The University of South Carolina School of Music is sad to share the news that Dr. William J. Moody, Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus at the University of South Carolina, passed away on April, 3, 2018.  

There will be a Celebration of Life for Dr. Moody on May 6 at the Koger Center for the Arts from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.  Details may be found here.

Following a national search, Dr. Moody became head of the USC Department of Music (now the School of Music) in 1973. During Moody's tenure (1973–1990), music-major enrollment rose to more than 400, the number of full-time music faculty nearly doubled to 39, the first doctoral students were accepted into the program, and the school became a major center for music study in the Southeast. 

Dr. Moody was a band director in public schools for 7 years, Director of Bands at the University of Southern Mississippi for 5 years, Director of Bands at the University of Texas at Austin for 7 years, and Director of the School of Music at the University of South Carolina for 17 years. His university bands performed for a Southern Divisional meeting of CBDNA, a national meeting of CBDNA, and the 1973 Convention of the American Bandmasters Association.

Dr. Moody started MM and DMA conducting degrees for band directors at both UT and USC, and served as coordinator of conducting at USC. During his years as Director of Bands, he wrote several articles on band pedagogy that were printed in various music education journals, and in 1990 he edited the book Artistic Intelligences, Implications for Education. He was on the first Board of Directors of the National Band Association and is a past president of that organization. He was a member of NBA's Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts and of the NBA Hall of Fame of Distinguished Conductors. He was elected to The American Bandmasters Association in 1966 and has served as secretary-treasurer since 2003; he was editor of ABA's Journal of Band Research from 1995 to 2009.  Dr. Moody was also the founder of the renowned USC String Project.

The faculty, staff and students of the School of Music wish to extend their sympathy to the family of Dr. Moody. We are deeply grateful for his years of service to the School of Music and at the University of South Carolina. 

Full obituary and visitation information can be found on the Shives Funeral Home site.