Sewickley Presbyterian Church music director steps down after 35 years of service

Craig Dobbins did more than play the organ and direct the chorus at Sewickley Presbyterian Church.

He also did a lot of pastoral care – writing notes, making phone calls, checking on people who were sick and helping with vacation bible school.

“He’s been such an important part of the church for so long,” said the Rev. Derek Davenport, of Fox Chapel. “He loves the music. He loves the people and he loves the church. … He was so integrally involved in not just music, but all the different ministries.”

Going the extra mile was just one of the things Dobbins, of Glen Osborne, became known for during his 35 years as the church’s music director.

“It wasn’t just his job. It was his church,” Davenport said. “He’s leaving the church in a good position. We’re going to be able to continue that legacy of great music. He is a great colleague and a wonderful friend.”

Dobbins recently called it a career. His last service was June 12 and his last official day at the church was July 15.

“I am now 71 and I’m feeling that God has something else for me to do,” Dobbins said. “Also, my wife (Susan) and I, who have been married for 36 years, have never had a day off in common. It’s time to remedy that.”

Dobbins joined the church in 1987 after moving to Southwestern Pennsylvania from Jacksonville, Fla., where he was music director at a First Presbyterian Church.

He said the decision to move up north was simple.

“When the job (in Sewickley) was advertised, I applied and I got hired,” he said. “Growing up in West Virginia, I wanted at some point to get back up this way. I just thought it would be a little later in my career, but it’s fine.”

Growing up

Dobbins grew up in Williamstown, W.Va., with his mother, Emma Jean, and father, Robert Dobbins.

Both were involved in the church choir at the First United Methodist Church in Williamstown.

His sister, Karen Wilson, and brother, Mark, sang in the children’s youth choir with Dobbins.

“It was a small town and the different churches were the center of all sorts of things, family life, social life and you just (got involved),” Dobbins said.

Dobbins said he knew in middle school that his future would involve church music.

By age 14, he was riding his bike to his first job as a part-time organist at the former Trinity United Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Ohio.

He received a bachelor’s degree in music from Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, and received two master’s degrees in music history and organ performance from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

He also studied at Clare College, Cambridge University, in England.

Other highlights include being invited to participate in the annual Advent Festival in Vienna, Austria, in 1993, and being asked to serve as one of five church choirs representing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Scotland in August 2017 in five concerts celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

Church legacy

Dobbins has influenced hundreds, if not thousands, of lives throughout his time at the Sewickley church.

Among those include Mt. Washington resident Anna Singer, soprano soloist/section leader and WQED-FM radio personality. She will mark her 20th year in the choir in September.

“It’s such a wonderful community,” Singer said. “When I joined the choir, I was immediately welcomed into the group and it was also the opportunity to sing the traditional sacred music when a lot of churches had decided to move to a more contemporary format.”

She recalled many performances and practices under Dobbins’ leadership.

“Every once in a while, Craig would be stern with us, and we would be sort of taken aback,” Singer said. “He also allowed everybody to joke a bit. There would be jokesters in the choir. It was a great time learning the music. We had to be serious, but at the same time we didn’t take each other too seriously.”

Singer said when the choir would nail a song Dobbins would put his fingers up to his mouth and blow a kiss to show his joy.

“You have to be silent in church, but he was very appreciative of the work that we put in and all of the work we did together,” Singer said. “He was both a choir director and an organist, and he also directed two bell choirs. His knowledge was and still is amazing.”

Twice a year, Dobbins would bring members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra to perform with the choir.

Ray Blackwell, the church’s bass soloist and section leader, marked his 20th year with the church in March. He is serving as the interim music director as the clergy search for a more permanent replacement.

“Craig has an infectious charm that is so positive and refreshing,” Blackwell said. “As a choir director, he brought so many interesting facts about the history of the music that we were performing, and not just the details of the music that were so important. He actually knew most of the modern composers personally.

“His relationships in the professional world of music gave our choir the opportunity to sing with professional musicians like players from the Pittsburgh Symphony and other orchestras for our special services. He would bring in technicians for choir retreats from all over the country to give us new ways to approach our music.

“It was his mission to make us all better musicians. He is himself a brilliant musician. He truly loved what he did. He will be really really hard to replace.”

Davenport said the church plans to do an extensive search for Dobbins’ successor, and there is no rush to name a replacement.

Retirement plans

Dobbins and his wife are celebrating 36 years of marriage. She is an attorney on the disciplinary board of the state Supreme Court.

He said the two rarely had a day off together, and plans on spending more time with the family.

Dobbins does not plan to return to the Sewickley congregation unless it’s for a special occasion.

“I feel very strongly in the Presbyterian tradition that once a clergy person leaves a church, they leave the church,” he said. “I feel because I’ve been here so long, that I need to do the same. I may show up for a funeral, or if we’re invited to a wedding.”

Dobbins also plans to visit other churches and help consult parishes that may need his services.