Voice Instruction and Coaching for Cantors
The Metropolitan Cantor Institute provides a basic course of vocal training as part of the online class, Introduction to Church Singing, and we also recommend that all cantors and prospective cantors find an opportunity to receive at least some individualized instruction and coaching from an experienced voice teacher. I am pleased to announce that we now have TWO cantor / choir directors who are also experienced voice teachers, and willing to provide vocal instruction to cantors both in-person and online.
Andrew Skitko is cantor for St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church in Trenton, NJ, director of Theoria Chamber Choir, and holds degrees in vocal performance and vocal pedagogy from Westminster Choir College. We performs regularly with Opera Philadelphia and numerous professional emsembles and teaches singers of all levels. For more information, contact him at (610) 220-3479 or andrewskitko@gmail.com.
Deacon Timothy Woods studied at the Guild Hall School of Music in London, and holds degrees in both music education and conducting. He is the founder and director of Lincoln Chamber Productions (since 1992) and has taught vocal music to students of all levels. He is also willing to conduct singing workshops for eparchial or parish groups. For more information, contact him at (779) 216-0521 or deacontimwoods@protonmail.com.
Both are highly recommended. (Other experienced voice teachers who would like to be added to this list can contact me at mci@archpitt.org. The permanent home for this information will be in the article on finding a voice teacher.)
Using this website
At the weekly Cantor Chat on Thursday, I gave a presentation on this wesbite, and how to find all its resources. I hope you find it useful!
- Mysteries of the MCI Website (on Youtube)
MCI Online registration is now open for 2025
The new year of online cantor classes begins this week, and there is time to enroll! Here is what is available.
Three introductory classes are FREE and open to all members of the Byzantine Catholic Church in the USA and Canada:
- Introduction to Liturgy
- Introduction to Church Singing
- Reading in Church
These are 8-week, entirely self-paced classes (Reading in Church is 4 weeks); the Church Singing and Reading classes include instructor feedback on recordings each student makes. These classes are easy and cover a lot of material that is helpful for cantors to know, and useful for clergy and faithful as well. To enroll, just create an ID at https://mci.archpitt.org/online, take a look at the three introductory classes, choose one, and click on Enroll me in this course on the left side of the screen.
Anyone who has completed the three introductory classes can sign up for the Basic Cantor Course:
- Introduction to the Divine Liturgy (learn the service, and ONE melody for each major hymn)
- Introduction to the Eight Tones (learn the troparion, kontakion and prokeimenon melodies)
- Introduction to the Typikon (learn how to set up services for ordinary Sundays and weekdays)
These classes are all self-paced (there are no set times for classes and you can take as long as you need). These classes have a registration fee, usually $60 for an 8 week class; there are discounts for each sequence of classes, for parishes with no resident cantor, and in cases of financial hardship. See the Classes page for registration forms.
Students who have completed the Basic Cantor Course can sign up for the Intermediate Cantor Course:
- The Liturgical Year (all the music for the fixed feasts of the year, except for Christmas/Theophany; how the liturgical year "works")
- The Divine Liturgy (learn the service, and ALL melodies in the green book for each major hymn)
- The Office of Vespers
- Mastering the Eight Tones (learn the melodies for stichera and other hymns at Vespers, plus all the Our Father melodies)
Students who have completed the Intermediate Cantor Course can sign up for the Advanced Cantor Course:
- The Great Fast and Holy Week
- From Pascha to Pentecost
- Services for the Living (baptism, wedding, and occasional services)
- Hierarchical and Reader Services (services with the bishop, or when no priest is present; Hours and Typika)
- Services for the Departed
- Services of Christmas and Theophany
Students who complete these classes, and demonstrate their ability to learn the singing at the Divine Liturgy in their parish, will earn a cantor's certificate from the MCI.
The entire program can be completed in two and a half years. Our church needs cantors, and this program can help you develop the knowledge and skills needed to become one. Please check out the Classes page for more information, including registration forms.
