Wood Family Shares Musical Talents Weekly on YouTube to Uplift Others

Featured Photo: The Wood Family: Gerald, Molly, Seth, Sam and Lydia. Photo courtesy of Molly Wood.

Colleyville- Gerald and Molly Wood are award-winning professional musicians who reside in Colleyville, Texas, with their children, Seth (18), Sam (15), and Lydia (12). Each Sunday, as a way to worship together and to engage with their church community in Colleyville and beyond, the Wood family decided to provide a special musical number.

“We tried to think of ways we could serve while in quarantine and this was what we thought of. We recorded one the first Sunday we were home from church because of the lockdown. The second Sunday came and we debated doing another one. We were about to let it slide, but suddenly received texts from friends of other faiths expressing their gratitude for the video and how they were touched by it. It was then that we knew we should continue every week,” said Molly Wood

The Woods are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and usually meet weekly with their congregation in Colleyville. The international church has hundreds of congregations throughout the Metroplex. However, during the global pandemic, Latter-day Saints all over the world have been encouraged to worship weekly in their homes by studying the scriptures, praying and expressing their faith and hope through music.

We play often together in church and thought it would be a good way to serve during the lockdown. These musical numbers aren’t perfect, but it’s our way to serve germ-free.” They also upload their weekly “Sunday Specials” to YouTube. (Listen HERE.)

Molly is an accomplished composer and arranges many of the pieces herself. She explains, “I have to arrange each piece to accommodate the wide range of skills in the group. With two professionals, one college music major and a high school All-State horn player, our poor 12-year-old daughter, who has only been playing for seven months, had to somehow keep up. We are super proud of her work and progress. Some arrangements are based on other piano or vocal arrangements, but customized to our group (or I call it ‘Molly-fied’).”

Molly shared an experience they had one particular Sunday in early May. “That particular day, we had planned to play a different song, but on Tuesday night, we found out that a friend had lost her husband. We quickly put together a short, simple arrangement of ‘God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again’ and went to her home the next evening to play it for her. Her daughter was a previous horn student of mine. Both mom and daughter play and would perform together at my big horn concerts, so I knew it would be even more meaningful to have a bunch of horns show up on their front doorstep. I was grateful for the yard crew across the street that stopped when they saw what we were doing and turned off their loud equipment. Neighbors out walking also stopped, aware of what was happening. It was difficult to see the music we carefully taped to our stands thinking wind would be the issue, not tears, but when you are six feet away from a grieving wife and teenage daughter, it makes it hard. It was also heartbreaking to not hug them before we left. We dedicated that song to all those in the terrible circumstance of having to grieve the loss of a loved one during quarantine. I am grateful for the peace that music and the message of the gospel can bring.”

Molly is grateful for the unexpected ways her family has been blessed by the lockdown. “This time at home has really allowed me to focus more fully on my faith. Each Sunday, our family puts on our Sunday best and worships together through music, prayer and scripture study. Lately, I have felt the need for a more intense focus on the Savior and His plan for me to help get through this strange time.” She is surprised by how many people from all over the world tune in to listen to their weekly songs. “Every week, we read the comments on the videos; it has had a huge impact on our family. We read about friends that listened to the videos on a cross-country trip to bury their father or how it brought tears to someone’s eyes and lifted their spirit. We’ve received messages from all over the world.”

At first, her teenagers weren’t too thrilled about getting dressed up to record a video in their living room, but, as Molly explains, “Now, we don’t even have to tell our kids to get ready. We just hear the familiar creak of the ironing board as they prepare for the song. I definitely think this has brought a special spirit into our home and closeness to our family. I love that quarantine has given our family time to do this more together.”

Molly also writes introductions to the weekly musical numbers on her Facebook page. She explains why they choose to perform certain songs. One week, she wrote, “We thought this song was appropriate for this week. Whenever my siblings would argue, someone would hum or sing this melody, mostly to annoy them, but also as a reminder. I think it is one blessing we can get out of this historic event. Everyone returning to ‘home.’” She includes the lyrics to the song each week, as well. That week, the song was “Love at Home.”

Lydia Wood, who is twelve and relatively new to playing horn, says that her band friends from school subscribe to the YouTube channel so they can watch the weekly videos, and one friend described staying up late one night listening to all of them in a row. Sam, a Texas All-State horn player enjoys “working together on the music and how everyone can make changes. My older brother, Seth, suggested taking his part up an octave one day while they were rehearsing for a recording, and everyone agreed it was a good idea. We are all learning while serving.”

Gerry, a professor of musical performance at University of Texas Arlington, says of the effort, “We always pray before each recording session. We pray that at least one person will be affected by the spirit. It’s wonderful to play with our kids.”

Molly sums up her feelings by expressing, “If our songs bring happiness or a spirit of peace to just one person, it has been worth it.”

Gerry Wood is third horn in the Dallas Opera, a freelance musician and private instructor in addition to his duties as a regular extra with both the Dallas and Fort Worth Symphonies. Molly is an accomplished composer and private music instructor in both brass and piano. Both Gerry and Molly have toured extensively with groups such as the American Wind Symphony Orchestra and the horn quartet, The Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse.