Meet Greg Marsee

We recently connected with Greg Marsee and have shared our conversation below.

Greg, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

Being a musician taught me resilience through hard work and dedication to a craft. That and life experience in looking to always improve when I failed at success in the first try.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

In my day job as an orchestra teacher I’m focused on giving students the best experience in foundational string education. I’m most excited when students take the reins of their own direction in their musical creativity!

In my career as a luthier, I am focused on making a great quality instrument with my own personal signature artistic aspects. I’m not excited when I come up with a new idea no one has thought of. I’m currently designing several instruments inspired by different Kentucky based brands. Currently I’m in the works of making an Ale-8-1 inspired violin.

In rosin making my focus is making a high quality product that musicians can really on. I’m quite proud of the direction I have taken creatively in its making and branding.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The first quality I could think of would be to acknowledge the fact that I had a father who is a jack of all trades. He did not finish high school but he is one of the most intelligent man I’ve ever met in my life. He instilled me a way of thinking they would rival most engineers.

The second thing I would say is Not to take failure as a bad thing. Those who succeed on the first trial called Lucky and have really learned nothing about themselves or what they were trying to do. Failure is the catalyst this propels everyone to being the best version of themselves either personally or professionally.

Third, I would say is my ability to ignore people with negative opinions. Listen to the horse inside you that tells you you can do it and always search for that thing that you were most passionate for..

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

First, I would have to say my biggest supporter has been my lovely wife, Karen Marsee. I was a late in life college student. Neither one of my parents graduated high school, so when I first tried to go to college I was not successful. I didn’t have a lot of support early on. After I got married I realized I really wanted to go back to school and finish my degree in teaching Music. My wife encouraged me and help me to believe in myself.

The second person, and almost as important as the first was my former orchestra teacher, Mr. Mearl Risner. He was my mentor and friend for almost 35 years. He believed in me when most other people wouldn’t . He passed away this past spring and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about how he inspired me as a young musician and how he cared for me as a student. Any and all success I’ve ever had musically or in my Violin making career I truly owe to him for instilling in me, the passion of the craft of music making, and teaching me the wander of how these fantastic instruments operate..

Third would have to be my father Steve Marsee. From him I received my work ethic and drive. He taught me that the quality of your work should be as honest as you can make it. I’ve carried that with me in every aspect that I can.

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