{"id":4225,"date":"2022-09-13T12:03:21","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/?post_type=staff&p=4225"},"modified":"2023-08-16T11:13:07","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T16:13:07","slug":"michael-savela","status":"publish","type":"staff","link":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/staff\/michael-savela\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Savela"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Michael Savela was born in December of 1986 to Edward and Diane Savela.  At birth, Michael was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease. Meaning, he had virtually no kidney function and was likely to die in just a few months following birth.  Nevertheless, after dialysis, two kidney transplants, 20 surgeries, nearly 800 nights in the hospital, and most importantly<\/em>, the grace of God<\/em><\/strong>, Michael has overcome these and many other adversities. He now lives an active, thriving and fulfilling life. What God did not give him \u2013 functional kidneys – He blessed him in other ways. God gave Michael the gift of music, and a talent for motivating others to overcome adversity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael became interested in the piano when he was five years old. At seven, Michael began taking formal piano lessons where he quickly fell in love with the feel and the sound of the instrument. He was later encouraged by one of his music teachers to learn the pipe organ as well. Michael now plays both the piano and the pipe organ. “Although I play the organ, the piano will always be my favorite instrument,” Michael says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating from Birmingham-Southern College with an undergrad in business administration, Michael went on to receive his master\u2019s degree in healthcare administration from the University of St. Francis (Joliet, Illinois).   Michael is employed full-time at Children\u2019s of Alabama (Children\u2019s Hospital) where he oversees all database and compliance matters as it relates to the volunteers at that organization.   Michael loves what he does but continues seeking professional opportunities to grow.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Michael continues to write, play, and record music professionally. His music can be heard worldwide on music streaming platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music to name a few.   He also has his own music website:  www.michaelsavela.com<\/a> .  In addition to his own music, Michael also plays for weddings, funerals, private parties, and events around the Birmingham area when he can.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a combination of musical talent, and overcoming medical challenges, Michael has also developed a niche in motivational speaking. With this passion for motivating others, Michael has had numerous speaking engagements both large and small, including addressing participants at the National Transplant Olympic Games, fundraising opportunities at Children\u2019s of Alabama, networking engagements through the United Way of Central Alabama, and many other events. He is most comfortable when he can combine his music with his story about overcoming adversity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael is very thankful to have the opportunity to be the pianist at The Episcopal Church of The Holy Spirit.  He feels that each new career \/ endeavor he takes on is a true gift given to him by God.  In addition, Michael is also employed through the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham where he plays piano for many services at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church on Saturday evenings.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Savela was born in December of 1986 to Edward and Diane Savela.  At birth, Michael was diagnosed with End … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4226,"menu_order":7,"template":"","staff-group":[],"class_list":["post-4225","staff","type-staff","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/staff\/4225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/staff"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/staff"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/staff\/4225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4227,"href":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/staff\/4225\/revisions\/4227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"staff-group","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/holyspirit-al.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/staff-group?post=4225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}