Crawford Thoburn, 93, taught music at Wells College for 51 years

Crawford Thoburn, a longtime Wells College music professor who founded its Choir and Chamber Singers and built a catalog of more than 200 choral works, died Nov. 5 during a brief hospitalization in Ithaca. He was 93.

A memorial celebration is scheduled for 2 p.m. Dec. 6 at the United Ministry of Aurora, 337 Main St., Aurora, according to his obituary published by The Citizen.

A career in teaching and choral music

Thoburn began his 51-year career at Wells in 1960. He had planned to teach at a high school near Boston when the college sought a choral director through his undergraduate mentor. He chose the opportunity to teach at the college level.

The Wells College Choir and Chamber Singers earned international competition awards under his direction, toured the United States and Europe, performed with professional orchestras and appeared by invitation before the American Choral Directors Association. He also organized collaborations with men’s collegiate choral groups and developed expertise in music for women’s choirs.

His work at Wells included chairing the Music Department, Division of the Arts, Centennial Committee, New Arts Facilities Committee and Summer College Program. He became the college’s first Campbell Professor of the Arts and repeatedly served on its Faculty Advisory Committee.

Alongside conducting, he taught music history, theory and voice. Beginning in the 1980s, he expanded his work as a choral composer, arranger and editor. His catalog eventually included more than 200 works issued by 14 publishers, with performances around the world, the obituary said.

Thoburn served on the American Choral Directors Association’s first National Committee on Editorial Standards. His writing appeared in the American Choral Review and Choral Journal, and the Allegheny Alumni Association honored his professional achievements with its Gold Citation in 1999.

Early music, military service and community life

Raised in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Thoburn began singing in a Methodist church children’s choir at age 5. At Cleveland Heights High School, he became a student conductor of the Heights Choir.

He followed a five-generation family tradition by attending Allegheny College, where he studied with Morten Luvaas and completed a music and English degree in three years. His nickname, Doc, came from identifying a case of polio in his dormitory, according to the obituary.

Commissioned into the Air Force after graduating in 1954, he began pilot training in Texas but left that program after a previously undiagnosed vision problem was discovered. He subsequently worked as a radar controller for fighter pilots in a military research and development program conducted with MIT near Boston.

After active service, he earned a master’s degree in music history and choral conducting at Boston University.

From 1951 through 2022, Thoburn directed choirs at seven churches. He was an ordained Presbyterian elder and a past master of Aurora’s Masonic lodge. His interests included opera, history and biography, along with time spent enjoying autumn in Aurora and rain from his porch.

Family and memorial arrangements

Survivors include his spouse of 43 years, Karen Hindenlang, who collaborated with him in music and the arts; his sister, Isabella Dorr; and four children: Matthew Thoburn of Boulder, Colorado; Sarah Welch (Keith) of Moravia; Laura Schrader (Kevin) of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Martha Lindner (Bruce) of Cheshire, Connecticut.

He also leaves four grandchildren, Benjamin Schrader (Stratford), Hannah Schrader Dear (Conrad), Mark Lindner and Anna Lindner, and two great-grandchildren, Everett and Avery Schrader. His parents, brother George Thoburn and sister Mary Tame died before him.

Interment at Oak Glen Cemetery in Aurora is planned for May, with Masonic rites and military honors.

Brew Funeral Home in Auburn is handling arrangements. In place of flowers, the family requests donations to Safe & Warm, Inc., of Auburn, or the Aurora Volunteer Fire Department. The family also encourages people to join a choir or attend a concert in his memory.

Staff Report

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