Frank Martignetti has served as Director of Music & Organist at First Church since 2021, where he conducts the Chancel and Bell Choirs and directs the Music in the Meetinghouse concert series. Frank is the inaugural director of the Music Education Program at Sacred Heart University, where he is an assistant professor.
He came to First Church from Advent Lutheran Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where he served for eight years. An experienced choral conductor, Frank conducted the Mystic River Chorale for 13 seasons, and led the choral program at the University of Bridgeport, where he was a faculty member and department chair, for 16 years. Prior to entering higher education, Frank was a K-12 music teacher, recognized with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s 2006 Excellence in Music Teaching Award for his work in the New Haven Public Schools.
Frank has guest conducted and performed as a keyboardist throughout the region, and continues to publish in scholarly journals. Rochester (BA), Eastman (BM), Cincinnati (MM), NYU (Ph.D.). Along with gratitude for our beautiful pipe organ and sanctuary, Frank loves the community, spirituality, and hunger for justice that characterizes First Church. He lives in Fairfield with his wife, Heather, their daughter, and their cat, Piper.