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The Metropolis of Boston Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians is pleased to welcome you to its home on the World Wide Web. This wonderful tool will be used to help expand our music ministry as we reach out to more church musicians and disseminate information in a timely manner. Look for information on upcoming concerts, events and music news from around the Metropolis of Boston and the Archdiocese of America. We look foward to your comments and feedback.

"A Musical Celebration of Christmas" Concert 2011

This year's Christmas Concert of the Hellenic College / Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology Chorale and the Metropolis of Boston Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians' Choir was held on Sunday, December 11, 2011 at the Maliotis Cultural Center on the Hellenic College Campus. The Chorus was made up of the freshman classes of both Hellenic College and Holy Cross School of Theology, 40 students who had been rehearsing weekly for months. Also participating were about 25 Federation Choir members from various parishes in the greater Boston area and from as far away as Dover, New Hampshire. The combined Chorus was joined again this year by the Greater Boston Strings group. Professor Dean Limberakis prepared the entire program, led all the rehearsals and conducted the voices and strings in a truly moving and magnificent presentation of Christmas music.

The program began with traditional Hymns of the Greek Orthodox Church that took on a different feeling as performed by the large Chorus and supported by the instruments. The composers of these hymns include Chris Zervos, Dr. Theodore Bogdanos, Triante C. Kefalas and Demetrios Pappas. The highlight of the Concert was the rendition of selections from Handel's Christmas Messiah: A Cantata. Professor Limberakis masterfully used the strings, begining with Sinfonia, the overture, and alternated between the Chorus, the featured Soloists, students from the School of Theology (Constantine Kokanos, Tenor; Matthew Moore, Bass) and the Annunciation Cathedral Choir (Coleen Palmer, Soprano; Heather Peterson, Alto), and moving narration by Robert Shand, also a student of Holy Cross. The full Chorus performed And The Glory Of The Lord, Glory To God and finished with the ever-popular Hallelujah Chorus. The program concluded, to the delight of all present, with the Chorus leading the audience in a sing-a-long of traditional Christmas Carols.

Following the performance, Dean Limberakis addressed the audience, thanking them for supporting the students and inviting them to a Concert of Lenten Music on Sunday, March 18, 2012. All proceeds from the Christmas Concert will support the Hellenic College/Holy Cross School of Theology and MBFGOCM Scholarship Funds. If you would like to make a donation please click here for more information.

An Open Letter from Toula Sparages, MBFGOCM Conference 2011 Guest Conductor 

November 2011

Dear Fellow Church Musicians:

It is with a great deal of gratitude and love that I send this letter to all of you who participated in this past weekend's Choir Conference at the Annunciation Church, Dover, NH. We sang FOR THE GLORY OF GOD and I KNOW He was pleased to hear us!

I was very happy to see many familiar faces and also some wonderful young faces whose friendships I will treasure.

Thank you all for your patience with me and for your love of church music. It was an honor and a privilege to be your director, and one that I will treasure. Though we were fewer in number this year, our singing pleased His Eminence and he congratulated me during the luncheon and wanted me to extend his thanks to all of you for your efforts.

I hope, through it all, you learned something to take back to your own choirs and to grow in your understanding of our beautiful Divine Liturgy. We are so blessed to be Orthodox Christians!

A very special thank you goes to Siroun and her remarkable choir/church members who made this past weekend such a success! We are all aware of the time and effort and planning that goes into such an endeavor. God Bless her and her great committee.

Looking forward to seeing many of you again soon.

Musically yours,
Toula Sparages