‘It’s just fun to do’: Caribbean music teacher reflects on

Posted On: March 19, 2021
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‘It’s just fun to do’: Caribbean music teacher reflects on upbringing, adjustment to virtual learning | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette >> 0; var thisArg = arguments.length >= 2 ? arguments[1] : void 0; for (var i = 0; i this.length) { return false; } else { return this.indexOf(search, start) !== -1; } }; }else{ console.log(“DON’T POLYFILL INCLUDES”); } ]]> First in a series.n

A passion for teaching and a pure love of music have been more than enough to keep Robert Doswell in the education business 10 years after retirement — even during a pandemic that has left educators around the world scrambling to adjust to virtual learning. n

When Mr. Doswell, 74, was a child, his grandfather — a short, intimidating man — said to him, “If you learn to play the piano, you’ll become more disciplined.”nnnn This was a sentiment that resonated with the native of New York’s Queens borough when he was just 5 years old, especially after receiving a mahogany-colored Poole piano purchased by his grandfather, McDonald Clarke, in the early 1950s. Pressure to get into the arts by his grandfather set in motion a musical path for Mr. Doswell.n “I was afraid of my grandfather,” Mr. Doswell said. “Whenever he would come to my house, my parents talked in hushed tones because they reverenced him, and I picked up on that.n “When my parents got married, my grandfather bought my parents the building they lived in, which contained eight residential tenants. The building also had a tailor shop and a real estate agency. The Realtor at the time had brought a lot of Black people into the Corona neighborhood [of Queens], which was a big deal back then, because there weren’t many Black people who lived there.”n In his early youth, Mr. Doswell was taught piano by Eva Holder, grandmother of the first African American U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder, who served during Barack Obama’s administration from 2009 to 2015. Ms. Holder — along with Mr. Doswell’s mother, Arendell Clarke — moved to New York City from Barbados in her youth.n After picking the instrument up at a tender age, Mr. Doswell eventually went on to spend 15 years teaching elementary kids to play piano in the Bronx and Brooklyn before moving to Pittsburgh in 1992.n “[Ms. Holder] was a legend. She definitely inspired me. She was very stern and took no nonsense, though. I remember I told her once, ‘You don’t have to keep telling me things; just tell me once, and I’ll get it done.’ Well, she thought I was being fresh, so she told my mom, and I got in trouble,” Mr. Doswell said with a laugh. “She carried a ruler too, and this was back in the day when corporal punishment was acceptable.”n After leaving New York in the early ‘90s, Mr. Doswell spent another combined 15 years teaching piano and vocal music first at the now-closed Fort Pitt Elementary School in Garfield, then at Pittsburgh King Academy K-8 on the North Side, and finally at the Helen S. Faison Arts Academy in Homewood.n Mr. Doswell retired from teaching at Faison in 2009 after spending years influencing hundreds of students.n He has continued to teach piano and music courses at the African American Music Institute in Homewood, as well as at his home church, the Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Homewood. n Last summer, adjusting to teaching steel drum music online at the Holy Cross in Homewood was a “struggle,” Mr. Doswell said. He taught six students around two or three times a week. Students would normally have the opportunity to pound away in person at the church, but last year, the church had to adjust. The church has hosted the class for around four years, he said.n “It was hard for me. It was hard teaching,” Mr. Doswell said of leading a virtual music class for the first time last summer. “A lot of times, I couldn’t see the students, because a lot of students don’t want to be seen [on camera]. … But classes were very lively, especially when you discuss culture and get into politics.”n Teaching kids to play drums online was difficult, he said, but using a virtual steel drum cellphone app made things easier. He said he plans to use the app during a steel drum course he is teaching this semester through the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Urban Education. The class is titled The Creative Exploration of that Caribbean Vibe Hiding In You and In Your Phone.n Mr. Doswell, considered a “high-impact” retired teacher, is one of six instructors participating in the “after-school enrichment” program this semester, which is held virtually on Thursdays and began Jan. 25. Mr. Doswell’s class is set to begin the last week in February, he said.n Mr. Doswell’s wife, Willa M. Doswell, is an associate professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh. She was named 2019 Woman of Excellence by the New Pittsburgh Courier. The awards are given annually to 50 African American women who have made significant contributions to the community.n Mr. Doswell said his wife told him about the opportunity at the university, and