Stavros First is a Composer, Musician, and Producer based in Boston, MA. He is currently studying film scoring at Berklee. His music has won many awards, including the Evangelyna Etienne Award through the Handel and Haydn Society, and his compositions have been performed by some of the most preeminent ensembles in the country. Stavros’ interests include the arts, computer science, and philosophy.
1. How did you become interested in composition, and why did you choose to pursue it?
I’ve been interested in music for most of my life. I began playing violin at age six, but did not begin writing music until a couple of years later. My violin instructor at the time had a progressive teaching method; she did not believe in teaching students how to read sheet music until they reached an advanced level of technique. I was interested in learning all kinds of different musical pieces, though, so, one time–I think I was about nine or ten–as my dad and I were attending a classical music conference, I convinced him to buy me a placemat which depicted the musical notes of the staff aligned with the keys on a piano along with the different rhythmic notations and the circle of fifths. When I arrived home, I put that placemat on my piano and began to teach myself music theory. Within about a month I began to compose my own music.
Later on, I began taking classes with a composition teacher at the local conservatory–I still study with him, actually, as he is a professor at Berklee–and began to refine my style. I was mainly interested in classical music, but later branched out into other styles like jazz, folk, and soundtrack music. I eventually decided, therefore, that since music and composition were integral parts of my life, it was a logical step to pursue it in a field of higher study, and, perhaps, even as my career. I have enjoyed the journey so far.
2. You are known for your Orthodox Appalachian chant, what prompted you to create that?
I began studying Orthodox Byzantine Chant around the same time that I began to compose Western classical music. Byzantine chant is such a treasure trove of incredible musical ideas and theory–I completely believe it was conceived under Divine guidance; it forms the foundation of Western music, and is the only musical genre with *saints* as composers–it is impossible to not be inspired by it. So for years I was studying Byzantine and Western composition separately, only occasionally mixing the two. My first venture into combining both areas of my expertise came a couple of years ago when I wrote Gloria in Excelsis Deo which is actually set in Latin–you can vaguely hear both the Western and Byzantine influences present. However, in late 2023, I came across a recording of the Appalachian Orthodox Hymn For God is With Us. I realized that this kind of Orthodox music–which draws inspiration directly from the rich musical history of the southeastern United States–might be incredibly important for the growth of the Orthodox church in this nation.
Orthodoxy has seen an unbelievable influx of converts in recent years, but many of them whom I have talked with said that they have a sense of feeling not quite at home in churches that use music which developed in the Middle East and Russia. If you look at the history of Orthodox chant, you will see that the musical traditions of whatever nation the church found itself in developed in accordance with the traditionality of that culture; for instance, Greece took the earliest forms of Byzantine Chant which had developed in Syria and added their own musical scales to it (more recently composed chant even has some Ottoman influence). Likewise, Russia took the Greek style of Byzantine Chant and adapted it to their culture, thus creating Znammeny and 4-part harmonic chants. It is a logical step, therefore, as Orthodoxy is growing so much in America, for it to have its own unique flavor of sacred music. This certainly does not mean that we should emulate what the Protestants have done with loud, concert-like music; rather, we must build upon our sacred Orthodox musical heritage to make it sound like home for those who live here–because, after all, the church is our real home. Therefore, I have taken care to make sure that my Appalachian Orthodox Chants maintain Byzantine phrasing, theory, and harmonization while simultaneously applying musical effects commonly found in American folk music, such as basing the tones off of the pentatonic scales and using American rhythmic and melodic shapes.
I posted my first Appalachian hymn, The Trisagion Hymn, in February 2024. I was not expecting to get much traction from it, but, to my surprise, it accumulated over a hundred thousand views, and I received comments from people–cradle Orthodox and converts alike–saying how they had been waiting for sacred music like this but it had not yet been created. I then began to solidify what I think is a good basis for the theory of this kind of chant, and proceeded to write more compositions in this style. I continued to receive heartwarming comments from people, which inspired me to continue on with this project. I have also heard from monastics at Athonite-style monasteries here in America who enjoy this style of chant, so it is not opposed by even the most traditional of Orthodox Christians.