MCI Office Hours and Cantor Chat
The Metropolitan Cantor Institute hosts office hours and a general live chat for cantors every Thursday on Zoom (except when it is the vigil of a great feast):
8:30 - 9 PM (Eastern TIme) Office hours (early)
9:00 - 10 PM (Eastern) Cantor chat / open discussion
10 - 10:30 PM (Eastern) Office hours (late)
If you're taking an MCI class OR just have questions, you can stop in for help or answers, early or late, without having to make arrangements in advance. To just chat with other cantors, stop in for the middle hour. I hope you can make it!
The schedule and Zoom link will be posted here on the MCI home page, top right under Upcoming Events. If I have to cancel office hours for any reason, that will be noted in the same place.
Organization for Cantors Formed!
It is my pleasure to announce that there is now an organization for the cantors of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church in the United States - all four eparchies. Membership is open to those who regularly lead the singing at church services in one of our parishes or missions, as well as anyone who has in the past been a regular parish cantor for five years or more.
You can find a membership application and the new group's bylaws here:
ps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSddESX4SZYIjAYS27PnUrsI5F33HbxGVPik-U_13tJarQYFzg/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0
The officers of the new organization are president Steve Petach and secretary/treasurer Sandra Polocz. You are invited to the weekly Tuesday Cantor Chat (link provided on the Cantors list below, or write me for more information) to find out more.
Hymnal update
Based on input from Bishop Milan of Parma, and after consultation with a number of other contributors, I have decided to split the draft hymnal into two pieces - one with the traditional "core" hymns for the liturgical year, in English and original languages on opposite pages; and one with the more recent hymns "for Sundays and feast-days." I believe this will be easier to use overall, and simpler than seasonal hymnals with duplicated material in each one.
Here are the two volumes, which I will be sending to the Inter-Eparchial Music Commission for review and consideration:
- Traditional Hymns of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church (189 pages) - booklet version
- Hymns for Sundays and Feast-days (137 pages) - booklet version
Use them as you like; please send me any suggestions you may have! Individual pages of both books can be printed from the Hymnal Project page, inserted into parish bulletins, etc. I plan to make recordings of each hymn or tune, and also provide harmonizations, as soon as the Music Commission has finished its review!
Seminary library seeks cantor papers
The library of the Byzantine Catholic Seminary is assembling a collection of music and papers from our cantors and choir directors since the founding of our church in the United States. These collections are being indexed and preserved so that that they can be used for research by scholars, and also for fostering our church singing in the future.
If your parish or a retired cantor you know has music, memorabilia, or recordings which might have a place in this collection, please contact Deacon Jeffrey Mierzejewski (412 735-1676, mci@archpitt.org) or library director Sandra Collins (412 32-8383). We also invite donations of materials from family and friends of our cantors who have reposed; this collection will serve as a permanent memorial to their labors.
Mailing List for Cantors
We have migrated the old MCI mailing lists to single list, cantors@groups.io. This new list should be more reliable than the one we have been using, and does NOT require the creation of a Yahoo ID. It also has more options for collaboration, including a wiki and post tagging.
This list will be used for both announcements, and general (moderated) discussion. If you wish to receive email ONLY for announcements, you can set your subscription options to "Special Notices Only."
To subscribe to the list, just go to https://groups.io/g/cantors
Documenting the history of our church music - how you can help
The Metropolitan Cantor Institute is working with the Byzantine Catholic Seminary Library to put together material to document the history of the liturgical music of the Byzantine Catholic Church, both plain chant and choral music. Please consider contributing to these two efforts:
In early 2018, we will also be distributing images of particular pieces of music or other memorabilia we would like to find or identify.
What is the Metropolitan Cantor Institute?
The Metropolitan Cantor Institute exists to support and foster liturgical singing in the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh. At the direction of our bishops, and in cooperation with our clergy and experienced cantors, the Institute trains and certifies cantors for the service of the church, prepares music and educational materials, and provides workshops and seminars in church singing.
The mission of the Metropolitan Cantor Institute:
To ensure that each parish in the Byzantine Catholic Church has a cantor who can lead the liturgical singing of the parish well, to the glory of God and in support of the prayer of the faithful.
For more information, click on Cantor Institute in the left-hand navigation bar on this page.