"A psalm consoles the sad, restrains the joyful, tempers the angry, refreshes the poor and chides the rich man to know himself. To absolutely all who take it, the psalm offers an appropriate medicine; nor does it despise the sinner, but presses upon him the wholesome remedy of penitential tears."
~St. Niceta of Remesiana
About Us
Trisagion School of Byzantine Music is an online Byzantine Chant training program that was founded in 2020 by Samuel Herron, Amy Hogg, and Gabriel Cremeens. Its mission is to offer Byzantine Chant instruction in English with a focus on the ever-growing English-language repertoire available in Byzantine notation.
Trisagion School offers flipped-classroom online courses to train students in all the necessary skills to become a competent chanter. The comprehensive curriculum teaches vocal performance, Byzantine notation, the hymns of the Resurrectional Octoëchos, model melodies, the hymns of the Great Feasts, the use and application of the Typikon, and advanced papadic repertoire.
Read more about the "why" of Trisagion School here: The Trisagion School Story.
You can also find our answers to Frequently Asked Questions here.
FAQ's
Instructors
Gabriel Cremeens
Gabriel Cremeens works as the full-time Music Director at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received his Certificate in Byzantine Music from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston in 2014 and subsequently lived in Athens, Greece, where he pursued private studies in Byzantine chant performance and composition. He has been contracted to compose scores, teach classes, and prepare musical publications for Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, AGES Initiatives, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the Saint Raphael School, and the Liturgical Arts Academy. His compositions can be found on his website, www.englishmenaion.com.
Amy Hogg
Amy Hogg serves as the Protopsaltria at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Pittsburgh after chanting in the Antiochian archdiocese for over a decade. She is the co-host of the Byzantine Chant podcast, A Sacrifice of Praise, and serves on the board of the St. John of Damascus Society. She received her Byzantine chant certificate from Holy Cross Hellenic College in 2017 and the Figure Proficiency certification from Estill Voice International in 2021. She is the developer of the multi-modal Byzantine Beginnings materials and games. Amy teaches Voice Lab 100 and ByzB 100 classes at Trisagion School.
Samuel Herron
Samuel Herron began studying Byzantine Music under Leonidas Kotsiris in 2002. In 2006, he spent three months studying under Lycourgos Angelopoulos, Archon Protopsaltis of the Archdiocese of Constantinople, Protopsaltis of Hagia Eirini in Athens, and director of the Greek Byzantine Choir, which Samuel performed with as an isokrates while living in Athens. From 2015-2017, he studied under Fr. Romanos Karanos while attending Hellenic College. He currently serves as Protopsaltis of St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, NC and is director of the Dynamis Byzantine Ensemble.
Peter George
Peter George has served as lampadarios (leader of the left choir) of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Westwood, MA since 2009. In 2014, he earned his certificate in Byzantine Chant from Holy Cross Seminary as part of the program's first graduating class under Fr. Dr. Romanos Karanos. In addition to his chanting responsibilities at the Cathedral, Peter chants with the medieval Byzantine chant group Psaltikon, under the leadership of Protopsaltis and Musicologist Dr. Spyridon Antonopoulos, and the English-language Dynamis Ensemble, under the leadership of Protopsaltis Samuel Herron. As a Latin teacher in public schools since 2008, Peter is very excited to put his educational experience into teaching chant students at Trisagion School.
Konstandina Marinakos
Konstantina Marinakos was born and currently resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband and son. She has served as director of the left (women’s) choir at St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church since 2011. Ms. Marinakos has studied Byzantine chant under Gerontissa Foteini (Brandenburg) and Samuel Herron. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (2004), and through the years has taught hundreds of piano students of all ages. In 2023, she earned a Certificate of Byzantine Music from Holy Cross with a grade of excellent on the exam.
Kamal Hourani
Kamal was born and raised in Massachusetts as the youngest child of two Lebanese immigrants. He grew up attending St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Boston, MA where he learned to be an altar boy and began to read and chant under the tutelage of Fr. John El-Massih. He was also an avid musician in public school as a flutist in concert band and a bass singer in several school choirs. Kamal completed his Certificate in Byzantine Music in May of 2018 from Hellenic College Holy Cross under Fr. Romanos Karanos. He graduated from Hellenic College in May of 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Human Development and received a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross in May of 2023. In his time at school, he has served as a chant group leader at Holy Cross chapel as well as chapel typikaris.
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