The "Mostly Orthros" Chant & Folk Festival is supported by the

National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians,
the
Direct Archdiocesan District Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians,
and the
Eastern Federation of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians

January 15-17, 2010
CUNY-Graduate Center Music Department
365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016

The Axion Estin Foundation, Inc. in collaboration with the CUNY-Graduate Center PhD programs in Music announces the "Mostly Orthros" Byzantine Chant & Folk Music Festival. The "Mostly Orthros" will be held at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York located at 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4309 on January 15-16, 2010. The events include the "Chanting Orthros Workshop" by Nancy Takis and the Axion Estin 2010 publication of the "Great Treatise on Music" by Chrysanthos from Madytos first published in Trieste in 1832, with translation and commentary by Dr. Katy Romanou (Senior Visiting Scholar of the Onassis Foundation USA, Associate Professor of Musicology, University of Athens, Greece).

The symposium will conclude with a benefit banquet to be held jointly by The Rev. Peter N. Kyriakos and the Axion Estin Foundation on Sunday January 17th, 2010, at the Newington Cropsey Foundation Museum, 25 Cropsey Lane, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, 10706.

This event's honoree will be Dr. Helen Evans, Mary & Michael Jaharis Curator for Byzantine Art of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of the Byzantine Arts.

Registration is now open click here to purchase tickets online.

Registration fee: $30 (not including Sunday banquet)

You can also pay by check. Please make your check payable to
the Axion Estin Foundation
Mailing address: the Axion Estin Foundation
c/o Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
10 Mill Road, New Rochelle, NY 10804
Tel. (914) 235-6100 | Fax: (914) 235-0708

Click here for Calendar of Events

The Axion Estin Foundation, since its inaugural conference in 2006 on Byzantine Music teaching methodologies and through its second conference in 2008 on building a Byzantine Choir is evolving to a New York wintertime tradition that appeals to friends of medieval chant and audiences of diverse backgrounds, from the beginner to the expert. The next Axion Estin event in collaboration with the CUNY-Graduate Center Department of Ethnomusicology is entitled "Mostly Orthros" to recognize Byzantine chant mastermind John of Damascus (8th century), the main author of the Octoechos. The Octoechos constitutes the core material of the Orthros service celebrated weekly by Eastern Christian Churches around the world immediately before the Sunday Divine Liturgy. The Orthros service along with the Octoechos has been the most significant medium for educators in teaching Byzantine chant theory and performance throughout the centuries and to this day. Following the last presentation of the Greek Byzantine Choir at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Temple of Dendur, Axion Estin's Mostly Orthros promises to bring Byzantine chant to top venues and to casual settings.