Music Minister

Dr. John Michniewicz has long been involved in numerous church, academic, and professional performing groups and ensembles as a singer, accompanist or director. He completed both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City where he was awarded the John Cerevolo prize in performance.

During his graduate studies in New York, he was appointed a member of the New York Archdiocesan Commission on Church Music and served on liturgy, professional concerns, compensation, education and organ committees. He was the author of the official booklet "Rite of Marriage: Guidelines for
Ritual Music in the Archdiocese of New York."  John has presented numerous seminars on contemporary and choral music, organ, accompanying, and cantoring for the New York Archdiocese and has also been a presenter at the American Guild of Organists Centennial National Convention. As the Director of the New York Archdiocesan Youth and Children's Choirs, he conducted a choir of 185 as they sang in Central Park preceding the Mass celebrated there by Pope John Paul II.

A commissioned composer, John's contemporary styled music is published by the Chorister's Guild of Dallas, Texas. His anthem “Honor, Glory” was commissioned by the Connecticut Chapter of the Chorister's Guild, which performed it at their tenth anniversary Festival of Choirs.

As a solo artist, Dr. Michniewicz has performed in both Europe and America, including numerous recitals on the great organ at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. He performed a recital at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Patterson, New Jersey for a convention of the Roman Catholic National Association of Pastoral Musicians. John has also served as an organist and accompanist for choirs at St. Stephen's Cathedral and the City Hall in Vienna, Austria, and at St. Peter's Basilica and Church of the Twelve Apostles in Rome, among others. He accompanied the American Choirs of the Pueri Cantores during their performance at the Basilica of Santa Croce de Gerusalemme in Rome in a special millennium concert on January 1, 2000. Recently he accompanied the Bridgeport Diocesan Children's Choir as they sang in the Harbor Yard Arena celebrating the 50 year diocesan anniversary, and was the organist and accompanist for the Rededication Mass of St. Augustine's Cathedral. This year he will be presenting recitals at Princeton University and at Sacred Heart Church in Staten Island, New York, as well as serving as the dedication recitalist for new instruments at Assumption R.C. Church in Westport and Trinity Lutheran Church in Glastonbury.

John, or Dr. J as he is often called, is also the Director of Academic Music Program at Sacred Heart University, where he enjoys teaching the history of western music survey courses “Bach to Beethoven” and “Brahms to Bernstein,” and directing the University's Concert Choir and the a capella chamber choir 4 Heart Harmony. He is an adjunct musician on staff at St. Theresa R.C. Church in Trumbull and is Minister of Music at the historic United Congregational Church in Bridgeport where he directs the children's, chancel and contemporary choirs.

You may reach John at (203) 371-7735 or by email.