About Kerry Marsh/Bio

 

Kerry Marsh is Director of Jazz Singers 1 and 2 at The University of Kansas and a distinguished arranger and publisher specializing in vocal jazz ensemble music. His catalog of more than 400 compositions and arrangements, published through KerryMarsh.com, is performed worldwide by leading educational vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles.

Marsh previously served on the jazz studies faculty at the University of Northern Colorado, where he directed two advanced vocal jazz ensembles and taught applied jazz voice. Before joining UNC, he spent a decade directing vocal jazz ensembles at Sacramento State. Ensembles under his direction at Kansas, Northern Colorado, and Sacramento State have earned 18 DownBeat Magazine Student Music Awards and have been featured at conferences of the Jazz Education Network and the International Association for Jazz Education.

In collaboration with his wife and musical partner, vocalist Julia Dollison, Marsh released the critically acclaimed album Vertical Voices: The Music of Maria Schneider on ArtistShare in 2010. With the endorsement of Grammy-winning composer Maria Schneider, the project reimagined Schneider’s orchestral compositions for voices and rhythm section and featured members of the Maria Schneider Orchestra. The album received a four-star review in DownBeat Magazine.

Marsh is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, guest conductor, and arranger. He has directed all-state jazz choirs throughout the United States and has worked extensively with singer-songwriter Ben Folds as a vocal arranger and director of background singers for performances with major symphony orchestras, including the Boston Pops, National Symphony Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. He also arranged and recorded background vocals for three tracks on Folds’ 2024 Christmas album, Sleigher.

Marsh holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Kansas and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas.