Choir

Worshipping Through Songs of Praise

The primary purpose of the choir is to assist the priest by responding to the prayers of the church service. They help to create a solemn and spiritually uplifting atmosphere for the congregation. The choir sings for Sunday Divine Liturgies, Evening Vespers, during Great Lent, Holy Week and Christmastime as well as other special services throughout the year.

The Holy Apostles Choir has lead the Westchester congregation in prayerful worship since the first Divine Liturgy in 1959. The last of the original 25 choir members recently retired from the loft in 2020. Several of the current 40 choir members are from families who founded this Westchester parish. Active members range from high school age through singers who’ve retired from a working career.

From its early days, the choir has been at the forefront of musical excellence. The choir has performed a wide variety of musical concerts in addition to liturgical services. Their annual Christmas and Easter concerts have been acknowledged by Hierarchs and Clergymen throughout the country. Additional performances include fund raising concerts for the IOCC and other philanthropic organizations, the Celebration of Books, parish anniversaries, Metropolis of Chicago events and other
notable occasions. Recently, Holy Apostles hosted an Interfaith Concert which included other Orthodox choirs and the choir from the neighboring Immanuel Lutheran Church of Westchester. In all, the choir has performed nearly 150 times outside of church services.

The choir has professionally recorded CD’s of some of these concerts. They are available to purchase in the HARC bookstore adjacent to the church reception hall.

Nick Paloumpis has more than 45 years experience as a choir director. Zoe Tomaras, a recently retired music teacher, is the assistant director. Maria Bolchert and Cathy Anderson are the choir accompanists. They also play the organ for weddings and other special occasions.

The choir holds regular rehearsals, usually Wednesday evening for 90 minutes. They sing hymns in both Greek and English. The choir also encourages the parish youth to participate in the “Children in the Loft” program. This allows children in Sunday School to learn more about our Orthodox faith and sing with the adult choir. (Details can be found elsewhere on this web site.)

If you are interested to join the choir, contact Nick Paloumpis holyapostleschoir@yahoo.com

It is not necessary to know how how to read music or to be bi-lingual.

We are looking for individuals who want to serve the Lord, our Church and can devote the time to becoming the best they can be with whatever God-given musical talents He has bestowed.

Children in the Loft

Holy Apostles offers a unique opportunity to those in grades 4-8 to participate
in our Holy Apostles Choir through the Children in the Loft Program. By
participating in Liturgical life this way, children develop a deeper
understanding and appreciation for the tradition of Orthodox hymnology and
a greater understanding of the components that comprise our services.

For more information for the program, please contact Bette Schieber at bmschieber@aol.com  or at (708) 305-1306.