Ivan Moody studied at the Universities of London, Joensuu and York (where he took his doctorate). His music has been performed, broadcast and recorded all over the world, by soloists and ensembles of renown.

His largest works are Passion and Resurrection (commissioned by Red Byrd, 1992 and recorded on Hyperion CDA 66999), Revelation (commissioned by the Tavener Consort, 1995), Akathistos Hymn (commissioned by Cappella Romana in 1998 and recorded on Cappella Romana CR 418), The Dormition of the Virgin (commissioned by the BBC Singers, 2003), Passione Popolare (commissioned by the Antidogma Festival Turin, 2005), Ossetian Requiem (commissioned by the Amsterdam Cello Octet, 2005), Moons and Suns (commissioned by Ars Nova and the Raschèr Quartet, 2008), Stabat Mater (commissioned by the Oslo Soloists Choir, 2008), Simeron (commissioned by the Goeyvarts Quartet and Vox Luminis 2012, and recorded on Channel Classics CC72616), Qohelet (commissioned by De Labyrintho, 2013), Vespers Sequence (commissioned by New York Polyphony, 2016), Stephans-Weihnacht (commissioned by Singer Pur and St Stephen’s Church, Therwil,
2019) and Byzantine Requiem (commissioned by Singer Pur, 2022).

He also wrote an extensive series of shorter choral works, including many for the Hilliard Ensemble (notably Endechas y Canciones, 1996, recorded on ECM New Series 1614/15), for the Tallis Scholars, Amarcord, Trio Mediaeval (notably Words of the Angel, 1998, recorded on ECM New Series 1753), Winterthur Vocal Ensemble, Grupo Vocal Olissipo, Singcircle, Cappella Nova and the English Chamber Choir (of which he was a Patron), the most recent being Evangelismos (2023), given at the Cadogan Hall on the Choir’s 50th anniversary.

There is an important series of concertante works for various instruments: Vigil of the Angels (1992) for viola and strings, Epitaphios (1993) for cello and strings, Pnevma (1998) for recorder and strings, The Morning Star (2003) for double-bass and strings, Linnunlaulu (2003) for piano and chamber orchestra, Arise (2004) for bassoon and chamber orchestra, Lacrime d’Ambra (2006) for harp and chamber ensemble, Pipistrello (2007) for tuba and brass ensemble, Dragonfly (2013) for bass clarinet and chamber ensemble, Iterazioni (2026) for marimba and strings, and Concierto Narrativo for soprano saxophone and strings.

Solo and chamber instrumental music includes works for Sophie Yates, Artur Pizarro, António Carrilho, Paul Barnes, Catalina Vicens, Sofia Moody, Katharine Rawdon, Richard Boothby, Suzie Leblanc, Mahan Esfahani, Elizabeth Davies, Alexander Chance, Bruce Dickey, Amy Dickson, Bruno Monteiro, Rose Consort, Fretwork, Trio Entremadeiras, Dellalian Trio, Duo Machina Mundi, Grupo de Música Contemporânea de Lisboa, Septura and the Ingmar Duo.

Recent works include Babbu nostru (2023) for the Latvian Radio Choir, Path of Light (in progress) for Vox Clamantis and Quartet of Life (2023), for contralto, clarinet, violin and double-bass.

As a musicologist, his work on the music of the Balkans and the Iberian Peninsula, and Orthodox sacred music is widely published. He was a Research Fellow at CESEM – Universidade Nova, Lisbon, and contributed to Grove, MGG, the Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology and the Cambridge Companion to Stravinsky. His book Modernism and Orthodox Spirituality in Contemporary Music was published in 2014. He was a protopresbyter of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and also Founding Chairman of the International Society for Orthodox Church Music and an Affiliate Scholar of the Institute of Sacred Arts at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary, New York.