Dear Members of the Eastern Federation,
It is with great sadness that I share the news that our beloved Presbytéra Anna Gallos passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday evening. Anna touched the lives of many of us and has left a legacy to be treasured for generations to come. Presbytéra Anna was a pioneer and a visionary in the music ministry of our Archdiocese. She was instrumental in the formation of the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians, and a founder of several church music federations, including our own.
The viewing is Monday, February 9, 2015 from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm with the Prayer Service (Trisagion) at 7:30 pm at the Greek Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral on 24 W. Preston Street in Baltimore, Maryland 21201. Presvytera Anna will lie in state at the Cathedral at 10:30 am with the funeral beginning at 11:00 am on Tuesday, February 10, 2015.
Below is the obituary of our beloved Anna. Eonía I Mními.
Paul Petro Mavromihalis
President, EFGOCM
pmavromihalis@gmail.com
(For those wishing to participate in the musical tribute, please contact Faye Hayes at: fayette.hayes@laureate.net for a head count. Please meet in the choir room at 9:45 am, and bring your choir robe. Music will be provided.)
Anna Gerotheou Gallos (1920-2015)
The daughter of Greek Orthodox priest, Fr. John Gerotheou, and Presvytera Evangeline, Anna was born in Philadelphia, PA, the eldest of four girls. A dedicated and accomplished musician, Anna enjoyed a career that spanned more than eight decades. Competent in the vocal arts, piano, and organ, Anna was a music educator, choral director and prolific composer of church music. She directed her first church choir at age 15, studied music in high school and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Theory and Voice and a Master’s in Church Music, Composing and Conducting from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
Anna married Fr. George P. Gallos and in their fifty-three years together, they organized and spearheaded two choir federations, retreats, choir schools and workshops to help improve the spiritual and musical standards of church music and church choirs. They both played a very important part in the formation of the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians, with the charter being presented by Anna to the Clergy-Laity Congress in 1976 in Philadelphia.
The Galloses spent three years (1986-1989) at the American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece where Fr. Gallos was Chaplain and Presvytera was Director of Musical Activities. There she extended her Byzantine expertise by studying with the renowned psalti and teacher, Eleftherios Georgiades, an Archon Lambadarios of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople.
Anna served as Choir Director with her husband in the following parishes: St. George, New Britain, Connecticut; Annunciation, Rochester, New York; Annunciation, Baltimore, Maryland (where she also taught music at City College and, later, Forest Park High School); St. Demetrios, Weston, Massachusetts; St. Nicholas, Spartanburg, South Carolina; St. Constantine and Helen, Annapolis, Maryland; Holy Trinity, St. Augustine, Florida. Anna was also a teacher and consultant at Hellenic College and Holy Cross Seminary.
After the death of Fr. Gallos in 1995, Anna relocated to Timonium, MD, from their parish in St. Augustine, FL, and accepted the position of Director of Music at St. Demetrios Church in Towson, MD, where she served from 1996 through 2004. Anna continued to write music and consult and mentor choir directors until her final days at age 94.
Anna was awarded the St. Romanos the Melodist Medallion for Exemplary Archdiocesan Service, the highest national honor given to a church musician by the National Forum of Greek Orthodox Church Musicians. She also received the St. Paul Medal, the Archdiocese’s highest honor for a lay person, from Archbishop Iakovos on her 50th year of serving as a choir director.
One of the most prolific composers of Greek Orthodox Church music in the United States, Anna’s works include seven Divine Liturgies, numerous holy day service hymns, concert music, and special music for the organ. Anna founded the Evangeline Music Press which showcases her music and accomplishments at http://www.geotronics.net/services.htm. Anna is survived by her two sons, Stephen, and his wife Joanne, and John, as well as her sister, Marie Gram, sister-in-law, Penelope Poulos, and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.
Donations may be given with checks to EFGOCM (Eastern Federation Greek Orthodox Church Musicians) Anna Gallos Scholarship Fund, and mailed to Maria Keritsis, Scholarship Chair, 9030 Kings Crown Road, North Chesterfield, VA 23236.
The viewing is Monday, February 9, 2015 from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm with the Prayer Service (Trisagion) at 7:30 pm at the Greek Orthodox Annunciation Cathedral on 24 W. Preston Street in Baltimore, Maryland 21201. Presvytera Anna will lie in state at the Cathedral at 10:30 am with the funeral beginning at 11:00 am on Tuesday, February 10, 2015. Flowers should be delivered directly to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral. For more information please visit www.ruckfuneralhomes.com