The Music Ministry at St. Nektarios Church in Charlotte serves the parish community by providing musical leadership at all principal church services.
At St. Nektarios, the music for worship is ecclesiastical Byzantine chant, adapted for the Church in America. We aspire to meet the challenge set by our Bishop, Metropolitan Alexios of Atlanta, to be a part of the process as our music evolves into a peculiarly American Orthodox music.
The music of worship is entirely vocal. At the principal services, two choirs, of male and female voices respectively, sing antiphonally. The language used is primarily Modern English, with some selections in Ecclesiastical Greek, Slavonic, and Arabic.
Music Ministry Mission: Through the style of Byzantine chant, our church musicians lead the congregation in the liturgical dialogue of our worship services.
Adult Choirs
Our participants commit themselves to learning the hymns of our Orthodox faith and understanding the sequence of our liturgical worship. On a typical Sunday, the Men’s and Women’s Choirs sing antiphonically from the Solea. Highly valued skills needed to participate in these choirs include the ability to read music, sing in tune, and read English.
Youth Choirs
It is no secret, that people who begin singing in church when they are teenagers like it so much, that they never give it up. Currently, youth sing with our adult singers. Recruitment is announced in the church communiqués. Girls in grades six and up are able to join the Women's Choir. Boy in high school are able to join the Men's Choir.
Electronic Chant Stands
In 2009, we installed computers and monitors for the choirs. Since then we have not used paper music, but rather the liturgical texts and music provided in the Digital Chant Stand by AGES Initiatives.
Readers
Willing and capable adults read the Epistle Lessons in church during the Divine Liturgy on Sundays. Readers are scheduled on a rotation basis.
To learn more about the Music Ministry of our parish, to inquire about joining a choir or become a reader, please contact:
St. Nektarios Greek Orthodox Church
5108 Kuykendall Rd., Charlotte, NC 28270
Phone: 704-708-4669
Email: volunteer@stnektarios.org