Volume 4 Issue 1 August 2010YOUHMU%IC CONNECTION A Publication of the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians Welcome to the fourth year of the National Forum’s YouthMusic Connection e‐newsletter! All of us, being well intentioned, have experienced the desire to accomplish important tasks that unintentionally get put aside when “life gets in the way.” This long‐awaited issue of YouthMusic Connection, although a bit delayed, is filled with the joyful news of newly emerging youth choir programs, hymnology instruction in the Church schools, youth‐only choir conferences, multigenerational choir participation, and other news that states clearly and concisely that we are ON THE MOVE with regard to youth singing in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America! We have turned the tide away from the negative mindset of “graying choirs” to behold the joy of a blossoming musical and spiritual reality within the church! In fact, Vicki Pappas, encouraged by this good news, has asked us to STOP using the words “graying choirs.” To quote: “It took me aback at one meeting when I heard priests and Archdiocesan leaders use the phrase, and it occurred to me that it has become a mindset that stifles change, and only accentuates the problem. It’s actually bad PR that we ourselves have created! While I’m not refuting that we do have a large proportion of older people in our choirs and that we are slow in adding younger ones, I am proposing that we concentrate on the positives that are also happening and that are emerging as very strong developments in our Metropolises.” Recently returned from our Clergy‐Laity Congress in Atlanta last month, I was overwhelmed with the contagious enthusiasm of my National Forum colleagues and fellow youth music panelists during the discussions of this vital and emerging ministry. The success of these burgeoning programs can best be seen in the smiles on the faces of the students and teachers on the following pages, and also by the words of the students themselves, excerpted near the end of this issue. Glory be to God for the blessings that He bestows on us through the work of His dedicated youth music instructors and clergy. With this in mind, I hope you enjoy reading through these pages with a song in your heart and a silent prayer for our continued success. I have enjoyed being your editor over these past four years, and I am very happy to announce that we will have Diana Ott of St Nicholas in St Louis stepping in as the new YMC editor. Her creative spirit, love for children, and passion for church music will serve her well in carrying the torch forward for this publication! Thanks to all of you for your well wishes and support through the years! Musically in Christ, Joanne H. Kambouris, Editor Metropolis of Denver Hosts Another Successful Camp Emmanuel in Albuquerque, NM Summer Camp in the Metropolis of Denver is a time for children and youth to reflect upon their inner life, their relationship with God and each other, and very importantly, to learn the rich spiritual traditions of our Church held within its hymnology. There are no iPods, iPhones, or televisions. This year, led by Music Director Chrysanthy Therianos, the gentle sound of voices sang praises before every meal, during chapel, and at the evening campfire activities. Each of the twelve cabins represented one of the major twelve feasts of our Lord or a Saint. The 150 campers, aged 6 th ‐12 th grades, met for 45 minutes per day for music where they learned the Divine Liturgy and other special hymns of the day. Hymns that were more difficult to learn (Cherubic Hymn, Se Ymnumen, Axion Estin) were taught in smaller groups. Also, campers learned all of the Odes for the Paraklesis Service, plus other Orthodox folk and camp songs. Additionally, another hour of singing was offered to campers during their free period where they learned about vocalizing, chanting in tune, and how to chant their cabin’s Apolytikion.
