Emmy Award-winning music professor says investing in students is most cherished time of his career

Throughout his 14 years at Liberty University, School of Music professor Don Marsh has experienced the joy of pouring into hundreds of students on a personal level, sharing his knowledge of the music industry while encouraging them to remain grounded in their faith despite the highs and lows that many recording artists experience throughout their careers.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of (Liberty founder) Jerry Falwell Sr.’s mission and specifically with the School of Music, to train students to go out into the world,” said Marsh, who teaches commercial music.

Along with his 13 Dove Award nominations, three Emmy Awards, and Gold Record, Marsh has arranged, orchestrated, and produced over 300 full albums of choral music, solo projects, and various works for publishing companies such as Hal Leonard, Shawnee Press, Word Music, Brentwood/Benson/Sony Publishing, and Gaither Music. He has had several national publications, with over 3,500 individual arrangements. Marsh has worked with accomplished artists such as Bill Gaither, Doug Oldham, Sandi Patti and Larnelle Harris (More Than Wonderful), Steve Green, the World Help Children’s Choir, and Todd Agnew.

Marsh’s publishing career actually began in Lynchburg — he wrote arrangements for the Old Time Gospel Hour Choir at Thomas Road Baptist Church, under Falwell Sr., TRBC’s founding pastor, and music director David Randlett. As a freelancer in the commercial music industry, Marsh worked with Liberty’s music program in the 1970s. TRBC remained one of his biggest clients through the 1990s. Marsh produced 22 albums for the church and university.

In addition to his work at Liberty, Marsh maximized the majority of his music industry career years by working in Nashville, which was a hotspot in regard to the young, yet steadily growing contemporary Christian music industry.

He returned to his roots when he was hired by the School of Music in 2008.

“Since all of my experience in Nashville was in the music industry in one way or another, I teach in the commercial music department,” he said. “I’m now teaching pretty much every area that I worked in throughout my career. … That’s what I always hoped to do — to transfer some of my knowledge into the practical.”

Marsh understands that the more traditional music courses are necessary so that students have a strong foundation. But his role is to approach their musical education from a different angle.

“Often those music classes are more for background and don’t as much relate to the music of today, the pop styles and things like that,” he said. “That’s what I get to do is to fill in the gaps on those topics.”

Despite all of his career success, Marsh said that pouring into his students at the School of Music has been the most fulfilling aspect of his career.

“That’s what I’ve always dreamed of doing,” Marsh said. “I wanted to have direct contact with students who wanted to go into music in some way. … I have a strong interest in helping students start their careers.”

Early on in his personal career, Marsh had the opportunity to dabble in more of the mainstream side of his field but sensed that his spiritual wellbeing might be impacted in a negative way. Although that is the decision that he made for his own life, Marsh desires to give advice and career guidance to students who sense a calling into areas outside of worship and Christian music.

“I realized that you have to be completely sold out to the secular industry to even pursue those careers,” he said. “And God may lead some of our students to do that, but not be sold out to the point that they have to turn their back on their Christianity. In my day, it seemed that you had to make a big choice like that. But being in Nashville, I was able to pursue a Christian side of the profession, and I’m thankful that God did that.”

Marsh said that for the students who are going to make the decision to be a light in the darkness, they need to make sure that the Lord is leading them into it.

“You have to be called,” he said. “If you are called, learn your strengths and skills and be diligent in learning them well as you look to live for the Lord in that area of the industry.”

While the professional music industry often portrays achieving success as a difficult and slim possibility, Marsh chooses to take the positive approach, bringing to light every possible avenue he was exposed to along his journey in hopes of giving his students a chance to succeed.

“There’s a lot of people who have talent,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who have more talent than me. But God also cares a lot about whether we are ready to serve him with (those talents) and whether we are willing to be used by Him.”

This advice served Marsh well throughout his own career.

“The times where I have succeeded have been when I was truly serving God with my abilities and not listening to the praise of men … just doing what God led me to do,” he said.