Marcus Neal

Piano, Drums, Keyboards, and Organ

My name is Marcus Neal. I was born May 14, 1992, in Knoxville, TN. Music holds a very special place in my life. To me, it is a blessing from God that can pick us up when we are down in the valley and bring a spirit of rejoicing when we are on the mountain top. I have been blessed with a wonderful family who, like me, is fully engrossed in music. I can remember the family gathering in the kitchen to practice for a singing appointment when I was little, always wishing to join in with them. My musical journey started at the young age of 5 years old when I became interested in learning how to play the drums. I never took lessons, though. Instead, I would sit in the drummer’s lap at church and play along with him, trying to pick up on how to play. This lasted for a few years when one night I decided to play by myself. The musicians and singers where practicing after church. Eager to test my skills, I took a seat behind the drum set and began trying to play along. It certainly didn’t turn out the best in the world, but it encouraged me to continue trying. Sunday after Sunday I would practice playing in church, gaining skill and technique as time went along. By age 10 playing was second nature to me as I had finally mastered the drums.

    At age 13 I started taking an interest in the piano. I began feeling a strong conviction upon my heart to learn how to play. Every time I would hear this beautiful instrument the calling grew stronger and stronger. I wanted to be able to do what I was hearing other musicians play. It wasn’t long before a wonderful piano player that we knew started giving me lessons. I was a quick learner as after four lessons the teacher informed me that I had learned everything she knew, which was quite a bit of material and many years of experience.

One night in church there was no one to play the piano. Several minutes of searching for a substitute pianist came back with no results. My Dad, however, knew of one person who could play Amazing Grace (Me), so nervously I went to the piano and played the song. The choir and other singers followed after that, and before I knew it I had just played through the whole service. It all seemed like a dream. I could have never seen myself doing that a few months earlier. I have since never taken any other lessons, but have rather learned on my own, combining things from different places with what the good Lord gives me into a very unique style of piano playing.

     My piano solo playing got started when I heard the late great Anthony Burger playing on a Gaither advertisement on TV. I thought to myself, "Wow, it would be awesome to be able to do that.” After seeing his television performance, I began work on learning numerous songs to play, drawing from the magnificent artistry of Gospel’s greatest pianists. As my skills grew I was fortunate enough to begin blessing others with my piano playing. I recorded my first CD, entitled “Exodus,” a year into my ministry, which saw God’s work play out in front of me greater than anticipated. The Lord blessed me in 2009 to complete a second CD, “Rejoice,” which I feel shows how far He has brought me in such a short period of time. As time continues to pass the Lord gives us the song and I use my music for His glory.

Someone could have said to me several years ago, “Marcus, God’s going to give you the ability to play the piano,” and I would have thought they had lost it. With God you just never know what he would have you to do. I thank our Lord Jesus Christ for blessing me with such a talent that he has. I hope to continue using the ministry of music to witness to others about the Lord and what he is capable of doing. Our God is great, so let us serve him with our full mind, heart, and soul while we are here upon this Earth.