Multi Award Winner Jodi Marr on What it Means to be an Educator

Songwriter, professor, polymath Jodi Marr shares her journey to the classroom

Leading with empathy can land a songwriter in unexpected places. For Instructor of Songwriting Jodi Marr this was the darkened hall of the Grand Ole Opry, watching with wide eyes as Dolly Parton sang lyrics that she wrote. 

Months prior, Marr was co-writing with an unsigned artist who came in with a heavy heart. She had just received news of her manager’s breast cancer diagnosis and was visibly upset. 

“Right then, I knew well enough to just call the session,” Marr said. “Rule number one of the songwriting room is to care about the person more than the song.” 

The pair, joined by songwriter Victoria Shaw, put aside their plans to write a hit that day and set to work on a cathartic project — channeling their grief and mustering hope with a song intended for an audience of one.“Let's just write a song for your manager, so when she comes back, we can surprise her,” Marr suggested. “We'll write a song encouraging her to get through this.” 

What resulted was the song “Pink,” which passed through the music industry milieu before eventually landing on Parton’s desk. So impressed with the song, Parton brought on collaborators Jordin Sparks, Monica, Rita Wilson and Sara Evans to cut the track, release a music video and start up an annual concert benefitting the Susan G. Komen Foundation. “Once Dolly Parton sings your song, you can die happy,” said Marr. 

The Road to Nashville 

Born in Hialeah, Florida and raised in Miami, Marr got her professional start through a publishing deal with Warner Chappell. “Most of the record labels for the Spanish speaking world are in Miami,” she said. “So, since I lived there and spoke Spanish, I was hired as a songwriter for the Latin office.” 

In less than a year, writing credits on Alejandro Guzman’s album “Soy” earned Marr her first Grammy award and established her as a creative powerhouse. Soon, she was collaborating with artists of all calibers and writing songs for some of the biggest artists in the world. 

This professional momentum took her career international, spawning collaborations with established artists like Richie Sambora and Kristen Chenowith. 

“The label quickly moved my contract and my career to the UK for almost 10 years. But I always had roots in Nashville, and I wanted to settle down someplace where I could have deer in the front yard when I became a mom,” she said. “But I also wanted to live in a town with a music business presence.” 

In 2013, Marr moved to Nashville to raise her daughter. One day, while co-writing with Dennis Matkosky and Michael Hardy, owners of Relative Music Group, her next change appeared on the horizon. Matkosky connected Marr with James Elliot, creator of Belmont's Songwriting program, and she was hired as an adjunct professor. 

Dolly Parton: Songteller  

In 2025, Belmont launched the Dolly U program which explores Parton’s legacy by teaching students with the example of her life and career. As a lifelong Parton fan, Marr leapt at the opportunity to teach a class in the program and set to work developing “Dolly Parton: Songteller,” with Victoria Banks, instructor of songwriting. 

“In the class, we study Dolly’s career and craft through her songwriting,” she explained. “By looking hard at her journey to becoming one of the biggest artists in the world, students are able to see how her songs built her life and made her into who she is.” 

Parton's extensive career - spanning more than seven decades - is a perfect case study. Marr's course narrows in on details of the icon's life to reveal the bigger picture of how Parton found success while maintaining integrity in the music industry. 

“We're studying songwriting, but we're also studying entrepreneurship, personhood and being a member of a community because Dolly is so much more than a songwriter,” she said. 

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Marr’s Classroom

As a working songwriter, Marr structures her professorship so that she has time to both write and teach. 

“I’m in the classroom Tuesday through Thursday, so that Mondays, Fridays, weekends and holidays I can continue to work in artist development, production and songwriting,” she said. “To me, the cornerstone of our program is that none of the professors are retired songwriters — we’re all right there with our students.” 

Marr’s industry connections often visit her classes as guest speakers. The Music Row site is a tremendous benefit for students in the classroom, as the close proximity allows representatives from music groups like Sony, Black River and Warner to easily walk over during their lunch hour and give guest lectures or feedback to students.  

“I think that's what makes Belmont unique,” shared Marr. “There are certainly outstanding schools that can teach music and even music business, but we're the only one who has Music Row in our classrooms teaching. For example, I had Jackie Campbell who does marketing for Dolly Parton as a guest speaker in my class last week.” 

At Belmont, the songwriting faculty is encouraged to display their awards in their offices, which for Marr would mean multiple Grammys and several multi-platinum records. “I begrudgingly brought some in,” she said. “But my most important award is a sign my students made for me that reads ‘Music Mama.’” To her, being an educator is a calling not unlike parenting — a mentorship role with a scope that extends past classroom material and into the whole life of the student. 

“Songwriting is a noble profession, but I think teaching is even more so," she mused. "You are helping someone build their dreams, so it's important to give them everything you can as a teacher." 

Marr says that she sees herself as a kind tour guide, "helping students fill their tool kits so they're best prepared for what comes after graduation, and as they make their way in the world." 

"When I see my students I always think, that's somebody's kid," she continued. "They belong to someone who’s entrusting me to guide them on this journey.”