A History of Music Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg
Music has long been one of the defining ministries of First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg. Across generations, the church has invested in congregational song, choral singing, organ music, handbells, instrumental ensembles, and sacred concerts as expressions of worship, discipleship, and community life. The music ministry has not simply provided music for worship; it has helped shape the spiritual, cultural, and artistic identity of the congregation.
The Organ as a Centerpiece of Worship
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The organ has remained central to worship at FPC. After the earlier Skinner instrument, the church installed Austin Organ Company Opus 2573 in 1974. In 1988, an antiphonal gallery division by M. P. Möller expanded the instrument’s liturgical and spatial possibilities. In 2018, the organ was rebuilt and expanded by A. E. Sterner Organ Works with Walker Digital additions, giving the church a renovated and enlarged instrument capable of supporting congregational singing, choral literature, solo organ repertoire, and major festival worship.
This history reflects more than a series of instruments. It tells the story of a congregation that has repeatedly chosen to invest in worship, beauty, and the leadership of congregational song. The organ has accompanied baptisms, weddings, funerals, civic services, seasonal festivals, and ordinary Sundays, giving voice to the church’s praise across generations. More information on FPC's Organ can be found here. |
Bertram Smith Webber and the Guilmant Connection
Among the earliest major musicians associated with First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg was Bertram Smith Webber, organist and choirmaster at the turn of the twentieth century, and serving during the congregations previous building. Webber’s work connected FPC with a broader regional and national musical culture. He was also musical director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Greensburg and was associated with choral work at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh.
Webber is especially significant because of his connection to Alexandre Guilmant, the French organist, composer, and teacher whose influence shaped organ playing on both sides of the Atlantic. FPC tradition remembers Webber as one of Guilmant’s first American students, and later references to FPC’s organ history identify Guilmant as Webber’s teacher. This places First Presbyterian Church within a remarkable lineage of organ pedagogy and performance at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Webber’s presence at FPC suggests that the church’s commitment to fine organ and choral music did not begin with later generations. It was already part of the congregation’s identity before the 1917 Skinner organ, before the Nevin years, and long before the modern music ministry took shape. FPC oral history also preserves a colorful story that Webber once played “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here” and “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight” as wedding prelude or postlude music for a prominent local family wedding. The anecdote adds personality to Webber’s place in FPC memory and suggests a musician with both serious technical training and a lively sense of occasion.
Webber is especially significant because of his connection to Alexandre Guilmant, the French organist, composer, and teacher whose influence shaped organ playing on both sides of the Atlantic. FPC tradition remembers Webber as one of Guilmant’s first American students, and later references to FPC’s organ history identify Guilmant as Webber’s teacher. This places First Presbyterian Church within a remarkable lineage of organ pedagogy and performance at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Webber’s presence at FPC suggests that the church’s commitment to fine organ and choral music did not begin with later generations. It was already part of the congregation’s identity before the 1917 Skinner organ, before the Nevin years, and long before the modern music ministry took shape. FPC oral history also preserves a colorful story that Webber once played “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here” and “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight” as wedding prelude or postlude music for a prominent local family wedding. The anecdote adds personality to Webber’s place in FPC memory and suggests a musician with both serious technical training and a lively sense of occasion.
Gordon Balch Nevin and the Skinner Organ
Organ Facade Upon Completion ca. 1919
Gordon Balch Nevin (ca. 1920)
Nevin served FPC starting in 1917
One of Nevin's more prominent publications (1920)
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The installation of the Ernest M. Skinner organ, Opus 200, marked a defining moment in the musical history of First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg. Built in 1917 for the church’s new sanctuary, the instrument was a substantial four-manual divided organ with imposing carved cases. At a time when pipe organs stood at the center of worship and civic musical life in major churches, FPC’s Skinner organ reflected the congregation’s commitment to musical excellence, congregational song, and sacred art.
Gordon Balch Nevin, a prominent American organist, composer, and teacher, was appointed organist of First Presbyterian Church during this period and played the opening recital on the new instrument. Nevin had previously served churches in Johnstown and Cleveland and had also been connected with the Skinner company before returning more fully to organ performance. His appointment placed FPC within the broader American organ tradition of the early twentieth century. A 1918 notice in The Diapason described Nevin’s appointment and the new instrument with enthusiasm, noting that the Greensburg church was a new edifice built at a cost of $300,000 and that the organ, with its carved cases, represented an investment of $20,000. The same notice described the instrument as a four-manual organ of fifty-five speaking stops and quoted Nevin’s admiration for its solo reed. Nevin’s significance extended beyond Greensburg. He was part of the distinguished Nevin musical family and became known nationally as an organ composer, teacher, and writer. His published works included organ pieces, transcriptions, pedagogical materials, and writings on organ registration and technique. He later taught organ at Hiram College and Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. His time at FPC therefore connects the church not only to the Skinner organ tradition, but also to a wider lineage of American organ composition, teaching, and church music. Taken together, the Skinner organ and Nevin’s appointment helped establish the new FPC sanctuary as both a worship space and a serious musical home. The pattern begun in this era would continue for more than a century: First Presbyterian Church called musicians who understood church music as both a sacred vocation and an artistic discipline. |
The Welty Era: Fred and Margaret Welty
From 1937 to 1965, Frederick Arthur “Fred” Welty served as Minister of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg, with primary leadership of the church’s choral program. A church musician, teacher, choir director, and tenor, Welty brought to FPC the influence of the Westminster Choir tradition, one of the most important American models for twentieth-century church music.
