Let’s Introduce Ourselves!

Hi Peter & all in this course!
My name is Helen Jonas & am a graduate of both Hellenic College & Holy Cross. I live in Chicago & chant at my brother’s parish of St. George in Dekalk, IL. I’m the lambatharos (although I chant at the same chanter stand as the protopsalti who isn’t trained in Byz Chant – chants by ear.) & actually have been chanting for 35 years on & off but was able to master the Byzantine Chant due to no instructor. I was able to pursue my interest in Byz Chant when I moved to Chicago in 1995 when I was able to attend a Byz Music school organized by chanters from Greece. It’s been a challenge being a woman at the Chanter stand but am thankful to God for the Trisagion School of Byz Music & the opportunity to fulfill my dream.

Hello! My name is Zornitsa. I immigrated from Bulgaria in 1997. I have the 1980 edition of the Typikon of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church with me. While in the US, I attend an OCA church where I now sing in the choir. In my transition, I have struggled with the terminology in English, even if we share some terms that got adopted from Greek. To my knowledge there is no Bulgarian-English church dictionary (that may be my retirement project one day). So my motivation for taking this class is to get better oriented in understanding the corresponding concepts and the differences between the church in which I grew up and other traditions.

Hello everyone! My name is Alexandra, and I attend Holy Ascension Orthodox Church (Antiochian) in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I have been chanting since 2016, and I participated in group Byzantine Chant lessons with two different instructors in Pittsburgh during my time in college there. Currently, my parish priest would like for me to become more familiar with the Typikon so that I can better assist with services when the choir director is not present, or when there is a service that we’d like to do for which the Archdiocese has not uploaded a printable service text, and so on.

I have experience in chanting in both GOARCH and Antiochian settings and think I’ve noticed a few differences in the Typikon during Vespers / Orthros – I’d like to know more about whether this is the case!

My husband and I were gifted a copy of the two-part Horologion from HTM as a wedding gift, and we enjoy using it to chant the hymns for the next liturgical day during our evening prayers (our 21-month-old daughter enjoys singing along with us, and I dare say she’s memorized some of the automela melodies, too). Learning how to use the books involved in the Typikon for our home prayer life is another goal of mine. Thank you for offering this course!

My name is Sarah, and I chant at Holy Apostles Greek Orthodox Church in Seattle, Washington. We use the Digital Chant Stand for most of our services. Some others, such as Holy Week, are chanted from printed service books. Still, I would like to learn how the services are put together, primarily so that I have a better understanding of what we are chanting and why – or in case the internet goes down! Unfortunately, being on the west coast, we often have Vespers on Wednesday evening at the same time as the office hours Zoom, so I won’t be able to attend in person very often.

Hi – my name is Michael and I attend St Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, NC. I have only been learning chant since last summer. At a prior time, I sang in an OCA choir in Chicago, but we moved to Charlotte in spring 2021. I am new to learning the Typikon and am excited to participate in this course.

My name is Kathryn and I attend St Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte, NC. I have been chanting on and off since 2010 (thanks to having my two children) but have only recently begun learning Byzantine Notation. I am new to learning about the Typikon and want to understand how the services fit together.

Hello everyone,

My name is Rodney and I also go by my Christian name ιωάννης (John). I am a member of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Shererville, IN. Since I am a beginner, I chant ison and some easy melodies with the chanters. I can read Greek, so it keeps me from getting lost during the services. I’ve taken Byzantine Beginnings 101-103,but I would like to learn how to build services so that I’m not disoriented and relying on others during the services. I previously sang in an OCA choir, and prior to that I was a percussionist in the Marine Corp Band.

Hello everyone,

My name is Luke and I am a member of St. Innocent in Olmsted Falls, OH. My interest in this class comes from my desire to start learning both the Typikon and chant as well as sing in general. While I have not yet started the Byzantine Beginnings class, this is due to me taking singing lessons with a friend from church.