Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians of the D.A.D.

The purpose of the Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians is to bring together all the church musicians of the Federation in order to encourage communication and fellowship among its members, to promote and encourage the study, development, publication and performance of Greek Orthodox sacred music, to foster a high standard of singing and choral music among the choirs in the Federation, to provide lectures, workshops and conferences of Greek Orthodox church music and any other aspect of music needed to improve the musical education of the Federation members, to promote the development of choir directors, organists, singers and chanters, and to provide spiritual uplifting for the faithful during the Divine Liturgy and any other Greek Orthodox service in which we may serve.

Some of our activities include:
Federation Council Meetings, Music Workshops, Annual Federation Conferences and Biennial Elections of Federation Officers, Youth Music Conferences, Church Music Institutes, such as the recent CMI’s 'Vocal Techniques' with Marina Alexander, Rodney Eichenberger's 'Effectively Conducting the Orthodox Choir,’ and ‘Sight Singing’  with Spyro Kalas. Annual Scholarship awards are presented to young people who are active church musicians in their parishes and who wish to continue their music studies at the college level.  Assistance is provided to individual parishes with their church music programs or answering their questions about music, programs, or people, and the Federation Focus newsletter is Published and distributed 2-3 times annually.

Recent Federation News

  • 29TH ANNUAL FEDERATION CONFERENCE
  • Over the last few months, the Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians of the Direct Archdiocesan District recognized some of its church musicians.  Federation President, Mrs. Anna Dounelis, presented each of the awards to the recipients at their individual parishes, acknowledged their contributions and spoke on the importance of continuing the musical traditions of our Greek Orthodox Church in America and the need to inspire and encourage our young church musicians.
  • Dr. Efstratios Demertzis, Protopsaltis and Choir Director at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Saint Paul in Hempstead, NY, was presented with a framed certificate in recognition of his 45 years as choir director at the Cathedral.  On each Sunday throughout the year, their Choir sings at the Cathedral’s two Divine Liturgies.  
  • Mr. Andreas Modenos, Chanter at Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Port Washington, NY, received a Federation Service Award celebrating his ’50 Years’ as a chanter, 30 of which have been at Archangel Michael.  The National Forum also recognized Mr. Modenos with the Archbishop Iakovos Distinguished Service Award.
  • Two young church musicians were selected to receive the 2011 Federation Scholarships: Mr. John Brakatselos of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Resurrection in Brookville, NY, and Miss Stefani Pappas of Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church in Port Washington, NY.   Mr. Brakatselos is currently majoring in Music at Brown University In Rhode Island, and Miss Pappas is a student at Pennsylvania State University where she is studying nutritional sciences, with a minor in vocal music studies.
  • Federation scholarship winners are chosen on the basis of academic records, leadership, and dedication to Church ideals, significant Church music accomplishments or promise and anticipated college/university goals. The sole criterion, which must be adhered to, is that all scholarship recipients must plan to either major or minor in musical study.