| William John Marsh | |
| Birth Date: | 24 June 1880 |
| Birth Place: | Liverpool, England |
| Death Place: | Fort Worth, Texas |
| Burial Place: | Greenwood Memorial Park (Fort Worth) |
| Alma Mater: | Ampleforth College |
| Notable Works: | "Texas, Our Texas," the state song of Texas |
William John Marsh (June 24, 1880 – February 1, 1971) was an American composer, organist, choir director, and educator most notable for composing "Texas, Our Texas," the official state song. He was a longtime figure in the Dallas–Fort Worth arts community, working as a composer, choir director, music professor, and music critic. He published over 100 original compositions, including the official mass of the Texas Centennial and The Flower Fair at Peking, the first opera written and produced in the state of Texas.
William John Marsh was born on June 24, 1880, one of six children born to James and Mary Cecilia McCormick Marsh in Woolton,[1] a suburb of Liverpool, England. In the 1870s, Liverpool native James Marsh had worked for the Texas and Pacific Railway in Dallas, where he met Mary Cecilia McCormick, originally from Kentucky. James and Mary both met at Sacred Heart Cathedral, where they enjoyed singing. They married in 1877 and returned to Liverpool shortly afterward;[2] James ultimately became the mayor of Woolton.
Young "Bill" Marsh showed an early interest in music, studying harmony, composition, and organ at Ampleforth College in Yorkshire beginning at age twelve. As a teen, he took his mother's place as the church organist at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Woolton. At age sixteen, he had the opportunity to take lessons with Robert Hope-Jones on his famous electric organ at St. John's Church in nearby Birkenhead.
Planning to only stay a year, Marsh moved to Fort Worth, Texas in September 1904 to work at his cousin Morris Berney's cotton business (which eventually became the well-known Neil P. Anderson firm). He planned his cross-country trip across the United States to allow a visit to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis.
By 1906, Marsh had left the cotton business and was working as the organist at First Presbyterian Church of Fort Worth, a position he held for 36 years. In 1908, he also became the organist at Temple Beth-El synagogue (a position he held for 23 years), the choral director of the Euterpean Club, choral director of the Harmony Club, and director of the Music Study Club chorus. In 1920, he also took on the role of choirmaster at his own church, St. Patrick's Cathedral, in downtown Fort Worth. From 1933 to 1941, Marsh was the director of the Swift Choral Club, a choir formed by employees of the Swift & Company meat packing plant in the Fort Worth Stockyards. He was also the music critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for twenty years.
From 1934 to 1949, Marsh was the director of choral activities at Texas Christian University, where he was affectionately known as "Uncle Billy." He led the men's glee club on a New York tour in 1939 that included a performance at St. Patrick's Cathedral in midtown Manhattan. He began teaching at Our Lady of Victory Academy on Fort Worth's Southside the same year.
In the 1950s, Marsh directed the chorus of the William J. Marsh Music Club and the Marsh Young Artist String Ensemble, which were both members of the Texas Federation of Music Clubs.[3] [4]
See also: Texas, Our Texas. During his career, Marsh composed over 100 original musical works, mostly religious in nature. He is best known for the following compositions:
Marsh was a lifelong Catholic and became a United States citizen in 1917. He was a charter member of the Texas Federation of Music Clubs, which formed in 1915. He was the chair of the Texas Composers Guild for 25 years and a lifetime member of the Texas Federation of Music Clubs, National Federation of Music Clubs, Texas Music Teachers Association, and American Guild of Organists. In 1959, he was named the Outstanding Senior Citizen of Fort Worth.[10] In 1970, the Euterpean Club and the mayor of Fort Worth proclaimed a "William J. Marsh Day" in honor of the 40th anniversary of the adoption of "Texas, Our Texas" as the state song.[11]
Marsh's parents, James and Mary, spent their later years in Fort Worth with William and his sisters Clara, Mae, and Leoni, who operated the Marsh Private School for Young Children. The family lived in a west Fort Worth home on the site of the present-day campus of the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Marsh died February 1, 1971, at St. Joseph's Hospital after being bedridden for several years. He was buried at Greenwood Memorial Park following a mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. A Texas Historical Marker honoring his achievements stands near his grave.[12] [13]