Fred was born in 1896 in Ohio, and was an early graduate of Westminister Choir College prior to its move to Princeton, New Jersey. Welty came to FPC with deep experience as a church musician, teacher, choir director, and tenor. Before his years in Greensburg, he served as Minister of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Homestead, Pennsylvania, where he was associated with the “Westminster type of choir.” This model, shaped by John Finley Williamson (Westminister Choir director) and the Westminster Choir tradition, emphasized disciplined choral training, musical excellence, and the role of the church musician as a true minister of music. Welty’s background suggests that FPC’s mid-century music program was shaped by one of the most influential American church music movements of the period.
Fred’s wife, Margaret Koester Welty, served as Organist during his ministry at First Presbyterian Church. Together, Fred and Margaret appear to have led a shared ministry of choral and organ leadership: Fred guiding the broader music program and graded choirs, and Margaret supporting the worship life of the congregation from the organ. Their partnership gave FPC a strong and stable musical foundation for nearly three decades.
By 1965, First Presbyterian Church already had four choirs: Cherub Choir, Junior Choir, High School Choir, and the Senior “Chancel” Choir. This graded choir structure shows that the Welty era had cultivated a mature and carefully organized music ministry. Children, youth, and adults each had a place in the musical life of the church, reflecting a broad vision of music as formation, education, worship leadership, and congregational participation.
Mildred Miller also served as Associate Organist during the Welty years. Her role points to the size and seriousness of the program, as well as the musical demands of a church that sustained multiple choirs, regular worship, and a strong organ tradition.
The Welty era is therefore not simply a transitional period between Gordon Balch Nevin and Edgar Highberger. It was a major chapter in its own right. Under Fred and Margaret Welty’s leadership, FPC’s music ministry became a structured, intergenerational program rooted in choral training, organ leadership, and the ideals of the American “minister of music” tradition. When Highberger began his ministry in 1965, he inherited not an empty framework, but a living and substantial music program already shaped by decades of faithful musical leadership.
Fred was born in 1896 in Ohio, and was an early graduate of Westminister Choir College prior to its move to Princeton, New Jersey. Welty came to FPC with deep experience as a church musician, teacher, choir director, and tenor. Before his years in Greensburg, he served as Minister of Music at First Presbyterian Church of Homestead, Pennsylvania, where he was associated with the “Westminster type of choir.” This model, shaped by John Finley Williamson (Westminister Choir director) and the Westminster Choir tradition, emphasized disciplined choral training, musical excellence, and the role of the church musician as a true minister of music. Welty’s background suggests that FPC’s mid-century music program was shaped by one of the most influential American church music movements of the period.
Fred’s wife, Margaret Koester Welty, served as Organist during his ministry at First Presbyterian Church. Together, Fred and Margaret appear to have led a shared ministry of choral and organ leadership: Fred guiding the broader music program and graded choirs, and Margaret supporting the worship life of the congregation from the organ. Their partnership gave FPC a strong and stable musical foundation for nearly three decades.
By 1965, First Presbyterian Church already had four choirs: Cherub Choir, Junior Choir, High School Choir, and the Senior “Chancel” Choir. This graded choir structure shows that the Welty era had cultivated a mature and carefully organized music ministry. Children, youth, and adults each had a place in the musical life of the church, reflecting a broad vision of music as formation, education, worship leadership, and congregational participation.
Mildred Miller also served as Associate Organist during the Welty years. Her role points to the size and seriousness of the program, as well as the musical demands of a church that sustained multiple choirs, regular worship, and a strong organ tradition.
The Welty era is therefore not simply a transitional period between Gordon Balch Nevin and Edgar Highberger. It was a major chapter in its own right. Under Fred and Margaret Welty’s leadership, FPC’s music ministry became a structured, intergenerational program rooted in choral training, organ leadership, and the ideals of the American “minister of music” tradition. When Highberger began his ministry in 1965, he inherited not an empty framework, but a living and substantial music program already shaped by decades of faithful musical leadership.
Samuel W. Shanko Jr.
