Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Darby Schultz . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Darby, thanks for joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

The first paycheck I earned as an artist was in high school. I was 14 years old and a church paid me to sing at a funeral. I had sung at church my whole life but this was the first time I had been compensated for it! I remember looking at that check and thinking, “that’s a lot of money for one song!” It wasn’t that much but I was young and excited at this new possibility. That was when I learned there’s a ton of talented musicians who make a living playing in churches. That lit a fire inside me because maybe I could too!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I began taking violin lessons at age 4 and voice lessons at age 9. My earliest influences were performing in church, orchestras, and musical theater camps. I earned my BM in violin performance from Converse University and my MM in Church Music from Lee University.

My husband, Andrew, and I make up the Christian duo, A Better Covenant. We both grew up performing in church but loved composing our own music. Our extensive classical backgrounds allow for magnificent instrumental and vocal numbers. The number of instruments on stage alone often surprises people! We have released 3 albums which you can stream on any platform. For the last 3 years we have provided music for church services, vespers concerts, camp meetings, evangelistic series, and other events across the country.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Just last month we were sharing at a couple of churches in Ohio and during the drive our second concert was cancelled. We were bummed but had other commitments to maintain so we kept traveling. The next morning, I passed out and didn’t know why. I powered through our first concert but realized I couldn’t get my heart rate down and was having chest pain. That’s when I told my husband, Andrew, whom I perform with, that we needed to go to the hospital. A couple tests later, I was rushed into emergency surgery because I had deep vein thrombosis all the way from my ankle to my lungs. Two pulmonary embolisms were blocking both sides of my lungs and one was dangerously close to my heart. After the surgery, the surgeon told my husband that if I had powered through a second concert, I could have dislodged the clot near my heart and dropped dead. After a second procedure and 5 days in the hospital, I was released and we finally made the trip home. Being people of faith, we don’t believe in coincidences. God must still have plans for me and we’ve never been so grateful for a cancelled concert.
Three weeks after being released from the hospital, I was so stir crazy that I knew I should begin performing again. Everybody told me to take it easy and even though my lung capacity still isn’t one hundred percent, I’m so thankful to have started performing again. It’s a beautiful thing to love what you do so much that you miss it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

This may be a little niche to what I do as a church musician but to me, the most amazing moments are when I am leading others in worship because it is both an individual and communal experience. Everyone worships differently but we get to do it weekly together as a community. During those times, I sometimes look around and can’t believe how blessed I am to be able to do what I love.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.abettercovenantband.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/abettercovenantband?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abettercovenantband/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCxeXRAZSHRFmEMUQ4JypwWg

Image Credits
Photography by Victoria Leigh Photography and Leah Pubillones Photography