Introductions

ρόδι

Super Moderator Team
I thought a thread to introduce ourselves would be a good idea. Let me start.

I am Kiriaki. My background is musicology and performance. I am university trained in western music but have a love and appreciation for Byzantine chant (and other non western musics). I am wife to Dimitri (the administrator) and will be moderating the English section of the forums alongside him.

I invite you all to post in this thread with a brief introduction!
 
I am Reader Moses from the Pacific Northwest in the USA. I'm a tonsured Reader and Chanter in an Antiochian Parish. I am I convert from the Baptist religion, which is where I developed a love for potatoe salad, but not much else. I have great zeal, but not according to knowledge. I've been chanting for about 4 or 5 years and have been learning Byzantine notation for about 2 years. I have nothing to bring to the board other than a sponge-like brain, eager to absorb all that I can.

I am married with 16-month-old twins (boy and girl) and enjoy napping.

Rdr Moses
 

ρόδι

Super Moderator Team
Welcome Rdr Moses,
I'm sure you have more to offer the boards than a sponge-like brain. We've already glimpsed at a snippet of your humour. :) Dimitri has started several threads calling for resources to be posted and compiled. Are there any online resources that you have used in your studies? Perhaps you could share them?

Kiriaki
 

Thomas

Νέο μέλος
Hello,

My name is Chuck, but my baptismal name is Thomas after the Apostle Thomas. (I've grown accustomed to answering to both names at Church so will do so here as well). I became Orthodox from a Protestant background and have been chanting for probably 4 years now. I didn't start out chanting, just reading, and learned as much as I could from CD's beginning with the ketzetsis tapes, and just gathered more and more with limited resources...once I found the Analogion site, I was opened a much bigger world of Byzantine chant and have been learning Byzantine notation for the last year+....I've actually been dealing with some serious health issues the last 10 months and have only been able to get to Church 3 times during that time. (I live a 40 miles from my parish, which itself is remote from other parishes). But I'm getting a little better and look forward to Christmas coming up.

I'm basically still at the learning stage and don't have much to offer, I don't have the greatest voice, but still am eager to learn Byzantine chant as much as I can learn!


Thomas
 

ρόδι

Super Moderator Team
Welcome to the boards Thomas,
I hope that as the forum grows the discussions and resources here will also help you along with your studies of BM.

Kiriaki
 

herron.samuel

Ieropsaltis
My name is Samuel Herron, I am 21 years old and live in Nashville, TN. I have been learning Byzantine Music for about 5 years from my teacher Leonidas Kotsiris, who learned from Archon Ilias Frangoulis. I also had the privilege of studying and chanting with Archon Lycourgos Aggelopoulos and the Greeek Byzantine Choir for three months. I am a big proponent of Byzantine Music being done in English in a traditional way with Byzantine notation and for composing new melodies for the non-metered texts in English all in Byzantine Notation.
 

ρόδι

Super Moderator Team
Welcome Samuel :)
To my knowledge we have other members who share your musical lineage (students of Ilias Frangoulis). I look forward to your input and welcome you to upload your compositions.

Kiriaki
 

ρόδι

Super Moderator Team
Hi Samuel,
There is no general area for uploading files. Just put them in whichever sub-forum they fit. If they are your own compositions (notation) you could put them in the notation sub-forum with an adequately descriptive title or in the general sub-forum as well. Wherever you think they fit best. Accordingly if they are your own recordings they could go in the recordings sub-forum where one of our members has already uploaded examples of his chanting.

Kiriaki
 

saltypsalti

Παλαιό Μέλος
Greetings from the City of Roses, Portland, OR

My name is John Presson. I am the first chanter of the "old calendar" HOCNA's Portland, OR Cathedral, and as of July of last year was made Protopsaltis of the western Metropolis. I am 43 and have been chanting since 1992. I hail from a family of long time professional musicians (my mother was one of the first woman trombonists in the Seattle, WA music community), and I have continued in the tradition over the years as a life long musician.

I studied music (primarily organ performance, with vocal minor work) at the Univ. of Wash. in Seattle. I first became interested in Byzantine music when I converted to Orthodoxy in 1985, but never really pursued it until I initially went to Holy Transf. Monastery in Brookline to study with Metr. Ephraim in 1992. After beginning to listen to traditional chanters from Greece, I became convinced that much of what was being taught in HOCNA was highly westernized, and that much of the interpretations I was hearing from Greek chanters came from a good understanding of the traditional notation, but I lacked a good teacher until I found J Boyer who was in Portland, and became a good friend and teacher. Things just took off, and have been involved in promoting Byzantine notation, and traditional yphos in English in my Cathedral Parish and diocese. My hierarch has followed my work for some time and since our community was elevated to Cathedral status, I was elevated to Protopsaltis of our Metropolis.

I am endeavoring to form a male chant schola here in Portland, although we have met with limited success. So (here is the message from my shameless promotion division) if anyone is interested in joining with me to help build --Portland is a lovely place!

John, the salty Psalti
 

Dimitri

Δημήτρης Κουμπαρούλης, Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to Psaltologion John! So you are chanting everything in English in your church? Which scores do you use? Is there interest by young people in your parish to learn Byzantine Chant? Start a new topic about Byzantine Music in Portland if you wish. I am sure people will be interested in the work happening there.
 

saltypsalti

Παλαιό Μέλος
Welcome to Psaltologion John! So you are chanting everything in English in your church? Which scores do you use? Is there interest by young people in your parish to learn Byzantine Chant? Start a new topic about Byzantine Music in Portland if you wish. I am sure people will be interested in the work happening there.

Hi Dimitri --Briefly, I type a lot of my own scores, Papaephraim and my teacher, JMB out these days, using the old Pandektes, Petros Byz Hiermologion, the Zoe Anastasamartarion, the Progakis Books, and the Stephanos Beehive as models. I chant a smattering of things in Greek (I am sure with an accent), however our proestamenos is adamant that the lingua franca of our parish is English.

I am on my way out the door to play a round of golf, and then Church tonight --so I will type out more about Triantafillopolis and Holy Nativity of the Theotokos Cathedral Parish, probably tomorrow. --ah, the psalti's life.

JPP
"the optimist -a person who travels from nothing to happiness" -Mark Twain (paraphrase)
 
C

chretienorthodox

Guest
I thought a thread to introduce ourselves would be a good idea. Let me start.

I am Kiriaki. My background is musicology and performance. I am university trained in western music but have a love and appreciation for Byzantine chant (and other non western musics). I am wife to Dimitri (the administrator) and will be moderating the English section of the forums alongside him.

I invite you all to post in this thread with a brief introduction!

Mme Kyriaki

Please permitt me to introduce myself. I am George Theodosiou. My background is a long story. I have a love and appreciation for Byzantine music too. I'm greek citizen and of greek nationality living homeless - for the time being - in Nancy, France. My knowledge in english is very poor - while in modern greek very rich - and use http://www.in.gr/dictionary to read and wright in english or american english. I can help in theoretical acoustics only. I wish to you, the best.

Friendly
George Theodosiou
www.geocities.com/chretienorthodox
 
C

chretienorthodox

Guest
Mr Dimitri

Please accept my many thanks for you wellcome me.
I wish you the best.

With regards
Sincerely
George Theodosiou
 

joel

Νέο μέλος
I would like to introduce myself. My name is Joel. I am a new chanter at a small parish in Nebraska. I do not know a great lot about Byzantine music, but I am trying to learn. Unfortunately, I do not have any teacher at the moment, so I must learn what I can by myself. I am looking forward to participating in this forum and learning what I can from all of you.
 
Top