Samuel W. Shanko Jr. belongs to FPC’s mid-twentieth-century music history as one of the church musicians who connected First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg to the wider world of American church music. Public sources identify Shanko as serving as Organist at First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg by 1941, placing him within the same broad period as the Welty-era music program. The available evidence suggests that Shanko was part of the church’s music leadership during the early 1940s.
Shanko was a Westminster Choir College graduate, completing his studies there in 1940. He also studied organ at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. This background placed him within a serious tradition of organ and church music training, much like Fred Welty, whose work also reflected the Westminster-influenced “minister of music” model.
After his time in Greensburg, Shanko continued in church music leadership elsewhere. In 1947, he was appointed Minister of Music at First Baptist Church in Florence, South Carolina, where he directed a large choral program and helped FBC of Florence build a new Organ. He remained publicly identified with First Baptist, Florence, in later sources and became part of the broader Southern Baptist church music world.
Shanko’s influence eventually extended beyond local church work. He became known as an organist, teacher, writer, editor, and church music specialist. His publications included The Beginning Organist and You Can Play the Organ, practical books intended to support developing church organists. He also compiled and edited organ materials through Broadman Press, including volumes of hymn-based organ literature for church use. By 1960, he was serving as an instrumental specialist with the Baptist Sunday School Board, further extending his influence on church music education and resources.
Shanko was a Westminster Choir College graduate, completing his studies there in 1940. He also studied organ at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. This background placed him within a serious tradition of organ and church music training, much like Fred Welty, whose work also reflected the Westminster-influenced “minister of music” model.
After his time in Greensburg, Shanko continued in church music leadership elsewhere. In 1947, he was appointed Minister of Music at First Baptist Church in Florence, South Carolina, where he directed a large choral program and helped FBC of Florence build a new Organ. He remained publicly identified with First Baptist, Florence, in later sources and became part of the broader Southern Baptist church music world.
Shanko’s influence eventually extended beyond local church work. He became known as an organist, teacher, writer, editor, and church music specialist. His publications included The Beginning Organist and You Can Play the Organ, practical books intended to support developing church organists. He also compiled and edited organ materials through Broadman Press, including volumes of hymn-based organ literature for church use. By 1960, he was serving as an instrumental specialist with the Baptist Sunday School Board, further extending his influence on church music education and resources.
Edgar B. Highberger
One of the most significant chapters in FPC’s music ministry history was the long tenure of Dr. Edgar B. Highberger, who began his ministry at First Presbyterian Church in 1965 and served for more than five decades as Minister of Music and Organist. His leadership shaped the sound, scope, and identity of music at FPC for generations.
Under Highberger’s direction, the church developed a comprehensive music program that included choirs, handbell ensembles, organ music, and a concert series. His work connected the worship life of the congregation with the wider musical life of Greensburg and Westmoreland County. In addition to his church work, Highberger was a longtime faculty member at Seton Hill University, where he taught organ, sacred music, and music history, and helped nurture generations of church musicians.
Highberger’s fiftieth anniversary at FPC was marked with a celebratory concert and a commissioned organ work by Charles Callahan, Suite of Five English Hymn Tunes. That celebration not only honored one musician’s extraordinary length of service, but also recognized the musical culture that had grown around his leadership. The Dr. Edgar S. Highberger Music Fund continues that legacy by supporting musical offerings at the church, including instruments and the engagement of singers and instrumentalists.
Under Highberger’s direction, the church developed a comprehensive music program that included choirs, handbell ensembles, organ music, and a concert series. His work connected the worship life of the congregation with the wider musical life of Greensburg and Westmoreland County. In addition to his church work, Highberger was a longtime faculty member at Seton Hill University, where he taught organ, sacred music, and music history, and helped nurture generations of church musicians.
Highberger’s fiftieth anniversary at FPC was marked with a celebratory concert and a commissioned organ work by Charles Callahan, Suite of Five English Hymn Tunes. That celebration not only honored one musician’s extraordinary length of service, but also recognized the musical culture that had grown around his leadership. The Dr. Edgar S. Highberger Music Fund continues that legacy by supporting musical offerings at the church, including instruments and the engagement of singers and instrumentalists.
Choirs, Handbells, Concerts, and Community
The music ministry at FPC has long included more than Sunday morning organ music. The church’s choral and handbell traditions have been central to its worship life. The Chancel Choir has led worship through hymns, anthems, responses, seasonal music, and larger works. Handbell ensembles have added color, movement, and a distinctive sound to worship, while instrumental groups have expanded the church’s musical palette.
FPC’s concert tradition has also helped the church serve the broader community. Sacred concerts, organ programs, choral offerings, instrumental collaborations, and special seasonal services have positioned the church as both a worshiping community and a cultural home in downtown Greensburg. Music at FPC has often functioned as outreach: inviting people into the building, into beauty, and into a shared experience of faith.
