Dr. Michael J. Warren is a native of Pittsburgh, PA, born on May 7th. In 2004 Michael auditioned and attended what Rogers Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) Middle School where he met Mr. Henry L. Biggs, Michael’s choral instructor from multiple years. Mr. Biggs was instrumental in getting Michael involved with singing, sight-reading, music theory, and most importantly, the church. Michael dedicated his life to Christ in August of 2006 and joined Nazarene Baptist Church, where Rev. Ricky V. Burgess is the Senior Pastor.
Since 2007, Michael has served in the music ministry at a host of churches, including: Nazarene Baptist Church, Covenant Church, Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, Resurrection Baptist Church, Baptist Temple, First Baptist Church of Bridgeville, First Baptist Penn Hills, Wesley Center A.M.E. Zion, and Sixth Mount Zion, just to name a few. Apart from the church, Michael has served as an adjunct faculty member at The University of Pittsburgh where he was the class accompanist for The Gospel Choir, under the direction of Dr. James Johnson, formerly served as the Director of Chosen Generation Gospel Choir (Slippery Rock University), the founder and director of the Geneva College Gospel Choir (Geneva College), the Executive Director of Some of God’s Children Gospel Choir (The University of Pittsburgh) and currently he serves as the Journey Praise Team Director at East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC) where Rev. Dr. Randy Bush is the head pastor. Michael also serves as a member of the Eastminster Presbyterian Church Praise Team with Rev. Nikki Porter.
As a solo performer, Michael has had the opportunity to travel both nationally and internationally. In the Summer of 2015, Michael traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria where he performed for 1 week at an International Music Festival. In 2017, Michael became the first Duquesne student to ever hold the title “Campus Superstar” which is an American Idol like competition for collegiate students from all across the greater Pittsburgh area. After competing against 120+ students for the first round, Michael made the top 25, and was eventually crowned the champion.
Now in his fifth season, Michael serves as an Anthem Singer with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he performs both the U.S. and Canadian Anthems at PPG Place during the regular season. Last summer, Michael began his first season with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a recurring anthem singer. In the fall of 2019, Michael emceed & performed with Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr. for An Evening with the Stars, an event sponsored by The Pittsburgh Promise. Immediately following this once in a lifetime opportunity, Michael released his first solo album titled A Peace of Christmas.
Dr. Warren graduated with his Bachelor of Science in Music Education (2017), a Master of Science in Education Administration (2018), and a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership after he successfully defended his dissertation in February of 2022. As a Scholar, Dr. Warren has been selected as the Project Hope Fellow, a homeless education initiative sponsored by Duquesne University (2020), the UCEA Barbara Jackson Scholar (2020-2022), a Clark Scholar for the American Educational Research Association (2922), the recipient of the Young, Gifted and Black Award (2020) for his commitment and service to his community, the Duquesne Duke of the Decade recipient (2020) for his accomplishments after graduating from the Mary Pappert School of Music and the School of Education, a Digital Promise Teacher of Color Advisory Council member (2019-2020), and finally, the awardee of the Dr. James E. Henderson for his commitment to service, social justice and equity in education (2020).
Currently, Dr. Warren serves as the Principal of Arrowhead Elementary School in the Olentangy Local School District, the first BIPOC artist-in-residence for the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus (PYC), a member of the Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra (TRYPO) board of directors and chairs the board of directors for a non-profit organization known as The Dream House. Formerly, Dr. Warren served as the Director of Choirs in the Avonworth School District where he taught 5th-12th grade choir and 6th-8th grade general music. Most recently, Dr. Warren served 2 years as the Assistant Principal in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.