The Koukouzelis Institute
At Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral,
New Orleans, Louisiana
The Saint John Koukouzelis Institute of Liturgical Arts
offers a wide array of group classes and individual instruction in traditional Byzantine Music and Greek Orthodox Liturgics, as well as frequent liturgical services.
Founded in 2006 by Protopsáltis and Director, John Michael Boyer with the blessings of His Eminence Metropolitan GERASIMOS of San Francisco, the Koukouzelis Institute has been re-formed as a primarily online ministry, currently located at Holy Trinity Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana. Students have the double opportunity to experience both rigorous classroom training and robust hands-on liturgical experience in church.
Focusing on personal attention; direct, in-depth, and hands-on learning; and liturgically grounded mentorship, the Institute offers a robust catalog of courses. All courses are held virtually for remote students.
About St. John Koukouzelis
The Institute is named after Saint John Koukouzelis, who was born John Papadopoulos in the late13th century in Asia Minor. He was raised in an agrarian family, and knew only poverty in his youth. When other children would ask him what he ate, he would respond, “Beans and peas,” “Κούκια και μπιζέλια (Koúkia ke bizélia)” which led to his nickname, “Koukouzelis.” At an early age, he demonstrated great talent and inspiration in music, especially as a singer, and eventually was brought to Constantinople by the Emperor to work as a musician in the imperial court. The young John was also a man of great faith, however, and even though a position as an imperial court musician gave him great wealth and social standing, he instead decided to flee secretly to Mt. Athos and live as a monk. He joined the monastery of the Great Lavra, and likely was a contemporary of St. Gregory Palamas. There he kept his musical gifts a secret, vowing never to sing in public again. Only when he was alone in the forest would he allow himself to sing, and his singing was so beautiful that the animals would gather around him to listen.
One day, thinking he was alone in the forest, John’s singing voice reached the ears of another monk who was not far away. The monk was sure he had heard the voice of an angel, and ran toward the sound to see. He was surprised to find, not an angel, but only this simple monk, John. Having been discovered, John was made to chant in the divine services for the benefit of all the monastery. Word spread throughout the Holy Mountain and beyond about John’s sweet voice, till the news reached even Constantinople, and the court of the Emperor. On hearing that his prized singer had fled to Mt. Athos rather than sing in his imperial court, the Emperor was greatly moved by John’s faith and devotion, and released him from any obligation.
On the Saturday of the Akathistos Hymn during Great Lent, John was chanting the vigil, and at one point sat down to rest with his eyes closed across from the icon of the Mother of God. She suddenly appeared to him in a vision, saying, “Hail, John! Chant for me, and I will never leave you!” and placed a gold coin in his hand. When he opened his eyes, the gold coin remained. He placed it on the icon, and there it remains to this day. The icon came to be called “Koukouzelissa.”
John lived the rest of his days on the Holy Mountain, and became a great teacher, composer, and music theorist, developing and codifying Byzantine Music theory and helping to create a new era of creativity and artistry in liturgical music. His compositions are still some of the most inspired, complex, and beautiful in the whole repertoire.
May we have his prayers, and may he continue to inspire and bless the Institute that bears his name.
John Michael Boyer: Director
John Michael Boyer is Protopsáltis (First Cantor) ex officio of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco, Director of the Saint John Koukouzélis Institute of Liturgical Arts, Founder and Artistic Director of PRÓTO, and Associate Music Director of Cappella Romana. He began studies of Byzantine Chant at age 14 under musicologist Alexander Lingas and went on to study under the late Árchon Protopsáltis Lycoúrgos Angelópoulos and with renowned cantor, composer, and musicologist Ioannis Arvanitis. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Divinity from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, Massachusetts where he currently teaches voice as adjunct instructor.
As a teacher, John helps students of all levels of achieve facility and proficiency in the Byzantine musical tradition through a pædagogical approach synthesizing advanced ear training and vocal technique with Byzantine notation, modal theory, and ornamental expression.
