Choir Loft Relics Under Glass at the St. George Cathedral, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Official Newsletter of the Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians Chicago Metropolis Summer/Fall 2014 Notes From The Top Board Members Peter Condos President Denise Karras Vice President Joanne Volakakis Treasurer Maria Meintanis Secretary Elena Biessener Theoney Bouris + Memory Eternal Nick Chimitris Angie Condos Micahel Dorin John Douglas Bobbie Korfias Rena Meintanis Diana Ott 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 Many Voices One Flock 1 National Forum News 2 Continued from page 1 3 Senior Conference Schedule 4 I hope you are all enjoying the wonderful Summer. I am starting off this article in memory of one of the most dedicated people this federation has known. Theoney Bouris passed away suddenly and tragically following an area rehearsal. The auto accident that took her life is a mystery. Theoney was a federation board member longer than I can remember, certainly longer than I have been involved and that is nearly twenty years. Her primary assignments were publicity and arranging the Chicago are rehearsals. She was steadfast in both those endeavors. You never told Theoney you would call her back and did not. She would hound you until she received an answer. In many cases that was the only way to get things done. She will truly be missed by her loving family, her choir and most certainly this board. May her memory be ever eternal. We had a number of people representing our Metropolis Federation at the Clergy Laity in Philly. Diana Ott, Michael Dorin, Denise Karras, Angie Condos and myself. Unfortunately Michael became ill and missed all the meetings and events. Thankfully he recovered and is doing well. The conference overall had record breaking attendance. There were some 1800 people in total from all over the country. The National Forum group along with many choir members sang a wonderful liturgy at the St. George Cathedral. We were limited to 50 voices Many Voices One Flock due to the space restrictions but it was one of the (I assume) board members who said we have not had a choir up here in 20 years and you all sound great. We also sang for the opening ceremonies. The rest of the week was relegated to our discussions and special committee meetings. Chairman Maria Keritsis is doing a excellent job with the National Forum and it is a pleasure to work with her as well as the other Metropolis Presidents. During the National Forum reception, Christopher Kypros was presented with (pg 3) Senior Conference Registration 5 By Fr. John Chakos Youth Choir Conference 6 CMI Information 7 CMI Clinicians 8 Christopher Kypros 9 Theoney Bouris Memorial 1 On the day of Pentecost many foreign languages were ecstatically uttered by the apostles, but instead of dividing the multitude in attendance, it united them in a bond of love. Such was the experience of the five member OCMC catechetical team that came to teach the music of the Orthodox Church to the faithful in a number of Mayan villages. (cont. on page 3)
National Forum News 2014 Clergy Laity Philadelphia, PA - July 5-10, 2014 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Church Music E-mail Communications made possible by the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians Website: www.churchmusic.goarch.org Facebook Pages: www.facebook.com/national.forum 2
(Continued from page 1) the Romanos Medallion which was a nomination that was well overdue. Chris directed us for the Divine Liturgy the Sunday of the Clergy Laity Conference at the St. George Cathedral in Downtown Philadelphia. We are well into the rehearsal schedule singing the new Liturgy of Hope. We are all looking forward to meeting in St. Louis for our 57th annual conference. We are getting close to the conference deadlines for room reservations and registrations. We are also LQQKING for your ad s for the Ad Book. Ask your parish councils, philoptochos or get together with friends to put an ad in the book. There will also be a memorial section in the ad book. Remember the CMI takes place on Saturday September 20th at Holy Apostles in Westchester. The registration document are available on the website www.chicago.churchmusic.goarch.org and will also be available at the area rehearsals. Please plan on attending and bring a friend. (Continued from page 1) Many Voices One Flock The team members had the benefit of the previous choral training offered by OCMC mission specialists Matushka Rozanne and Fr. David Rucker to build upon. Presenting a blend of many sacred Orthodox compositions, especially those of the Divine Liturgy and selected feast days, the team members were able to vocally convey a sense of the holiness of the church in a number of languages and music styles. We sang melodies for them in Russian, Greek, English, Arabic and Spanish, and they reciprocated in the local dialects of their village, such as Chuj and Popti. In the village of Aguacate, where Chuj is the predominant language, the team members learned to sing a hymn in Chuj, to the surprise and delight of the congregation. As team members we learned how important music is to our Mayan brothers and sisters, especially in the context of worship. They express their deep faith in God with every fiber of their being, singing with an intensity rarely seen in Orthodox communal worship. Even after our teaching sessions were over, they stayed on and asked for more. The spiritual joy was palpable as we sang on with them in various tongues. As the Orthodox Church reaches out to other people groups in missions, we have come to realize that every country down to its smallest village has a tradition of its own that must be respected and celebrated. No one expression of Orthodoxy can suffice for all. The divided flame on each apostles head reminds us that in our diversity we can still experience unity in the faith and fellowship in the Holy Spirit. In Guatemala the inspiration of Pentecost lives on through the vibrant strains of its music. As members of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, may we make melody in hymns and spiritual songs with our newly received Mayan brothers and sisters. Together let us make real the words of Jesus, who said: I have other sheep that are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there shall be one flock, and one shepherd (John 10:16). To view other mission stories go to: http://www.thewordfromguatemala.com 3
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Choir Loft Summer/Fall 2014 Page 6 Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians Metropolis of Chicago Invite your youth to participate in the 18 th Annual Youth Choir Conference Ages 8-17 years old November 15-16, 2014 At All Saints Greek Orthodox Church 102 North Broadway Ave Joliet, IL 60435 Conference Director: Diana Ott Conference Organist: TBD Liturgy of St John Chrysostom Translated and Arranged by: Nancy C. Takis For information contact: Maria Meintanis, Coordinator 1530 Lambeth Ln. New Lenox, IL 60451 815-485-4167 6
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Christopher Kypros Romanos Medallion Recipient Presented by the National Forum at the Clergy Laity Congress July 2014 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania IN MEMORIAM + Theoney Bouris Theoney Bouris nee Pasvantis Beloved wife of the late John P. Bouris. Loving mother of Alexandra (Chris) Korbakes and Kiki (Rev. John) Kalomas. Dear Yiayia of Peter, Stephanie and Johnny Korbakes and Katrina and Nicholas Kalomas. Dear sister of Athena (Tony) Zanailoglou and Georgia (Sam) Ewseeff. Also survived by many nieces and nephews in Greece. Funeral was Tuesday June 3rd St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church 12307 S. Ridgeland Palos Heights, Illinois. Interment Bethania Cemetery, Justice, Illinois. In lieu of flowers donations to Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians appreciated. Editorial Note: Theoney was a devoted choir member at St. Spyridon Church in Palos Heights, IL was a dedicated federation board member and attended most all the conferences. She had been singing with choirs for over 50 years. Published in Chicago Tribune June 1, 2014 ETERNAL BE HER MEMORY 9
www.chicago.churchmusic.goarch.org Choir Loft Angie Condos 1612 Apache Dr. Naperville, IL 60563 10