he jumped at the opportunity.n “All of my students over the years have been interesting,” Mr. Doswell said. He reflected on a set of twins he taught more than a decade ago at the African American Music Institute in Homewood and said he plans to play music at one of the twins’ wedding this summer. “It’s amazing” how life comes full-circle, he said.n He also reflected on a nostalgic memory from decades ago when he taught at the former Fort Pitt school in Garfield. n “It’s just a fun thing to do,” Mr. Doswell said. “My favorite story is from when I was teaching at Fort Pitt. We had a teacher/parent night years ago before the school closed, and one of the last parents came in as I was leaving. This Black man, maybe in his 40s, came in, and he was speechless and looked like he would cry.n “He took out a sheet of music and handed it to me, and I realized it was music I had written when I taught at Fort Green in NYC in Brooklyn from so many years prior. I asked, ‘Where did you get this?’ He told me that he remembered being in my class and that we had sang that particular song together.n “I asked him, ‘What would possess you to keep this music for 25 years?’ The man told me that he had a hard time as a kid, and that my music class was the one place he felt accepted. It was very emotional for me.” n The humble instructor said he has never won any awards, but his memories of notable moments with various students over the years are enough. n “If I had to do it all over again, I would do it the same way,” Mr. Doswell said. n Lacretia Wimbley: <a href="mailto:lwimbley@post-gazette.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lwimbley@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1510 or on Twitter </a><a href="https://twitter.com/wimbleyjourno" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@Wimbleyjourno.”,”link”:”https://www.post-gazette.com/local/2021/02/14/Black-History-Month-Robert-Doswell-music-piano-teacher-Pitt-Caribbean-New-York-City-Eric-Holder/stories/202102090107″,”standout”:false,”layout”:”wideheadline”,”section”:”local”,”subSection”:””,”subSections”:{“local”:[“City”],”news”:[“Education”],”life”:[],”ae”:[“Music”],”frontpage”:[],”breaking”:[],”mustread”:[“Must Read – Frontpage”]},”sectionLabel”:”local”,”sectionSEOKey”:”local”,”subSectionSEOKey”:””,”paid”:”1″,”paidUsersOnly”:”0″,”storyGroup”:””,”active”:”1″,”images”:[{“id”:”fffae62b-5cd8-413e-9744-f0dffaed393c”,”title”:”20210210awDoswell10-9″,”caption”:”Robert Doswell, 74, a semi-retired music educator who has spent decades teaching the joys of piano and Caribbean music, poses for a portrait in his Harrison City home.”,”linkText”:null,”photoCredit”:”Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette”,”orientation”:”0″,”displayOrder”:”1″,”expirationDate”:”Thu, 15 Feb 3021 15:50:43 -0500″,”rights”:”0″,”url”:”https://www.post-gazette.com/image/2021/02/12/700x700_cMC/20210210awDoswell10-9.jpg”,”url_hero”:”https://www.post-gazette.com/image/2021/02/12/1140x_a10-7_cTC/20210210awDoswell10-9.jpg”,”url_global”:”https://www.post-gazette.com/image/2021/02/12/1140x_a10-7_cTC/20210210awDoswell10-9.jpg”,”cdn”:{“sizes”:[“600x_a4-3_cTC”,”300x_a1-1_cTC”,”1140x_a10-7_cTC”,”1200x”,”100x_a1-1_cTC”,”460x_a4-5_cTC”],”host”:”9b16f79ca967fd0708d1-2713572fef44aa49ec323e813b06d2d9.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com”,”fileName”:”20210210awDoswell10-9-1613263565.jpg”}},{“id”:”968e7281-ce89-4a6a-bd00-fecfd575842c”,”title”:”20210210awDoswell04-3″,”caption”:”Robert Doswell, 74, a semi-retired professor whose passion has led him to continue part-time music teaching, plays piano in his home office in Harrison City.”,”linkText”:null,”photoCredit”:”Alexandra Wimley/Post-Gazette”,”orientation”:”0″,”displayOrder”:”1″,”expirationDate”:”Thu, 15 Feb 3021 15:50:43 -0500″,”rights”:”0″,”url”:”https://www.post-gazette.com/image/2021/02/12/700x700_cMC/20210210awDoswell04-3.jpg”,”url_hero”:”https://www.post-gazette.com/image/2021/02/12/1140x_a10-7_cTC/20210210awDoswell04-3.jpg”,”url_global”:”https://www.post-gazette.com/image/2021/02/12/1140x_a10-7_cTC/20210210awDoswell04-3.jpg”,”cdn”:{“sizes”:[“600x_a4-3_cTC”,”300x_a1-1_cTC”,”1140x_a10-7_cTC”,”1200x”,”100x_a1-1_cTC”,”460x_a4-5_cTC”],”host”:”9b16f79ca967fd0708d1-2713572fef44aa49ec323e813b06d2d9.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com”,”fileName”:”20210210awDoswell04-3-1613263574.jpg”}}],”related”:{“links”:[],”videos”:[]}}]}; PGPAGEDATA = {“authorvalues”:{“apiorg”:”pittsburghpostgazette”,”apiauthor”:”lacretiawimbley”},”authorapi”:{“status”:”ok”,”author”:{“fullName”:”Lacretia Wimbley”,”firstName”:”Lacretia”,”lastName”:”Wimbley”,”email”:”lwimbley@post-gazette.com”,”authorSlug”:”lacretiawimbley”,”twitter”:”WimbleyJourno”,”org”:”Pittsburgh Post-Gazette”,”verified”:true,”customTitle”:””,”image”:”https://a9a1263f9caafb223a0e-ed6332b96e149fbe46aac9e4618971f3.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/images/pgauthorapi/headshots/lacretiawimbley.png”,”imageCacheBuster”:””,”orgimage”:”https://www.post-gazette.com/assets-1y/images/misc/pg-logo-100px-green-byline.png”},”apiorg”:”pittsburghpostgazette”,”apiauthor”:”lacretiawimbley”}}; ]]></a>

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