A distinct feature of Greek Orthodox worship is the musical setting of two-part Byzantine chant .  The Cathedral's chanters (ψάλτης) execute this component of our liturgical worship, primarily during the Sunday morning service of Matins (also known as Orthros or morning prayer.)  They also chant the funeral services and memorial prayers for the departed, as well as most baptisms and weddings.

Unlike the scales of Western music, which are organized in whole and half-tones (the "piano tuned scale"), Byzantine chant is built around scales constructed in microtones.  This results in the mystical sound familiar to worshippers in a Greek Orthodox liturgical service.  Although Byzantine music is traditionally associated with Greece and Greek culture, this style of ecclesiastical music has a much larger footprint in the world.  Byzantine chant is the primary liturgical music of Orthodox Christians in the Middle East (e.g., Syria, Lebanon, Palestine) and in Romania.  It is heard alongside other styles of music in Serbia and Bulgaria, and has influenced Russian music via the ancient style of Znamenny Chant.  Byzantine music is also very familiar to members of the Melkite Catholic church.

Serving as a Byzantine chanter is a particular privilege.  Not everyone is called to this ministry.  In order to serve as a chanter, the candidate must have the blessing of the bishop or priest, must have a pleasing voice, and must undergo rigerous training in the theory and execution of the eight tones of Byzantine chant.

The Archdiocesen Cathedral of the Holy Trinity is unusual in that virtually all of the church services are rendered in a mix of the Greek and English languages.  Our chanters have diverse backgrounds and dozens of years between them in learning and executing hymns in the Byzantine modes.

Biography

Protopsaltis - Andreas Kountoutsis

Mr. Kountoutsis' biography will follow shortly

Lambadarios - John Paterakis

John Paterakis is the lambadarios (second chanter) of the Cathedral.  He began learning the rudiments of liturgics and teleturgics (the order of the services) as a college student in the early 1980s, but it was not until 1993 that he began the serious study of the Byzantine tones under the tutelege of the Cathedral's first chanters.  John is responsible for much of the English-language chant in the Cathedral's services.  He also assists as guest chanter on a regular basis at St. Nicholas' Antiochian Orthodox Cathedral in Brooklyn, New York.

John has been privileged to chant in a variety of Orthodox churches in North America, as well as in churches in the Bahamas, Cyprus, Australia, and Italy.  John serves as First Vice Chairman of the Board of the humanitarian aid agency Church World Service.  In that role, he has also had the privilege of leading Byzantine chant choirs for Orthodox worship in various ecumenical settings, including the General Assembly of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and in the chapel of the national headquarters of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Louisville, Kentucky.