Dr. William J. Moody, 86, of Columbia, South Carolina, died Tuesday, April 3, 2018, following a long battle with cancer. Born December 27, 1931, in Duluth, Minnesota, he was the son of the late John Peter Moody and Rosalia Orana Martin Moody.

Dr. Moody received his High School Diploma from Proctor High School, in Proctor, Minnesota, where he played in his father's band and graduated as Valedictorian of his class. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota at Duluth, a Master of Music from Butler University, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Minnesota. He was band and choral director at Rossville, Indiana, from 1953-1956; band director at Duluth Central High School from 1957-1961; Director of Bands at the University of Southern Mississippi from 1961-1966; and Director of Bands from 1966-1973 and Vice-Chairman of the Department of Music from 1970-1973 at The University of Texas at Austin. He was an intern and fellow in the American Council on Education Academic Administration Internship Program from 1969-1970. He was a past president of the National Band Association and the Secretary-Treasurer of The American Bandmasters Association. He also served as editor of the Journal of Band Research from 1995-2009.

Dr. Moody came to the University of South Carolina as Head of the Music Department in 1973, a position he held until 1990 when he returned to full time teaching. Throughout his tenure as an administrator he added quality faculty, increasing its number from 20 to 41, graduate assistantships from 18 to 48, and tirelessly worked on recruitment and provision of music scholarships. Several new degree programs were added, including a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music Education. The University Bands were brought back into the Department of Music and a separate Music Library was maintained, apart from the centralized USC library. It was through his efforts that the Department of Music became a School of Music headed by a Dean. Creation of "Carolina Alive" and the annual "Christmas Music Festival" (which continued for 25 years) were part of his first year efforts to broaden the base of service to the state. He secured funding for the USC String Project that has vitalized string instruction in the public schools and has become a model for similar projects at other institutions. He encouraged expansion of the pedagogy program through which Columbia area students study privately with talented USC music students. He established the journal, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, that subsequently became a publication of the Music Educators National Conference. The music school, as it grew in size, added several buildings on campus. Eventually, through his efforts and constant lobbying, the University agreed to build the current School of Music along with the Koger Center for the Arts.

From 1973-1990 Dr. Moody was the producer and conductor of the "Columbia Lyric Opera," a joint effort of the School of Music and the Columbia Music Festival Association. He also directed the Columbia Lyric Opera Orchestra in two productions of The Nutcracker with Columbia City Ballet, under the direction of Ann Brodie. In 1987 he coordinated the music for Pope John Paul II's visit to Columbia. He originated and led an "Artistic Intelligences Conference," a national symposium held in 1989 to celebrate USC's "Year of the Arts," and he edited a book entitled Artistic Intelligences, Implications for Education, published by Teachers College Press. In 1999 he and James K. Copenhaver co-founded the Palmetto Concert Band. The band was invited to perform at the Mid-West Clinic in Chicago on two occasions, and it continues to provide three free concerts to the Columbia area annually. In addition to his work at USC Dr. Moody voluntarily served as the choir director of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia for more than thirty years.

Among his many awards were the National Band Association's Academy of Wind and Percussion Arts Award (2003), considered the "Oscar" of the band world; induction to the National Band Association Hall of Fame of Distinguished Band Conductors (2010); The American Bandmaster Association Honorary Life Member (2015), the highest ABA Member distinction; and The Order of the Palmetto (2015), considered the highest civilian honor in the state of South Carolina.

Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Regina Blackburn Moody; his children, John Edwin Moody (March), Linda Moody Schmidt (Ralph), and Loren David Moody; his grandchildren, David and Taylor Moody, and Tyler and Cara Steffy; and a sister, Rita Moody Waller of Arizona. In addition to his parents, Dr. Moody was preceded in death by four siblings and his first wife, Carol Jane Moody.

Visitation for Dr. Moody will be held, Sunday, April 8 from 3-5pm at Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, 7600 Trenholm Road Ext., Columbia. A Memorial Service will be held at 5:30pm, May 6th in the Koger Center for the Arts.