Welcome to the fourth year of the National Forum’s YouthMusic Connection e‐newsletter! All of us, being wellintentioned,haveexperiencedthedesiretoaccomplishimportanttasksthatunintentionallygetputasidewhen“lifegetsintheway.”This long‐awaited issueofYouthMusicConnection,althoughabitdelayed, is filledwiththe joyfulnewsofnewly emerging youth choir programs, hymnology instruction in the Church schools, youth‐only choir conferences,multigenerationalchoirparticipation,andothernewsthatstatesclearlyandconciselythatweareONTHEMOVEwithregardtoyouthsingingintheGreekOrthodoxArchdioceseofAmerica! We have turned the tide away from the negativemindset of “graying choirs” to behold the joy of a blossomingmusical and spiritual realitywithin the church! In fact, Vicki Pappas, encouragedby this goodnews, has askedus toSTOPusingthewords“grayingchoirs.”Toquote:“IttookmeabackatonemeetingwhenIheardpriestsandArchdiocesanleadersuse thephrase,and itoccurred tome that ithasbecomeamindset that stifleschange,andonlyaccentuates theproblem.It’sactuallybadPRthatweourselveshavecreated!WhileI’mnotrefutingthatwedohavealargeproportionofolderpeopleinourchoirsandthatweareslowinaddingyoungerones,IamproposingthatweconcentrateonthepositivesthatarealsohappeningandthatareemergingasverystrongdevelopmentsinourMetropolises.” Recently returned fromourClergy‐LaityCongress inAtlanta lastmonth, Iwasoverwhelmedwith the contagiousenthusiasmofmyNationalForumcolleaguesandfellowyouthmusicpanelistsduringthediscussionsofthisvitalandemergingministry.Thesuccessoftheseburgeoningprogramscanbestbeseeninthesmilesonthefacesofthestudentsandteachersonthefollowingpages,andalsobythewordsofthestudentsthemselves,excerptedneartheendofthisissue.GlorybetoGodfortheblessingsthatHebestowsonusthroughtheworkofHisdedicatedyouthmusicinstructorsandclergy.Withthisinmind,Ihopeyouenjoyreadingthroughthesepageswithasonginyourheartandasilentprayerforourcontinuedsuccess. I haveenjoyedbeingyoureditorover thesepast fouryears, and I amveryhappy to announce thatwewill haveDianaOttofStNicholasinStLouissteppinginasthenewYMCeditor.Hercreativespirit,loveforchildren,andpassionforchurchmusicwillserveherwellincarryingthetorchforwardforthispublication!Thankstoallofyouforyourwellwishesandsupportthroughtheyears!MusicallyinChrist,JoanneH.Kambouris,Editor
SummerCampintheMetropolisofDenverisatimeforchildrenandyouthtoreflectupontheirinnerlife,theirrelationshipwithGodandeachother,andveryimportantly,tolearntherichspiritualtraditionsofourChurchheldwithinitshymnology.TherearenoiPods,iPhones,ortelevisions.Thisyear,ledbyMusicDirectorChrysanthyTherianos,thegentlesoundofvoicessangpraisesbeforeeverymeal,duringchapel,andattheeveningcampfireactivities.EachofthetwelvecabinsrepresentedoneofthemajortwelvefeastsofourLordoraSaint.The150campers,aged6th‐12thgrades,metfor45minutesperdayformusicwhere they learned theDivine Liturgy andother special hymns of the day.Hymns thatweremoredifficult to learn(Cherubic Hymn, Se Ymnumen, Axion Estin) were taught in smaller groups. Also, campers learned all of the Odes for theParaklesis Service, plusotherOrthodox folk and campsongs.Additionally, anotherhourof singingwasoffered to campersduring their freeperiodwhere they learnedaboutvocalizing, chanting in tune, andhow to chant their cabin’sApolytikion.
Volume 4 Issue 1 August 2010Every evening, the campers had the opportunity to “showwhat they knew” as theywalkedby the priests on theirway toevening chapel.Campersparticipatedmusically indailymorningandevening chapel services, aParaklesis service, and theDivineLiturgyonThursdaymorningwithHisEminenceMetropolitanIsaiah.Ofcourse,campwouldnotbecompletewithoutthecampfiresongsleadbyFatherApostolosHill,DeanoftheAssumptionCathedralinDenver,FatherMakariosfromKenya,andChrysanthyTherianos.Notonlydidcamperssingbeforeeverymeal,theyalsohadtosingasonginordertoreceivemailsentfromhome!FormoreinformationaboutthemusicprogramatCampEmmanuel,pleasecontactChrysanthyTherianosat719‐268‐0914orviae‐[email protected].• MetropolisofChicago:MultipleParishesThis Metropolis has, for more than a decade, heldseparate choir conferences for our youth. While jointyouthandadult conferenceswereheld in thepast,wefoundthatchildrenfarprefera“youth‐centered”eventthat permits organizers to schedule programs,workshops,meals,andotheractivitiestosuittheneedsof young people. Additionally, a youth‐only choirconference requires that the youth learn the entireDivineLiturgyandnotjustselectedsectionsthereof.Wehave found that the more responsibility is given, themore enthusiastic and engaged they become! Thisyear’s conference will be held in the spring of 2011,datestobeannounced.Staytuned!DianaOtt,YouthChoirDirector• MetropolisofDetroit:HolyTrinity,CarmelINOur parish’s hymnology program is part of its churchschool program for grades 1st‐5th, and is coordinatedthrough the priest and church school administrators.The hymnology teachers are choir members who arethought of as one of the church school teachers.Preschoolers and Kindergarteners are taughtseparately. Hymnology class takes place aftercommunion for 15 minutes per Sunday. Children singduring communion, on Holy Saturdaymorning, and atotherspecialtimesduringtheyear.VickiPappas,YouthMusicDirector• MetropolisofAtlanta:St.Stephen’sSummercampAsthemusicdirectoroftheStStephen’sSummerCamp,myjobistoteachthedailymusicclassandto leadthesingingat theworshipservices.Ourclassesbeginwithan opening Trisagion Prayer; we discuss churchetiquette, and then begin with vocal warm‐ups. Welearnmusicforthecamp’sVespersandMatinsservicesas well as for the Divine Liturgy, interspersing thesewith camp songs for ourThursday evening sing‐along.Weendeachsessionwith the JesusPrayer that is said33times,averycalmingactivity.Fr.SeraphimDedes,MusicDirectorSt.Katherine’sYouthChoir,Melbourne,FLOur youth choir has taken off with as many childrensinging every Sunday as senior choirmembers! At theclose of Liturgywe had a small appreciation program.The senior choir sang the dismissal hymn of St.
