John Devorick has been making music, and sharing his musical gifts with others since the 1970’s. His career in music has taken many forms over the decades: church musician, public school music teacher, adjunct professor, private piano instructor, composer, etc.

John graduated from West Chester University, summa cum laude, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education. While at West Chester, he double-majored in piano and voice as his applied areas. A few years later he completed a Master’s Degree in Liturgical Music at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.  While there, he studied organ with Dr. Robert Grogan, then the organist at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. John has also completed graduate work at Westminster Choir College and The University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

As a church musician, John has held positions as Director of Music and organist at several churches in the Harrisburg area. He founded the music program and choir as the first pastoral musician at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Mechanicsburg, Pa. Later positions included those at Camp Hill United Methodist, Wesley United Methodist, and First United Methodist (Mechanicsburg).

As a music educator, John  taught at Mechanicsburg Area School District for sixteen years, and was a recipient of the Outstanding Elementary Teacher of the Year award. His last public school position was at Red Land High School in West Shore School District. There he directed choral ensembles and musicals until his retirement in 2013. Throughout his career, John mentored many aspiring music educators who student taught under his guidance. This led to an association in recent years with Messiah University, where John currently serves as adjunct professor, teaching private piano and ear training courses.

John’s first musical love was composing, with his earliest pieces being performed locally while he was still a teenager. In recent years he has returned to this early calling. In addition to the pieces published by GIA, other works are available through J.W. Pepper, Sheet Music Direct, and Sheet Music Plus.

John is very happily married to his wife of twenty years, Marilyn. They reside in Mechanicsburg, Pa. He has two adult daughters and one grandchild.