Official Newsletter of the Federation of Greek Orthodox Church. Musicians Chicago Metropolis. Notes From The Top

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1 Choir Loft Relics of St. Athanasios at St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church Aurora, Illinois Official Newsletter of the Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians Chicago Metropolis Spring Notes From The Top Board Members Peter Condos - President Rena Meintanis - Vice President Joanne Volakakis -Treasurer Maria Meintanis - Secretary Elena Biessener Nick Chimitris Angie Condos Micahel Doran Ruth Faklis Denise Karras Bobbie Korfias Diana Ott Audrey Polite (Covello) Gia Xenakis Mary Zaharis Spiritual Advisors His Eminence, Metropolitan Iakovos of Chicago Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos Fr. Sotirios Malamis Inside this issue: Notes From The Top 1 Cruise on the Jonathan Padelford Notes Continued 2 Vasilkopita Celebration 2 St. Mary Choir Conference 3 St. Mary s Church History 4 St. Mary s Choir / Memorials 5 Youth Choir Conference Flyer 6 Chicago Rehearsal Schedule 7 1 As we are well into our Lenten journey we look forward to and anticipate the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The choir at St Mary s in Minneapolis, MN is preparing for this years choir conference. We will again be singing the Liturgy of Hope written and directed by Christopher Kypros. The dates are Oct. 9-11, We are working on arranging a bus for those who may wish to travel as a group. More information will be available later. The CD of last years conference is selling like no other. It is a wonderful 2 CD recording. Nick Kumis and Nick Paloumpis did a great job editing the recording. The Eastern Federation (New Jersey Metropolis) is also singing the new Kypros arrangement this year. We have also secured a venue for the youth choir conference. This Fall the children will be meeting at St. Athanasios in Aurora, IL. The Fall seems to be a good time of the year since we had so many participants last year at this same time. Diana Ott will be directing the children. George Panagopoulos will be the accompanist We hope to have a good turnout. The CMI this year has been scheduled for Sept. 19th 2015 at Sts. Peter & Paul in Glenview IL. The clinicians will be Stan & Nancy Takis. The Chicago area rehearsals are scheduled thanks to the early work of Ruth Faklis. The schedule will be included in this newsletter. On a sad note I was in Baltimore when Presbytera Anna Gallos fell asleep. I attended the funeral along with other participants who sang a tribute to Presbytera Anna for the many contributions to our liturgical music. May her memory be ever eternal. We also lost many of our own choir members these past few months. They will be in the memorial section of this Choir Loft. Last week I attended the presidents meeting in Richmond VA. Maria Keritsis, Fr. Nicholas Bacalis and the Sts. Constantine and Helen Church family were so welcoming to all of us. We discussed many issues which are of concern (pg 2) Saturday Night Dinner Cruise on the Jonathan Padelford One of the few truly authentic sternwheelers on the Mississippi River, the all-steel vessel is named for the tenth great maternal grandfatherof Capt. William D. Bowell, Sr., founder of Padelford Packet Boat Co., Inc.The engines are identical to the old steam engines but run hydraulically. The sound of the steam is still there. Its overall length is 125 feet with a 24-foot beam. Coast Guard licensed to carry 200. Maximum Capacity: 160 Maximum Indoor Dining: 114 Main deck is heated and air conditioned, the second deck has a partiallyenclosed area with open air areas toward the bow and stern. 1

2 (Notes From The Top Continued from page 1) to our federation choirs. The translations into English are completed and ready for release in April. This multi-year project is finally complete for the liturgy portion. The other special hymns have not been addressed as yet but hopefully will begin soon. The rollout will be huge. The second book will be the pew book and the third will be the music for the new green book. The one committee I am helping to chair with Chris Zervos is Liturgical Music Education. Part of that committee is to review the Guide to Congregational Singing which has been out of print for a few years. We are updating that publication which is to be renamed Congregational Participation. The revisions should be ready by the annual meeting in July. Some of the other projects for this committee are Suggest ways for how federations and the National Forum could add emphasis to choir director training. Distribution of Choir Director Academy program developed by the Metropolis of San Francisco. Recruitment of year olds. How to encourage parishes to join their Church Music Federations and promote the benefits. We also discussed the youth initiatives for which Denise Karras is chair person. A newsletter will be published soon and I can add that our metropolis has a number of youth choir programs in place in many of our churches. On behalf of the choir federation board I would like to wish you all a blessed Lenten journey and a glorious Pascha. Peter Condos, President, Metropolis of Chicago, Choir Federation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Vasilopita Celebration at St. Demetrios Elmhurst, IL This year s Metropolis vasilopita celebration was held at St. Demetrios in Elmhurst, IL. There was about six inches of snow on the ground but no one stayed away due to the weather. Fr Andrew Georganas and the St Demetrios community were so cordial and welcoming to everyone. We received our piece of vasilopita from Bishop Demetrios of Mokisos who presided over the event. Everyone especially enjoyed the children singing. The vasilopita cutting continued in the community center where the Philoptochos had all the tables beautifully decorated. There were plenty of delectable hors d oeuvres and everyone had a wonderful time. One of the nicest events of the new year. 2