Romanos in Greek, and then the children sang inEnglish. After the hymns, Father Demetri presentedevery church musician with an icon stand of St.Romanos,andeveryyouthchoirmemberpresentedallthe "experienced" church musicians with a rose inappreciation of their years of service, and for the
encouragementandsupportthey have given the kids aswe re‐establish our littlechoir. The youth choir alsosponsored a lovely coffeehour reception in ourcommunity center in honorof all the churchmusicians.
Ourchildrenareprecious.Asweteachthemthebeautyof our liturgy and hymnology, it is also important toteach them to appreciate thosewho have gone beforethem,whoassistthemintheirpathoflearning.Weareso blessed in our community to have a lovingcooperative situation between the senior and youthchoirmembers, aswell as tender instruction fromourpsaltaiandorganist.Forthiswearetrulygrateful.ValerieKaras,YouthChoirDirectorTheOrthodoxYouthChoirofTampaBayTheOYCTBwill be travelling to Chicago inOctober asguests of the America’sGreek Dance and ChoralCompetition committee,an event sponsored inpart by theMetropolis ofChicagoto fosterthe loveofourGreekheritageandOrthodox faith. They willbesingingliturgicalhymnsandaGreekfolksong.JoanneHKambouris,DirectorSt.StefanosYouthChoir,St.Petersburg,FLOur choirwas reactivated in February of 2009. Itwasincorporated as part of our Church School curriculumandwerehearsebeforebeginningouractualclasses.Itincludes grades 4‐12. This past September, we addedourAngelChoir,whichincludesgradesK‐3.Thisgrouprehearses at the end of class time. Both choirs haveparticipatedinsingingfortheentireDivineLiturgyandon Christmas Eve, and the youth choir participates inthe Holy Unction service during Holy Week. Besides
Volume 4 Issue 1 August 2010singing the responsesand the Troparia, sevenofouryouthparticipatedby reading the Epistle.Theydidawonderfuljoband the choir was wellreceived by ourcommunity.Thisyear,we
hopetoalsohavethemparticipate inaVesperservice.St. Stefanos is dedicated to furthering the spiritualgrowth of our youth, through the teaching of ourbeautiful hymns and active participation in ourliturgicalservices.StavrulaCrafa,Youth/AngelChoirDirector• MetropolisofDenver:St.George,OklahomaCity,OKSt. George Church is very blessed with vitalparticipationofourChildren’sChoir.TheysangforthefeastdayofStNicholas,andperformedaplayabouthislife, written and directed by Amy Vaughn. They alsoparticipated in Holy Friday Vespers, Holy SaturdayMorning services, and often sing the Holy Anaphorathrough Koinonika on Sundays. The children are veryexcited to join the adults who are singing four‐partharmony.St.GeorgeChoir• Direct Archdiocesan District: Archangel Michael
YouthChoir,PortWashington,NYThisyear’sSaturdayofLazaruswascelebratedwiththeangelicvoicesof theArchangelMichaelYouthChoirasthey chanted a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy togetherwith Archbishop Demetrios. Also, the choir chantedduring the 4th Friday Salutations service where twochoirmemberschantedtheAspileandtheKeDhosImin.On Holy Friday, many alumni of the Byzantine YouthChoirwhoarecurrently incollegeorworkingcame tojointheirvoiceswiththegroup.GeorgiaKaufman,DirectorSt.ParaskeviYouthChoir,Greenlawn,NYOur youth choir ministry consists of 2 groups: A“Byzanteen”Choirforsingersaged12andup,aswellasa Junior Choir for children from 1st grade through 5th.Severalof theolderstudents singwith theadult choir,one of whom acts as an assistant to the youth choirdirectorswhenneeded.FayPavlidis,St.ParaskeviChoirAssumptionChurchYouthChoir,Danbury,CTOurYouthChoirsingsduringtheDivineLiturgytwiceamonth, and we are so proud of them! They sangChristmas carols on Christmas Eve with JuliannePapdopoulosandRobinRockwellsharingtheirclarinettalentsaswell.TheresePapdopoulos,Director
