Metropolis of Boston Federation of
Greek Orthodox Church Musicians

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Welcome to Our Web Site!

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. 

The Metropolis of Boston Federation was established in 1946 as the first Church Music Federation in the United States (previously known as the New England Federation of Greek Orthodox Choirs). It is now one of Eight Church Music Federations of the Archdiocese of America who are linked together through the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians, the official auxiliary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

We look forward to your comments and feedback.

Thank You Letter from Christina Polizos, MBFGOCM Conference 2012 Guest Conductor

Dear members of the Metropolis of Boston Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to conduct the Federation Choir for the annual conference in Springfield, MA. What an awesome experience and one I shall never forget! The warm hospitality from  all the choir members and the entire Springfield parish was exceptional and really touched my heart so deeply. I couldn’t have asked for a better choir to work with. You came prepared and ready to sing, which made my job as choir director a pleasure!

The highlight was of course the Divine Liturgy on Sunday.  You really came together and exceeded my expectations. You were all so attentive and focused, and the sound you produced as you sang each hymn was not only warm and rich, but truly prayerful as well. Your beautiful voices were not only a gift from God but a gift to God that day. I think our composer, Triante Kefalas, would have been very pleased.

I will always treasure this experience as one of the great musical highlights of my life. I would like to express a special thank you to Jim Evanggeliou, a very talented organist, who through his  fine accompanying skills was able to enhance the service in such a special way. Thank you to Joan Marcil, choir director at St. George for allowing me to “take over her turf” for a couple of days and for being so accommodating. Thank you to federation board members Heidi Mason, president, Cindy Rodolakis, and George Theodossiou, who all went above and beyond the call of duty to insure a successful conference. Thank you also to Dean Limberakis for his advice, his presence, and his reassuring confidence in me. Thank you to the community of St. George, who, under the spiritual guidance of Father Chris Stamas, put on a fantastic choir conference for all of us.

Lastly, a GIANT  thank you to all the choir members who came and participated. Without you there would not have been a conference.  Christ was truly in our midst. I felt His presence  in the warmth of the greetings you shared with each other and with me when we gathered for our first rehearsal and in the rehearsals that followed.  I felt Him as we rehearsed and worked so hard together to prepare to sing for Sunday, and  I felt His presence in the beautiful choral sound which filled the cathedral on Sunday morning as you sang His praises through the hymns of our Divine Liturgy.

God Bless each and every one of you. I pray that the upcoming holiday season and the New Year 2013 will be filled with much joy, happiness and good health for all of you.

Love to you all,
Christina Polizos

Annunciation Church of Cranston, RI Honors Emmanuel (Manny) Mihailides

Emmanuel (Manny) Mihailides from the Church of the Annunciation in Cranston, Rhode Island was honored for 67 years of dedicated service to his parish where he has served as both organist and choir director. Manny has also served as a past vice-president of the Metropolis of Boston Federation and currently serves on its Scholarship committee.

A dinner in his honor was held on Saturday, October 6, 2012, at the Reverend Peter Mihailides Center – Demetrakas Hall on the Annunciation Church grounds at 175 Oaklawn Avenue, Cranston, RI. All church musicians and friends were invited to attend and help thank Manny for his many years of service to his church and the Federation. There were several hundered people in attendance including many Federation members who came to celebrate Manny's accomplishments. Federation president Heidi Mason presented Manny with a crystal bowl engraved with the Federation logo and a personal inscription. The Annunciation Parish honored Manny with a pictoral slide show, a performance by the Annunciation Choir and a plaque to be on permanent display in the community center hallway named after his father. Best wishes to Manny for many continuted years of service to his beloved choir and parish!

"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, beginning 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

Federation Spotlight

MBFGOCM Conference 2013 Registration Materials Now Available!

Opportunities are available to join the Metropolis of Boston Federation Executive Board!
Please contact president Heidi Mason at HeidiM50@aol.com or 617-710-1159 for a complete list of the open positions and to express interest.

Upcoming Events

Complete Calendar »

Recent Newsletters

Taxiarchae Church, Watertown, MA
to host MBFGOCM Conference 2013!

The Metropolis of Boston Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians' Executive Board is pleased to announce that this year's Conference will be hosted by the Taxiarchae Church in Watertown, MA from Friday, November 8 through Sunday, November 10. The Conference Committee, led by Taxiarchae Choir Director Cindi Alex, is very excited and has begun meeting to plan for this year's program. Learn more »

Joan Marcil to Conduct MBFGOCM Conference 2013

With a great deal of excitement, the Federation Executive Board announces that Joan Marcil, Choir Director at the St. George Cathedral in Springfield, MA has accepted our invitation to direct this year's Federation Conference in Watertown, MA.

Church Music Institute (CMI) 2013

Thank you to His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios and all our wonderful clinicians, Rev. Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis, pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Tampa, FL; Dr. Grammenos Karanos, Professor of Byzantine Music, Hellenic College / Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology; Rev. Dr. Costin Popescu, pastor of Annunciation Church, Dover, New Hampshire and Dean Limberakis, Professor of Music, Hellenic College / Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, for helping to make the 2013 CMI a resounding success!

Letter to the Federation from Fr. Stavros Akrotirianakis

April 4, 2013

Dear Members of the Choir Federation,

I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation for the invitation to be a presenter at the recent Church Musicians' Institute (CMI) held at the Metropolis Center in Brookline, It had been nearly 12 years since I last visited Boston and it was a blessing to return to my roots, so to speak, to visit our beloved Holy Cross Seminary, to see His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios, and to offer my presentation in a building where I once worked. I hope that whatever I offered was edifying and beneficial to your important work. As I hope I articulated, the choir is vital to the success and future of the Orthodox Church in this country. Without a choir bringing energy and enthusiasm to worship, our beautiful liturgical tradition remains hidden. And without the choir leading the congregation in worship, and inspiring them to engage the Lord and one another in worship and praise of God, then this great tool of bringing people into the church, the Divine Liturgy, will not be celebrated as it should be, and we will not be successful in spreading the Gospel as our Lord commanded us. Indeed the work of the choir is essential to the celebration of the Divine Liturgy and more critically, to the projection and advancement of our Orthodox faith. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your holy work for a day last Saturday. If I can do anything further to help and assist you, please let me know and, even though I live in Tampa, FL, I will be most happy to help. If you are ever in the Tampa area, I invite you to worship with us and to sing in our choir at St. John in Tampa. As you know, our Metropolis of Atlanta choir conference is being held in Tampa this July and I wish to extend a warm welcome to any and all of you to join us.

I wish you a blessed remainder of the Great and Holy Lent and a Kali Anastasi!

With love in the Lord,
†Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis