Music

Douglas P. Starr, DMA

Douglas Starr, D.M.A., is Director of Music and Arts at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where he conducts the Chancel Choir, early service Contemporary Ensemble and oversees the Friends of Music Guild Concert Series. He is an organ recitalist, a bass soloist, a voice teacher and an active composer of sacred and secular choral music published with Beckenhorst, Lawson-Gould, and G.I.A. Along with his wife Annette, many of his compositions can be found on their website, TierneyStarrmusic.com.

Having served in Episcopal Church Music since 1974, twenty nine of those years have been with Saint Paul's: Mt. Vernon, Ohio (74-78); Louisville, KY (87-92); and here in Pittsburgh since 1993. "Perhaps this poetically represents the fact that St. Paul is my favorite apostle," he notes, "but more to the fact that these parishes are blessed with rich musical traditions and I have had the honor to serve in those parish traditions."

He adds, on a personal note, “My life is just one big unfolding of 19th century and early 20th century American gospel hymnody that no church really sings any longer. Oh well, the seeds were planted, the plant is grown and metaphorically speaking (of course) global warming has provided enough CO2 for a plant's long life. And thank you Charles Ives for assimilating these great hymn tunes in your masterworks.”

A graduate of The Ohio State University with degrees in vocal performance and theory/composition, Douglas also currently teaches part-time at Penn State University and has taught at Westminster College, Kenyon College and Central Michigan University and served as director of choral activities at Bellarmine College in Louisville, Kentucky. He was a University Fellow while at Ohio State, a Mellon Fellow at Vanderbilt University in 1983 and an American Council on Education Fellow in 1988.

Bob Melvin

Bob joined the St. Paul’s staff in August 2021, bringing a deep love of both music and community to his roles, and having spent most of his adult life in the neighborhoods where those streets intersect. He has a degree in journalism from Penn State University–where he met his future wife when she arrived for graduate school and he, after graduation, had decided to stay and start a band–and has spent time as a writer, musician, and stay-at-home dad.

Bob lives in Dormont with his wife Karen and his sons Elijah and Jack, and they have joyfully attended St. Paul’s since 2014.