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The 2011 Psaltiki Holy Week On Mount Athos Award recipiant announced!

Note: the next Psaltiki Holy Week on Mount Athos Award competition will be for Pascha 2013!

Rev. deacon John Efthymios Afendoulis

Congratulations go out to Rev. Dcn. John Efthymios Afendoulis, a student in his final year in the Masters of Divinity program at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, Massachusetts.

Endowed with a keen interest in the chant heritage of our Church, Deacon John was a double-major at UCLA, studying Ethnomusicology and History (2003) before attending Holy Cross. He also conducted independent research with Prof. Maria Alexandru of the University of Thessalonike.

Plans are under way for John to spend Holy Week 2011 at the Holy Monastery of Hosios Xenophontos on Mount Athos, all expenses paid by Psaltiki, thanks to its generous financial supporters.

The Psaltiki Holy Week on Mount Athos Award

Since 2009 Psaltiki is the proud sponsor of the bi-annual Holy Week on Mount Athos Award, providing the opportunity for a student of Byzantine Chant to spend Holy Week in a Mount Athos monastery.

The purpose of the award is to allow students of the Byzantine chant tradition to come into contact with the living psaltic heritage in one of its most traditional settings, the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos. The award is geared toward providing access to artistic excellence and reinvigorating the tradition in America, where most students of this traditional art form do not have the opportunity to witness the chant in its native liturgical setting.

Contest details

Psaltiki provides transportation to and from a select Athonite monastery for Holy Week, as well as securing the invitation from the monastery to the successful recipient of the award. Transportation includes air travel to Thessaloniki, Greece from Boston, MA, as well as all expenses for transportation from the Thessaloniki airport to Ouranoupolis. A paid hotel reservation will be made in Ouranoupolis. The next morning the recipient will attain their Diamoneterion from the Office for Pilgrims and depart on reserved transportation from Ouranoupolis to the Daphne, and on to the specific monastery from there. This year the hosting monastery is Xenophontos, who will issue the official invitation for the necessary dates.

The successful recipient must obtain a valid passport for travel to Greece at his own expense, as well as the necessary paperwork needed to enter the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos (details to be provided by Psaltiki). The recipient is also expected to respect all monastery etiquette and rules during their visit.

The recipient is also requested to submit an article about their experiences to be published in the Psaltiki Online Journal.

Requirements

1. The award is open to any male student of Byzantine Chant currently enrolled at Hellenic College or Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and which has completed or is in the process of completing training in Byzantine chant.
2. Submit a completed Application Form.
3. Submit a 250-word essay describing how the recipient will benefit from the experience.
4. Greek language: While there is no formal requirement regarding proof of proficiency in Modern Greek, in order for a recipient to make the most of the experience, some ability in conversational Greek is preferred.
5. Submit, by the application deadline, recordings—either as CD(s) or mp3 file(s)—containing three selections from the applicant's list of repertoire. At least two of the three compositions should be in Greek and the three genera of composition should be represented (i.e. heirmologic, sticheraric, papadic).
6. Submit a current digital photo of the applicant.
7. Submit a Resume including a short biographical note of no more than three pages total.
8. Have two letters of recommendation sent to the address below according to the details on the Application Form.
9. Submit the completed and signed Liability Waiver.
10. Upon return from your trip to submit an article about your experiences. The should be prepared to be published in the Psaltiki Online Journal (photos welcome).

Important Dates

• Application deadline: 15 November 2010
• Announcement of successful recipient: 22 November 2010
• Depart from Boston for Thessaloniki, Greece: 15 April 2011
• Return to US: 26 April 2011

Application

Click here to open the Application Form. Once open, click on the fields and type in the requested information. Then print the Application Form and mail to the specified address, along with the other required items. Alternately, all items can be submitted electronically.

Selection Process and Philosophy

• The selection process is made by the Psaltiki Board members and outside referees chosen by Psaltiki, Inc.; every decision is final.
• All submitted materials are considered and decision is made regarding the applicant who would most benefit from the Holy Week on Mount Athos experience.

Past Recipiants

2011: Rev. Dcn. John Efthymios Afendoulis

A lover of Byzantine chant since childhood, Fr. John is a last-year student at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology and plans to complete his MDiv in 2011.

2009: Georgios Livaditis

A native of Corpus Cristi, Texas and last-year student of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline MA in 2009. →