St.John’sChurchSchool,BluePoint,NYOur Church School children continue to visit the choirloft every Sunday, and are rapidly becomingaccustomedtotherigorsofsingingeverySunday.Theyformthefoundationofwhatwillultimatelybecome,wehope and pray, a robust Junior Choir and, as everychurch choir hopes, a feeder group for the church’sadultchoir.MarcelleWheeler,ChoirDirector
• MetropolisofNewJersey:EasternFederationOnOctober 24, 2009, the Eastern Federation of GreekOrthodox Church Musician (EFGOCM) New JerseyDistrictsponsoredthefirstYouthSingersWorkshopoftheMetropolis atHoly Trinity GreekOrthodox ChurchinWestfield,NJ.TheYouththroughoutNewJerseywereinvited.Wehadatotalof27talentedyouthsingersfrom5 parishes and their ages were from 8 – 19. MarinaAlexander was the clinician and guided the youththrough breathing and vocal warm‐up exercises. Shetaught them songs andhymns inGreek andEnglish inboth the Choral and Byzantine styles. The day
concluded with ashort program ofsome of the pieceslearned during theday. The youth worethe t‐shirts thatwereprovided for them intheir packets andthey looked andsounded great. Since
our Metropolitan was traveling with the Patriarch,ChancellorFr.GeorgeNikas representedHisEminenceand spoke to the youth. At each of our workshops orCMIs,weasktheparticipantstocompleteanevaluationform. The youth responded positively in theirevaluation and they gave us their highlights andimpressionsof theday.Theywereasked if theywouldtheyliketobeinformedofanyotherworkshopsandtheresponsewasanoverwhelming“yes!”Welookforwardtosponsoringotherworkshopsforouryouth.E.HopeDemitry,YouthChoirDirector
Approximately 45 children took part in the LentenRetreat Camp led by the Vacation Church Camp staffand committee on Saturday, February 6 at theTransfiguration Church of Lowell, MA. Following theFirst Saturday of Souls Liturgy, Father Stephen
Lawrence, parish priest, welcomed the children andafteradelicioussnack, thechildrenparticipated in the
Volume 4 Issue 1 August 2010
Direct Archdiocesan District Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians
Second Annual Youth Conference
Saturday, Oct 16, 2010 Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church,
New Rochelle, NY
following activities:music, artsand crafts, indoor games, andOrthodoxlife.Duringthemusicsession, Toula Sparagesreviewedthechurch’shymn(inEnglish) and went over theHymnof theThreeYouths thatis sung on Holy Saturdaymorning. Almost all thosepresenthadparticipated in thesummer and fall retreats andwerehappytosingsomeofthe
VCC favorites with Toula once again. Among thefavorites areFather I Adore You,Lia’s Alphabet Song, IAm a CHRISTIAN, and many others. The youngerchildren enjoyed playing rhythm instruments andmarchingtothetuneof“TenLittleAngels.”All inall, itwas a wonderful Saturday full of friendship, songs,games, and knowledge of our faith. The children arelooking forward to the Saturday of Lazarus and theGoodFridayretreatsthiscomingspring.• Metropolis of San Francisco:Holy Cross Belmont,
CAReligiousEducationstudentscelebratedtheSt.NicholasFeastdayonDecember6thinsong.The3rdthrough8thgraders proudly ascended the choir loft to sing fourhymns:theSt.NicholasApolytikion,theApolytikionforthe Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Pre‐ChristmasKontakion, and the Thrice‐Holy Hymn. At the coffeehour after church, the group did a reprise of the St.NicholashymnandalsosangabeautifulsongabouttheSaint,writtenbyFrancesCorcoranandElainePassaris.The children devote one Church School lesson permonthtothestudyofchurchhymnology.Amemberofour adult choir, Chris Canellos, provides musicalinstructionaswellas the liturgicalcontextandhistorybehindeachhymn.• Metropolis of Pittsburgh: St. Demetrios Church,
