Before he plays his last service and concludes 30 years as St. Paul’s music director, Doug Starr still has one major accomplishment to come: the world premiere of his latest composition.
Dr. Starr’s A Wilderness Cantata debuts May 19. Ten days later, on the Feast of Pentecost, he’ll retire.
“People are asking me ‘what are you going to do after retirement?’ and I can’t think of it,” Starr admitted as both events were quickly approaching. “A lot of my attention and focus is going toward [the cantata]. I don’t have time to think about retiring.”
His composition was first conceived two years ago, as St. Paul’s began designing parish activities around the theme of “Choosing Wilderness.” The parish and its rector, the Rev. Noah Evans, had been awarded a Lilly Foundation grant to fund his 2022 sabbatical to several wilderness locales. The grant allowed the parish to partner in that experience at home while he was away.
And as timing would have it, the world was also emerging from a global pandemic.
“Everyone lost people. They lost opportunity. They lost income. They lost jobs. It was a wilderness experience that was ubiquitous, not just isolated events. So, we all kind of resonate with the idea of wilderness,” Starr said, adding “The cantata is a reflection on that void.”
The work consists of three movements. They are drawn from the Old Testament themes found in Hosea’s “allurement of love”; Kings’ “food for the journey”; and Job’s “my ways are not your ways”. Each begins with a hymn sung by a choir, which soloists then paraphrase and expand.
The premiere performance of A Wilderness Cantata will be conducted by Brian Gilling and feature soprano Katy Williams, mezzo soprano Eva Rainforth, tenor Rich Williams, and the Chancel Choir of St. Paul’s. The instrumental ensemble includes flute, two clarinets, horn, cello, and piano.
The concert takes place Friday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the church, 1066 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon. Advance ticket purchase is available at stpaulspgh.org.
This will be Doug Starr’s second world premiere in three years. His All Saints Requiem debuted in February 2020. He, along with his wife, Annette Tierney, and their son Tommy have also written and published many liturgical pieces that are used regularly at St. Paul’s and elsewhere.
On Sunday, May 29 at 9:45 a.m., Starr will play the organ and direct St. Paul’s choir one final time. All former choir members are invited back to join current members that day. “It would be really cool if we could fill the chancel,” he mused.
Dr. Starr sees his interaction with singers as a hallmark of his own personal and professional growth over the last 30 years.
“I didn’t land this job fully equipped to do it. I learned on the job, and as an organist became better, and as a choir director became a teacher. I enjoy that role, very, very much,” he said.
When Starr arrived at St. Paul’s in 1993, he knew that he was following in the footsteps of three noted musicians with whom he already had, or would eventually develop, close connections. He paid tribute to the three – Paul Harold, Chuck Little, and Richard Konzen – when the parish announced his decision to retire.
Looking back, Starr said he saw his position at St. Paul’s “as part of a continuum… I just tried to pick up where they left off.”
But when asked about any lasting contribution, he said this: “Maybe I helped prolong the classical music tradition in the Episcopal Church. It’s not convenient for churches to continue the Episcopal tradition, because it’s costly. It’s expensive. The instruments are expensive. The salaries are expensive. The programmatic benefits are expensive.”
Then Dr. Starr added a final thought: “I have high hopes it will continue.”