3 Minneapolis to Host Conference The 58 th Annual Metropolis Choir Conference will be held in Minneapolis the weekend of October 8 11, The Choir and congregation of St. Mary s are eager to welcome you to fun-filled weekend of song and fellowship. Our host hotel is the Hilton Bloomington, 3900 American Boulevard, Bloomington, MN. We have secured an excellent room rate of $89per night.. Room choices include a King bed or two Queen beds. More information will be forthcoming with the registration materials. Here are some highlights of the weekend. On Thursday evening, October 7, St. Mary s choir members will host a reception at the hotel for our conference attendees. A variety of hors d oeuvres and adult beverages will be served. A good time to reconnect with friends from across the Metropolis. And, of course, we know you are interested in our other activities for the weekend. Friday Fun Night will feature Karaoke with Christini (our own Christine Gresser!) The action will be in St. Mary s beautiful social hall and Terrace room. (Did I mention that our Terrace Room overlooks scenic Lake Calhoun?) We will be serving pizza and other finger foods. The selection of sing-along favorites is the best in the Midwest. We also have a GREEK Karaoke CD with such favorites as Sameotessa, Maria Me Ta Ketrena, Never on Sunday and Agapame. Start channeling your inner Nana Mouskouri or practice a song with your choir to perform (there s safety in numbers!) After rehearsals on Saturday we will go to downtown St. Paul for the social highlight of the weekend. We will board the Jonathan Padelford for a 3 hour gourmet cruise (see article on the Jonathon Padelford). This is not to be missed! On Sunday morning we will worship together, singing the beautiful Liturgy of Hope directed by its composer, Christopher Kypros. Following the liturgy we will enjoy a delicious Greek roast chicken dinner with the congregation of St. Mary s before its time to say goodbye to friends and head for home. Please plan on joining us in Minneapolis! On Saturday evening we ll take a three hour cruise on the Mississippi on the Jonathan Padelford. We ll depart from the Port of St. Paul and enjoy a sumptuous buffet dinner. Ours will be the only party on board for the evening. 3

4 St. Mary s Greek Orthodox Church of Minneapolis St. Mary s church was incorporated in 1905 and moved into its first structure in The first building was located near the University of Minnesota and was only used for 3 years when the University chose to expand its campus. The land was sold to the University and it is now just south of the eastern approach to the Washington Avenue bridge where the Weismann museum is located. The church building itself was moved and served several Protestant congregations before being purchased in 1955 by a small immigrant community of St. Panteleimon s Russian Orthodox Church. The second St. Mary s Church was built on Lake Street and served the community from 1909 until When the parish had outgrown the facility the decision was made to build a new, larger church. The third St. Mary s is built at the crest of the eastern bluff overlooking Lake Calhoun. The property has historical significance in that it was the site of the Pond Brothers cabin. In 1834 two young missionaries, Samuel and Gideon Pond arrived at Fort Snelling from Connecticut. Their mission was to evangelize the Dakota Indians. The property later became the site of the Forman mansion. Two original stone pillars outside the parking lot are the only remains of the Foeman Estate. The ground breaking for the current St. Mary s was held in 1956 and the first services were held at Easter Since then additional properties were accrued and renovations and additions to the original structure were completed. Today St. Mary s is a vibrant, growing parish serving nearly 700 households. 4

5 St. Mary s Choir Minneapolis MN. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Magdaline (Maggie) G. Bovis Bovis, Magdaline G. age 88, passed away peacefully March 2 in Minneapolis while attended by her niece Paula. Born May 16, 1926 in Sioux City, IA to Constantine and Evmorphia Bovis, Maggie graduated Briar Cliff College with a bachelor's degree in science. Her professional life was spent in medical research at the U of MN. Her interests ranged wide and deep: She had many roles at St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church over many decades; was passionate about the environment and equal rights for women; and was an expert on Orthodox iconography. Maggie lived a full life, including travelling the world, compiling an extensive library, appreciating the fine arts, cooking, charitable works, and her well-tended garden. Her time at the American School for Classical Studies in Greece as a young adult was rich and adventurous. She was beloved by many for her supportive enthusiasm, generosity, and sense of humor. She is survived by her cherished friend and companion, Patricia Lalley; her sister Marjorie Bovis Myrianthopoulos; brother, James (Irene) Bovis; sister-in-law, Marianne Bovis; nieces, Margaret Bovis, Elaine Myrianthopoulos, Mary (Myrianthopoulos) Flynn, Katina Bovis Conn, Christiana Bovis, Paula (Bovis) Persaud, and Elizabeth (Myrianthopoulos) Weissbrot; nephews, Thomas, Charles, and James Peter Bovis; many cousins, many grandnieces, grandnephews, and one great-grandnephew, as well as her friend, Helen Peters, and "the boys" - Patrick Scully and Kevin Kortan. The family asks that any memorial gifts be made to St. Mary's Greek Orthodox Church, Minneapolis, MN or the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery, Otego, NY. Maggie knew the meaning of the word "filoxenia" and will be deeply missed by scores; friends, colleagues, and family. Magdaline (Lynn) Pappas Memorials Lynn Pappas, (67) from SS. Constantine & Helen, in Palos Hills, passed away last month. We haven't seen her for a while as she was fighting cancer. Mary Condes I received an from Mary Strickland letting the federation know of the passing of Mary Condes (90). She was in the St. Demetrios Hammond choir with John Douglas for decades and was a regular registrant of our conferences until the last few years. I believe most of you remember Mary. May their memories be ever eternal 5

6 Choir Loft Spring Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians Metropolis of Chicago Invite your youth to participate in the 19 th Annual Youth Choir Conference Ages 8-17 year olds Date to be announced At St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church 1855 E 5th Avenue Aurora, IL Conference Director: Diana Ott Conference Organist: George Panagopoulos Liturgy of St John Chrysostom Translated and Arranged by: Nancy C. Takis For information contact: Angie Condos, Coordinator acondos2@aol.com

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8 Save the dates: September 19, 2015 CMI October Senior Choir Conference Choir Loft Angie Condos 1612 Apache Dr. Naperville, IL