River Road Church is delighted to announce that Dr. Richard W. Robbins has accepted our call to be our next Minister of Music, and we could not be more grateful.
A choral conductor of national distinction, Richard comes to us from his position as Director of Choral Activities at Shenandoah University, while continuing in his role as Director of the Richmond Symphony Chorus. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Houston. Richard’s choirs have been featured on American Public Media’s Pipedreams, and his work has been reviewed internationally by Opera Magazine (UK). He is acclaimed for his work with choirs of all ages, especially young singers.
Beyond his exceptional conducting, Richard is something rarer still—a pastoral musician for whom the art of choral singing and the formation of the human spirit are inseparably linked. He has devoted more than twenty years of his professional life to church music, serving Catholic, United Methodist, Presbyterian, and Episcopal congregations.
What moved the Minister of Music Search Committee most was not Richard’s résumé. It is that his faith has been a foundation throughout his career. “Church music is, at its heart, pastoral ministry,” says Richard. He views choral singers not as performers, but as liturgical ministers in their own right, whose musical, spiritual, and personal formation belong together. He has been, in his own words, drawn to River Road because of our commitment to “liturgical worship, musical excellence, theological breadth, and inclusive community life.” His colleagues and friends view him as one who carries the ministry of music as a genuine calling.
Richard will join River Road in mid-July. He and his wife Jennifer—an accomplished school music teacher—are eager to make Richmond their family’s long-term home.
“After diligent and prayerful searching and listening well to our congregation” said the Rev. Dr. Daniel Glaze, River Road’s pastor, “the Minister of Music Search Committee brought Richard’s name forward with enthusiasm, and our congregation affirmed that recommendation unanimously. I must give heartfelt thanks to the search committee that helped navigate this intense process, and to my friend and colleague, Dr. Neal Campbell, who has guided us—with love, grace, and steadiness—throughout this interim period.”
“We found someone extraordinary in Richard,” Glaze said,” and not just his giftedness, which is considerable, but his character and his pastoral heart. We are delighted and excited Richard and Jennifer are coming to Richmond. We are grateful to God for this partnership, and we look forward to making music and serving together in ministry for many years to come.”
If you have not yet read the full candidate document prepared by the Search Committee, we invite you to do so here—it tells Richard’s story beautifully and we think you will be as excited as we are.