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The Music Education Leadership Initiative (MELI) is a new national program from the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians, designed to strengthen parish music leadership across the Archdiocese.
In the Clergy-Laity Congress workshop “Music Education Leadership Initiative (MELI): Building the Future of Parish Music from Sunday School to Choir Loft,” the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians presented the new program, still in its prototype phase. The workshop presented how it can be integrated into a parish for a variety of backgrounds, age groups, and roles—from clergy to choir directors to new parishioners. The Music Education Leadership Initiative (MELI) is funded in part by a grant from the Archbishop Iakovos Leadership 100 Fund, making the program free for all users.
MELI is officially launching in Fall 2027, with its current prototype phase allowing preliminary users to provide feedback and improve the program. The workshop introduced what future users can expect and the program’s three tracks: Sunday School, Clergy, and Music Leadership, each accessible as a course through Canvas.
The session included a live demonstration of the Sunday School curriculum, presented by MELI founder Dr. Rachel Brashier, chair of Music Education and Pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. She is a contralto and trained Greek Orthodox chanter who performs and conducts choral music regularly.
The Sunday School track features 30 weeks of age-appropriate, five-to-12-minute online modules for elementary, intermediate, and secondary levels. It’s designed for Sunday School teachers, youth groups, and dance troupes to facilitate music education for youth. No musical training is required for teachers, and lessons can be incorporated into Sunday School to align with feasts such as the Nativity of the Theotokos.
Each lesson enables students to create, perform, respond to, and connect with hymns within their liturgical context, using English, Greek, and phonetic texts. Lessons span four grade levels and feature dual-notation videos using both Western notation and Byzantine notation (neumes). The music lessons use male and female voices of varying ages for diverse representation among young users. Each video and guide pairs music instruction with religious content—explaining, for example, what an Apolytikion is, when to make the sign of the cross during the Liturgy, the types of tones, and more.
Each weekly lesson includes an introductory video, a music learning video with guided pause points, a student handout, and a Teacher’s Guide. The guides offer vocal tips, sample feedback phrases for evaluating singing, and extension activities connecting hymns to church life or modern culture.
Chrysanthy Therianos, choir director and junior choir director at Denver’s Greek Orthodox Assumption Cathedral, presented the Clergy track. Therianos noted Orthodox liturgical services are “90% sung,” sharing that this track is designed to help priests, seminarians, and chanters sing with confidence and lead their musical communities. It’s designed primarily for mobile phones, with five-to-10-minute modules meant to fit into a busy pastoral schedule. The modules are asynchronous, with no graded homework, and use a library of examples and self-assessment tools.
Core focus areas within this track include vocal health, vocal technique, music ministry, hymnology, liturgizing, and listening examples.
The Music Leadership track guides participants in building a music ministry and engaging the whole parish. It’s built for choir directors and singers looking to elevate their skills, refine their leadership, and build vibrant parish ministries. The track features four levels, each an eight-week asynchronous course designed for long-term growth. Topics include the liturgical guidebook, the choir’s role in the Divine Liturgy, introductory conducting patterns, rehearsal planning, Greek and English diction, special hierarchical services, music selection, and building a sustainable parish ministry. Courses are interactive, flexible, and ungraded, focusing on personal reflection and practical application.
“Music is a vehicle for our prayers,” Therianos said. “We don’t need to be perfect, but we need to give our best to God.”
In the spirit of the Congress theme, “Rise and Build,” this session demonstrated how parishes can build sustainable music ministries beginning with their youngest learners, equipping clergy, teachers, and musicians with accessible, high-quality tools for immediate implementation.
You can support MELI by donating here.
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