A prolific composer, John has produced original and adapted settings of Byzantine Chant in both Byzantine and Western notations for numerous liturgical services, concerts, and recordings. These include Cappella Romana’s Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in English, published digitally on their website; the Saint Romanos Byzantine Choir of Holy Cross’s recording All Creation Trembled, later supplemented in collaboration with composers Gabriel Cremeens and Samuel Herron (englishanalogion.com) and published digitally by The Liturgical Arts Academy (theliturgicalarts.org). In 2013, he composed Byzantine melodies in English for the funeral of Sir John Tavener, later recorded by Cappella Romana and included in the forthcoming volume Byzantine Mysteries: Music for Orthodox Sacraments (working title, projected 2023). In 2016, John collaborated with his dear friend and colleague, Fr. John Rassem El Massih, in the founding of PRÓTO, a solo-duo ensemble. Their inaugural recording, Sun of Justice, features Byzantine Music for Christmas in Greek, Arabic, and English, available from Cappella Records. This project led to John’s publishing the digital book of same name, a comprehensive set of festal melodies for Christmas in English, whose printed publication is slated for 2023. His Resurrectionary, an English edition of the Anastasimatárion, is projected to be published in 2024.
In collaboration with renowned composers Matthew Arndt, Alexander Khalil, Kurt Sander, Richard Toensing, and Tikey Zes, John is featured on the Saint John of Damascus Society’s (johnofdamascus.org) multi-movement composition project, Heaven and Earth: A Song of Creation, published by Musica Russica (musicarussica.com); he also conducted its world première performances by Cappella Romana in 2018 as well as its recording, paired with Sir John Tavener’s Icon of Light, released in 2022.
John currently resides in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he serves as Protopsáltis and Director of Music at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral. In 2018, John married Greek philologist, historian, lecturer, and author, Evangelía Boubougiatzí. They have twin daughters and split the family’s time between the United States and Greece.
Simeon Acker: Instructor
Simeon Acker is a graduate of the Koukouzelis Institute of Liturgical Arts, and currently works for the Institute as Byzantine music instructor, teaching online classes to students from around the country.
In 2023, Simeon received his Certificate of Liturgical Music from Saint Tikhon’s Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, after completion of their music residency program. As a continuation of his residency capstone project, he is working on an original musical publication which combines traditional Byzantine melodies with compositions inspired by a variety of other sacred chant styles.
Simeon has studied sacred music for over 15 years with a variety of instructors, and has served as music leader in the Antiochian, Greek, and OCA archdioceses. He is proficient in both Byzantine notation and staff notation systems, has trained as choir director and cantor in both the Byzantine and Slavic musical styles, and has pedagogical and compositional experience in these musical idioms.
Collaborations and Partner Workshops
Instructors from the Koukouzelis Institute lead workshops, teach classes, create publications, and perform concerts in collaboration with a variety of sacred music groups.
Cappella Romana
Cappella Romana is a vocal ensemble dedicated to combining passion with scholarship in its exploration of the musical traditions of the Christian East and West, with emphasis on early and contemporary music.
Saint Tikhon’s Monastery
St Tikhon’s Monastery, the oldest Orthodox Christian monastery in America, serves the church through the daily celebration of the Divine Liturgy, constant prayer, charitable outreach, and a variety of publications and monastic crafts. In collaboration with Saint Tikhon’s Seminary, it also helps to prepare future clergy through their immersion in the rich liturgical life of the Monastery.
Próto
Próto is a solo-duo ensemble collaboration between John Michael Boyer and Fr. John Rassem El Massih. Their inaugural recording, and subsequent publication, Sun of Justice, features Byzantine Music for Christmas in Greek, Arabic, and English.
Saint Vladimir’s Summer Music Institute
Saint Vladimir’s Seminary hosts a summer program for the study of creative music-making and composition within the Orthodox liturgical traditions of North America.
The Liturgical Arts Academy
The Liturgical Arts Academy is a series of summer workshops that trains church leaders and artists in Byzantine chant, iconography, and other liturgical arts in order to restore the proper power and transformative nature of worship.
Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
The theological school and seminary of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America offers a full and vibrant campus life of academics and spiritual formation structured around a daily liturgical schedule. They offer several undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, including a certificate in Byzantine Music.