FPC’s concert tradition has also helped the church serve the broader community. Sacred concerts, organ programs, choral offerings, instrumental collaborations, and special seasonal services have positioned the church as both a worshiping community and a cultural home in downtown Greensburg. Music at FPC has often functioned as outreach: inviting people into the building, into beauty, and into a shared experience of faith.
The Ministry of Dr. John B. Salveson
Following Dr. Highberger, Dr. John B. Salveson served as Minister of Music and Organist from 2018 to 2022. His ministry coincided with the life of the newly restored and expanded organ, and he brought to FPC deep experience as an organist, choral musician, educator, and arts leader. Salveson’s work continued the church’s strong choral and organ traditions while also emphasizing the arts as a vital part of congregational and community life.
The church’s music library preserves part of his legacy through Christmas Hath a Darkness, a choral work by Chaz Bowers commissioned by First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg in loving memory of Dr. John Salveson, Minister of Music. Such a commission reflects the affection and respect held for his ministry, as well as FPC’s continuing commitment to new sacred music.
The church’s music library preserves part of his legacy through Christmas Hath a Darkness, a choral work by Chaz Bowers commissioned by First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg in loving memory of Dr. John Salveson, Minister of Music. Such a commission reflects the affection and respect held for his ministry, as well as FPC’s continuing commitment to new sacred music.
Dr. William Jeffrey Jones and a Time of Transition
After Dr. Salveson , First Presbyterian Church called Dr. William Jeffrey Jones as Minister of Music and Organist, beginning in late October 2022. In introducing him, the church described FPC’s long history of high-quality music and its desire for musical leadership that could serve both the congregation and the wider community. Jones brought experience as an organist, choral conductor, teacher, and church musician, and his tenure continued the church’s organ, choral, and ensemble traditions.
The years following the COVID-19 pandemic were a period of rebuilding and transition for many church music programs, and FPC was no exception. Maintaining ensembles, strengthening participation, and continuing the church’s musical identity required adaptability and shared leadership.
During the 2025–2026 interim period, several musicians helped sustain the program: Hazel Braun served as organist and accompanist; Karen Cole directed the Kirk Ringers and FPC Winds; Lee Matchett worked with brass musicians; and Sarah Esslinger led adult and youth choirs. Their leadership helped preserve continuity while the church searched for its next Minister of Music and Organist.
The years following the COVID-19 pandemic were a period of rebuilding and transition for many church music programs, and FPC was no exception. Maintaining ensembles, strengthening participation, and continuing the church’s musical identity required adaptability and shared leadership.
During the 2025–2026 interim period, several musicians helped sustain the program: Hazel Braun served as organist and accompanist; Karen Cole directed the Kirk Ringers and FPC Winds; Lee Matchett worked with brass musicians; and Sarah Esslinger led adult and youth choirs. Their leadership helped preserve continuity while the church searched for its next Minister of Music and Organist.
A New Chapter: Samuel Gray
In 2026, First Presbyterian Church called Samuel Gray as Minister of Music and Organist. Mr. Gray’s arrival began a new chapter in a music ministry already rich with history. His work builds on FPC’s established strengths: strong congregational singing, organ music, choral leadership, handbells, instrumental ensembles, children’s music, and community engagement.
Today, the music ministry continues through the Chancel Choir, Kirk Ringers, FPC Wind Ensemble, children’s and youth music, organ music, guest instrumentalists, and seasonal offerings. Children’s music includes singing, percussion, Orff instruments, chimes, and other accessible ways for young people to participate in worship. Adult and instrumental ensembles continue to give members of the congregation opportunities to offer their gifts in service to God.
The future of music at FPC is rooted in its past but not limited by it. The church inherits a remarkable legacy of organists, ministers of music, educators, singers, ringers, instrumentalists, and faithful volunteers. Each generation has added its own voice to the song. As FPC moves forward, the music ministry remains a living expression of the church’s faith: rooted in tradition, committed to excellence, and open to the Spirit’s continuing work.
Today, the music ministry continues through the Chancel Choir, Kirk Ringers, FPC Wind Ensemble, children’s and youth music, organ music, guest instrumentalists, and seasonal offerings. Children’s music includes singing, percussion, Orff instruments, chimes, and other accessible ways for young people to participate in worship. Adult and instrumental ensembles continue to give members of the congregation opportunities to offer their gifts in service to God.
The future of music at FPC is rooted in its past but not limited by it. The church inherits a remarkable legacy of organists, ministers of music, educators, singers, ringers, instrumentalists, and faithful volunteers. Each generation has added its own voice to the song. As FPC moves forward, the music ministry remains a living expression of the church’s faith: rooted in tradition, committed to excellence, and open to the Spirit’s continuing work.
We are a congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and members of the Presbytery of Redstone.
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