Daryl Duff
Biography
Dr. E. Daryl Duff is a retired Navy Chief Musician who served 23 years as soloist and vocalist with the United States Navy Band Sea Chanters Chorus. Stationed in Washington D.C. from 1990 to 2013, he provided musical support to four U.S. Presidents, the Department of the Navy, as well as senior ranking military and government officials. He was a featured soloist on seven U.S. Navy Band recordings and several U.S. Navy Band concerts televised by the Armed Forces Network.
He has performed at The White House, on Capitol Hill, in the Homes of the U.S. Vice President, Chief of Naval Operations, and the Chairman and Vice Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other notable performance venues include Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Constitution Hall. His voice has taken him to England, Ukraine, and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He has sung the Star-Spangled Banner at the following sports venues: The Nationals Stadium in Washington D.C.; Buffalo Bills Stadium, NY; Kansas City Royals Stadium, Kansas City, MO; Winston-Salem Dash, USTA Tournament Winston-Salem, NC; and Charlotte Knights, Charlotte, NC.
On October 16, 2025, he performed the world premier of “Three More Wise Men” for bass-baritone and piano composed by Dr. Amy Riebs Mill. His online presence includes singing an accapella version of “Amazing Grace” with Christian comedian Michael Jr’s “Break Time #5 and “Know Your Why” which has gotten over one million views since 2015. His most recent performances include soloist and narrator for Liberty University Convocation Gospelology and Hymnology. He is a featured soloist on the song “How Great Thou Art” on the album Majesty & Glory: Hymns of the Church produced by Thomas Road Baptist Church. He has performed roles in “The Wiz” and “Fiddler on the Roof” produced by the Alluvion Stage Company. He also played Balthazar in “Amahl and the Night Visitors” and Thomas in the concert version of “Amazing Grace: The Broadway Musical.” Both productions were produced by the Liberty University School of Music. Additional feature performances as narrator and soloist include “Peter and the Wolf” with the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, Forest Dance Academy, and Lynchburg Pops Community Band. He was soloist for the Virginia Christmas Spectacular at Thomas Road Baptist Church. He is a frequent bass soloist with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra to include Mozart’s “Requiem” and Handel’s Messiah. He’s been a featured soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, U.S. Army Band, and the Northern Virginia Chorale.
During his active-duty career, Chief Petty Officer Duff earned multiple Department of the Navy honors for his distinguished service, including the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal as Sailor of the Year. This recognition reflected both his excellence as a Navy Musician and his sustained commitment as a volunteer and missionary serving military and civilian communities in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Ukraine.
Dr. Duff joined the Liberty University School of Music as an Adjunct Professor in Fall 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Central Missouri (1990) and completed a Master of Arts in Music and Worship in Spring 2018. That same fall, he was appointed to the full-time faculty as Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2023. He earned his Ph.D. in Christian Worship, with an emphasis in African American Worship, from Liberty University in May 2025.
Dr. Duff resides in Lynchburg, Virginia, with his wife Claudia, whom he has been married for 40 years. They are the proud parents and grandparents of a growing family: their son Jonathan lives in Spokane, Washington, with his three children; their son Josiah and daughter-in-love Megan live in Lynchburg with their young son; and their daughter Bethany, a Liberty graduate, also resides in Lynchburg after earning her master’s degree in creative writing. Daryl and Claudia are grateful grandparents to five “GrandDufflings”—one granddaughter, three grandsons, and one grandson who watches over them from Heaven.