RockyRiver,OHI was introduced to choir singing at the age of 12through the kindness of a choir member whovolunteered to drive my sister and me to rehearsalsevery week. Now, in like manner, I often providetransportationtomystudents,forthosewhoareunableto make it to church on time for Liturgy. I havediscoveredthatchildrenlovetodoadultthings,suchasreadingprayersiftheyarenotnaturalsingers,wearingrobes,singingwiththeadultchoironSundaymornings,singing the Liturgy by themselves once a month, andvotingonthelanguagethattheywillusefortheLiturgythatday.WepracticeonSaturdayswiththestudentsofthe Sunday school, afterwhich I provide pizza, drinks,and brownies. I believe it is important to explain theDivine Liturgy aswell as teach the hymns in a loving,supportive,andspirituallyupliftingenvironment.DianeMatzorkis,YouthChoirDirector
ClergyLaityChurchMusicWorkshop
FocusesonYouthMusicPriests, youth music workers, and other interestedpersons had the opportunity to attend a workshopentitled Gather The Youth: Ideas for Youth MusicPrograms in Your Parish during July’s Biennial Clergy‐Laity Congress in Atlanta. The program included anintroduction by National Forum Chairman, Dr. VickiPappas,apanelpresentationfromyouthmusicexperts,aHymn‐SingusingtheNF’snewlycompletedOloiMazihymns in English, and a question‐answer session.Panelists includedDr.VickiPappas, theVeryReverendSeraphim Dedes, E. Hope Demitry, Presvytera MariaHondros, Joanne H. Kambouris, Diana Ott, ChysanthyTherianos,andDr.TikeyZes.Thewealthofinformationprovided by the panel was exceptional in scope andquality. The handout packet for this workshop isavailableontheNationalForumwebsiteat:www.churchmusic.goarch.org/resources/youthmusicresources.html
Haveyoueverwonderedwhat thepercentagesare foryoungsingersinourchoirs,onaverage?Whatliturgicalmusic arrangements are most often used to teachchildren? What is the average size for a youth choir?Thesequestionsandmorecanbeansweredbyreadingthe newly‐published National Forum Survey that wascompleted by 281 individuals from every Metropolis.Youmayviewtheseresultsatwww.churchmusic.goarch.org
Volume 4 Issue 1 August 2010NationalForumWebSite:Acomprehensivelistingofresourcematerialsforyouthmusicislocatedatwww.churchmusic.goarch.org/resources/youthmusicresources.htmlFindusonFacebook!OrthodoxYouthMusicwww.facebook.com/group.php?gid=100921854137&ref=tsStartingaYouthMusicPrograminYourParishA practical guide for starting and maintaining a qualityyouthmusicprogramfromthegroundup. Includesmanyuseful ideasandsuggestions,anextensivelistofavailableresources, and frequently asked questions. By JoanneH.Kambouris and Lynne Jebeles. Contact Vicki Pappas toorderacopy.Costis$15plusshippingandhandling.2009SummerInstituteonYouthMusicPacketAn invaluable 160‐page compilation of materialsdistributed at last summer’s National Youth MusicInstitute sponsored by the National Forum in Boston.Materials on various topics are included: panelistdiscussion handouts, Hymns for Young People, HelpingChildren Experience Byzantine Chant, Practical Tips andTechniquesforYouthChoirs,“JamSession”handouts,andother pertinent materials. Cost is $22 dollars plus $5.50shippingandhandlingforeachbookordered.HymnsOfTheOrthodoxChurch:Teaching booklets and a CD for 12 hymns of the DivineLiturgy.EachbookletincludesmusicforGreekandEnglishtexts, information about the hymn; scriptural references;
an associated icon, and teaching suggestions. The CDfeatures EIKONA singing the hymns. Various orderingoptionsareavailable:
(1) Family Packet (CD plus a children’s booklet foreachhymn):$20each.
(4) CDonlyis$15.Shipping and handling will be added to your order. Youwill receive the materials with an invoice to send backwithyourcheck.Noneedtopre‐pay.
