William C. “Bill” Moffit, the famed former director of the University of Houston Spirit of Houston Cougar Marching Band and Cougar Brass, died recently in Jacksonville, Fla.

The memorial service will be 11 a.m., Monday, March 10 at the Eternity Funeral Home, 4856 Oakdale Ave., in Jacksonville. The Moores School of Music will host a service of remembrance at 9:45 a.m., Monday, March 10 in front of the Burdette Keeland Jr. Design Exploration Center. The marching band will perform at the service, which will feature Moffit’s music and arrangements.

Moffit was UH’s marching band leader from 1969 to 1980. He has been credited for pioneering many aspects of marching bands and halftime shows. In the 1970s, he successfully adapted well-known pop hits into band arrangements. Known as Sound Power, these numbers added a contemporary feel to college football and basketball games. Another Moffit innovation was “Patterns of Motion,” marching drill techniques that allowed band directors to coordinate field routines more quickly and easily.

As a faculty member, Moffit was nationally recognized as a music arranger. Bands from across the United States and around the world play music from his Soundpower series.

In honor to his contributions to the university, the UH Band Alumni Association and the Moores School of Music have worked to create the William C. Moffit Chair, an endowed professorship.

Staff reports