On Sunday, November 23, 2014, East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, honored its former director of worship, music, and the arts, the Reverend Dr. J. Richard Szeremany, with the premiere performance of a new setting of Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee for organ, choir, and congregation by Alfred V. Fedak.
On the staff of East Liberty Church since September 1994, Szeremany had previously served several New Jersey congregations as both senior pastor and as organist/director of music ministries. At East Liberty Church he founded the Hope Academy of Music and the Arts, which offers more than three hundred children and young people a program including musical theater, dance, choral and instrumental ensembles, and private instruction in vocal arts, piano, organ, and other instruments. Upon his retirement in 2010, Szeremany was named Pastor Emeritus as well as Minister of Music Emeritus. He continues serving in interim positions and teaches organ and piano privately.
