Dormition Church invites the community to celebrate ‘A Byzantine Christmas’

On December 14, 2021, in Latest News, by The Somerville Times

Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church will present Psaltikon’s A Byzantine Christmas at the church on Saturday, December 18, at 7:00 p.m. Now in its tenth year, A Byzantine Christmas is the Greek vocal ensemble’s annual holiday and heritage-themed offering of traditional Greek sacred music, kalanda (carols), and readings. St. Catherine’s Philoptochos Society co-sponsors the event. A wine and cheese reception will follow the performance.

Internationally-recognized performer and scholar Dr. Spyridon Antonopoulos will lead an ensemble of acclaimed singers and world musicians in a program of Christmas and New Year’s music from various parts of Greece, as well as readings in English from the Christmas stories of the modern Greek authors Photios Kontoglou and Alexandros Papadiamantis.

“Between Somerville’s overwhelming support for our Greek festival’s return, as well as everybody who reached out after our recent fire, the last year has demonstrated to our church time and again how lucky we are to be part of this community,” said Diane Karavitis, Dormition’s parish council president. “We’d love to say thank you to all of our friends and neighbors with some holiday hospitality. If Greek Christmas is all new to you, Dr. Antonopoulos and his group will teach you carols you didn’t know before; if you already know them, you’re welcome to sing along.”

Admission for A Byzantine Christmas is $25 for adults, $10 for students and children 11-17, and free for children 10 and under. Tickets may be purchased in advance at https://byzantinechristmas.square.site or call Diane Karavitis at (508) 574-9862; they are also available at the door. Dormition Church is located at 29 Central Street in Somerville.

A graduate of Brown University (2003), the New England Conservatory (2005), and City University London (2015), Dr. Spyridon Antonopoulos is a regular member of Cappella Romana, with whom he has sung in concerts and festivals across Europe and the US. He has appeared as a soloist on operatic and concert stages, while also performing with a variety of world music ensembles in both the US and UK. He has presented at major conferences throughout the world, and can be heard as a singer on Cappella Romana’s internationally-acclaimed Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia recording. He is also music director for UCLA/USC’s Bodies and Spirits: Soundscapes of Medieval Byzantium, a multidisciplinary project which focuses on the interplay of sound, space, and liturgy in late medieval churches.

Dormition of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church (www.dormitionchurch.org), established in 1916, is a vibrant, active parish community of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Pastored by the Rev. Fr. Anthony Tandilyan, Dormition brings together four generations of Greek Americans and other Orthodox Christians from all walks of life.

St. Catherine’s Philoptochos Society is Dormition’s chapter of the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos (“Friends of the Poor”) Society, the philanthropic arm of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and the largest Christian women’s philanthropic organization in the United States. St. Catherine’s Philoptochos fulfills its mission “to promote charitable, benevolent and philanthropic outreach” through supporting Dormition Family Table, Operation Homecoming, and other local assistance to charities and events outside or within our church. For more information see the national Philoptochos website at https://www.philoptochos.org/.

PSALTIKON is a Boston-based vocal ensemble whose mission is the preservation and dissemination of the musical heritage of Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean, including Byzantine chant of all periods. The word “Psaltikon” refers to the medieval chant book for soloists which contained the most virtuosic chants from the now-extinct “Asmatic” (Sung) Rite of Constantinople.

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