and the volunteers is a particular delight for him.

He finds it more of a challenge to deal with all the details that arise right before the concert.

I have an artistic side to myself, and I really enjoy the visionary aspect of the job - sometimes the knit-picky details are the worst part for me," Moquin said.

In less than a month, all thoughts of the festival will have settled down for a long winter's hibernation for most of us - but not for Moquin.

Moquin says that as soon as this festival is over, festival planners will start thinking about next year.

"Each season is like reinventing the wheel as far as getting the festival back on track," Moquin said.

While Moquin will admit to the hard work he puts into the festival, it is easy to see that his work is a labor of love.

"There's a magic at these concerts that moves people - and that's what excites me and I suppose motivates me to promote this festival. I can't imagine that it's a part of life that I could do without," Moquin said.

Wally Jossart, who does financial work for the festival and works closely with Moquin, says that Moquin's work has a big impact on the arts in this community.

"Andrew Moquin is an extremely dedicated and hardworking man. The festival wouldn't go as well as it does without all his hard work," Jossart said.

Editor's Note: This story is published as submitted, with little to no editing.