GERRY WOOD
Praised for his "polished tone and amazing expressivity" by the Dallas Morning News, Gerald "Gerry" Wood joined the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as Principal Horn in 2022. Prior to his appointment, he held positions in the Dallas Opera Orchestra and the Dallas Winds and was a prolific freelancer in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. From drum and bugle corps to chamber ensembles to video game recording sessions to orchestras worldwide (including China, Korea, Germany, Poland, Italy, and Switzerland), Mr. Wood's playing experience runs the gamut of performance ensembles. He has performed as a soloist at the Busan Maru International Music Festival in Korea and is the founding member of the internationally renowned Horn quartet, The Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse
A well-respected educator and clinician, Mr. Wood is the Adjunct Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Texas Arlington and the founder and director of The UTA Honors Horn Camp and the Bluebonnet Horn Festival. Both of which are dedicated to the education and inspiration of young horn players. For over a decade, he was the Horn instructor at the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute and has presented numerous clinics and performances at workshops and universities around the country, including twice at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio, Texas. In addition, he has several articles published in the New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
A native of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, he holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education (Stephen F. Austin State University), a Masters in Horn Performance (University of Southern Mississippi), and is currently working on his Doctorate of Musical Arts in Horn Performance and Instrumental Conducting (University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana).
Gerry and his wife, Molly, reside in Azle with two of their three children. He is proud that his entire family, including Molly, are successful horn players and musicians. Gerry hasn't had hair on his head since he was twenty or so, and, don't worry, his kids don't find him funny either!
Gerry plays a Yamaha 871D and is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
MOLLY WOOD
Mrs. Miriam “Molly” Wood has been teaching brass and piano students since 1994. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Southern Mississippi and has worked on her Master’s degree in Music Performance at the University of Illinois. Mrs. Wood has toured extensively throughout the U.S., Mexico, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines with groups such as the American Wind Symphony Orchestra and the horn quartet, The Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse. Mrs. Wood has also received a number of solo and concerto awards including placing 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the International Horn Society Midwest and International Women’s Brass competitions. She is a Texas All-State Musician in both 1993 and 1994. She has been involved in musical outreach programs, taking her quartet into public schools throughout the U.S., is the founder of the Bluebonnet Hornfest and UTA Honors Horncamp, was honored to teach horn students from an International School in Switzerland in Spring, 2015, and was a guest artist at Hornswoggle in 2019. Mrs. Wood currently teaches English at Aledo HS and horn before and after school. She is frequently requested to provide masterclasses, judging and clinics throughout DFW. In her spare time, she is a composer/arranger for Houghton Horns and Brownwood Publishing Co. and helps manage tours for The Four Hornsmen. She resides in Azle, TX with her youngest daughter and her husband, Gerry.
