New York, NY -- Eleven dedicated church musicians of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America will be honored on National Church Music Sunday, October 7, 2001. This day is designated as an annual Archdiocese-wide commemoration to occur on the first Sunday in October, following the Feast of St. Romanos the Melodist, the patron saint of church musicians.
National Church Music Sunday has been set aside to honor the contributions that choir directors, choir members, organists, psaltai, and Church School/Greek School music educators make to their parishes. In addition, it is a day when the work of the eight diocesan Choir Federations and the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians is recognized.
National Church Music Sunday is also the day when church musicians who have served for more than 25 years as choir directors receive personal recognition from His Eminence, Archbishop Demetrios. These individuals will be honored in their home parishes with a Years of Service medal depicting St. Romanos the Melodist, the patron saint of church musicians. They will also receive a certificate of recognition for their &qout;outstanding musical and spiritual contributions to the Greek Orthodox Community of America.&qout; The National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians administers the award for the Archdiocese. Since the inception of the award in 1988, 255 choir directors have received the Years of Service medal. Their years of service range from 25 years to 64 years!
The names, parishes, and years as choir directors who are receiving the 2001 service awards include: Tassie Cladis, Assumption, Olympia Fields, IL, 53 years; Mary Kime, St. Demetrios, Fort Worth, TX, 50 years; Constance Callinicos, St. Sophia Cathedral, Los Angeles, CA, 30 years; Vickie Spanos, St. George, Bakersfield, CA, 30 years; Emily Tcharos, St. George, Palm Desert, CA, 30 years; Cathy Kalaizes, Holy Trinity/St. Nicholas, Staten Island, NY, 25 years; Mary Kovac, Annunciation, McKeesport, PA, 25 years; Georgia Marr, Holy Trinity, Norwich, CT, 25 years; Mary Skarlatos, Annunciation, Rochester, NY, 25 years; Anastasios Vrenios, St. George, Bethesda, MD, 25 years; and Catherine Zarbis, St. Nicholas, Flushing, NY, 25 years.