Brandon F. Woods, voicer of Goulding & Wood Pipe Organs who defined the musical character of the company’s instruments for over thirty years, died May 25 at age 65 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Born in Indianapolis, he spent much of his childhood and adolescence there along with three brothers and two sisters. By 1969 he worked for Edward H. Holloway Corporation tuning and maintaining area pipe organs and then training as a voicer. His budding career was interrupted when he was drafted into the U. S. Army in 1971 and served a two-year stint in the military police. Following his return to Indianapolis, Brandon voiced countless instruments through the 1970s and early 1980s for the Holloway Corporation, eventually becoming a partner in the firm.
After Goulding & Wood Organbuilders was established, Brandon joined fellow former Holloway employees John Goulding and Thomas Wood. He voiced and finished all organs beginning with the firm’s sixth instrument and continuing through their most recently completed installation in Mobile, Alabama. Notable projects in his career include the Catholic cathedral in Atlanta, Georgia; the Episcopal cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Meinrad Benedictine Archabbey in southern Indiana; Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana; Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois; and large organs in Greenville, South Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Dallas, Texas. He also completed refurbishments of large, historically significant Aeolian-Skinner organs at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.
Brandon maintained a dedication to and intense care for every project, regardless of size or locale, with an uncompromising attention to detail and meticulous approach to voicing. A lifelong student of the art, he actively sought out techniques and skills from contemporary voicers and by studying historic instruments. Brandon’s greatest gift, however, was his instinctive understanding of the physics of sound, the principles of acoustics, and the aesthetics of musical taste. He synthesized these dynamics and used his perception of human audiology to produce organs of exquisite beauty.
Brandon complemented his artistic pursuits with pipe organs with a number of outside interests. He was a lifelong musician and an accomplished guitarist in the jazz-rock genre. He preferred the sound of Fender Stratocaster guitars with an aggressive playing style that accentuated the inherent nature of the design. Brandon was a fervent fan of motor racing, particularly around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He attended the famed Indy 500 religiously from an early age, and he was actively preparing to attend the 2016 100th race at the time of his death. Brandon was also an avid tennis player for many years, reaching a high level of accomplishment in amateur competitions and casual matches.
Brandon Woods is survived by his wife, Linda Passwater Woods; stepchildren Chris Beatty, Nikki Smythe, Tiffany Cornelius, Lia Cornelius-Glenn, and Danica Park; brothers Monte, Loren, and Lyle Woods, sisters Fontane andMarcy Woods, and eleven grandchildren.
—Jason Overall
