Learning the Services

The Festal Menaion is a cornerstone of Orthodox liturgical worship, containing the hymns, prayers, and readings for the Twelve Great Feasts and other significant celebrations of the Church year. Rich in theological depth and poetic beauty, it reflects the Church’s living tradition, drawing the faithful into the mystery of Christ’s life, the Theotokos, and the saints. This invaluable resource guides worshipers through the sacred rhythms of the liturgical calendar, offering a profound connection to the timeless truths of Orthodox Christianity.

Music Theory for the 21st–Century Classroom is an openly licensed, four-semester online music theory textbook designed to modernize and enhance traditional music theory education. Departing from the conventional focus on SATB voice leading, this text emphasizes harmony within the context of the phrase, as well as motivic analysis and melodic construction, addressing a common gap in existing curricula. Students are introduced to concepts like motive, subphrase, inversion, augmentation, diminution, and melodic alteration to better understand and create melodies with continuity and harmonic logic. The text progresses from basic pitch and rhythm to advanced topics like twelve-tone technique and minimalism, incorporating examples from popular music, film, and theater to contextualize key concepts.