Appalachian Orthodox hymns have not yet been widely used in church services as far as I know, however, but I will continue writing and recording the music for people to listen to. I will leave it up to God’s will what becomes of it.
3. How do your environment and faith impact your music?
My Orthodox faith definitely has the biggest impact on my music. The wide variety of its sacred musical traditions from different cultures around the world is incomparable, even by Western musical standards. Specifically Byzantine Chant, with its diverse modes, simplistic but effective harmonies, and unbelievably beautiful melodies provide an endless amount of inspiration. We have saints as composers, and even music that is *literally* out of this world–St. Nektarios, who was not a composer (he had barely any musical training at all), had a vision where he heard angels offering praises to the Mother of God. What he wrote down, Agni Parthene (O Virgin Pure), one of the most recognizable Byzantine hymns, is what he heard the angels singing. How could one not be inspired if this is the tradition we have?!
I am also, to a lesser extent, inspired by my environment. I grew up in a family who deeply appreciates classical music, and participated in orchestras and ensembles throughout my childhood. This provided the groundwork for the compositional style I have developed, and continue to develop. And, even though I am not from the southeastern United States, contrary to what my Appalachian Chants may make one assume, I do live in the upper reaches of the Appalachians, and there is actually a similar musical culture that exists up here; shape note, fiddle, folk, Scots-Irish, and American Indian music are all alive and well in the traditional musical scene. So that definitely provides a source of inspiration for my work. And pursuing my studies at Berklee now is a fantastic environment to continue to be inspired and grow as a musician.
4. Why do you believe that traditionalist classical music is so important to produce in the 21st century?
It is incredibly important, even if many people do not realize it. And certainly, the influence of traditional classical music is harder to feel today than in previous centuries, but it is still essential to our culture. While people do not often go out to classical music concerts anymore, the music in the films they watch, the games they play, and the soundtracks they listen to occupy the same space as opera did in the 19th century, or the theatre did during the time of Handel and Monteverdi. The composers you hear who scored your favorite films, for instance, or who wrote the songs for your favorite bands studied classical theory and composition. Even modern classical concert composers like Max Richter, Philip Glass, and Ludovico Einaudi are extremely popular musical artists. Much smaller classical artists like myself are also getting a voice because of the opportunities social media and content sharing platforms like YouTube provide. And in fact, my generation, Gen Z, is one of the biggest consumers of classical music by age range as per data from streaming services. So, yes, traditionalist classical music definitely has a place in the 21st century, and I believe it will continue on even after.
5. What does traditionalism mean to you?
I think the term “traditionalism” itself, as it is generally used, is misleading. Things like God, the soul, beauty, goodness, etc. are not traditional, they are eternal. Modern culture may like to think these are things of the past but they are not; they are integral parts to who we are as humanity. Progressive fads are what will eventually fade. But traditionalism does have its place: it allows us to hold onto the knowledge of these eternal, essential things as passed down to us from previous generations. If we discard traditionalism, we discard this knowledge, which proved to be ruinous to every great civilization that attempted to.
6. If you could meet one composer, who would it be and why?
That’s quite a difficult question, honestly–so many famous composers were fascinating people! Overall, my favorite composer is Mozart. His music is filled with so much genius, and yet it is so light and easy to listen to. His work has a unique quality of beauty that I have not heard from any other composer. He was also a devout Christian, and I think the incredible sublimity of his music came from that faith. Beethoven is certainly up there for me as well, however. There’s a great story about how St. Porphyrios was listening to records of Mozart and Beethoven at a family’s house, and one of the children asked him who exactly Beethoven was. The Saint replied, “Beethoven was a musician who composed the greatest music in the world because God whispered it in his ear despite the fact that Beethoven was deaf…This is the greatness of God. When music includes the religious element, it becomes even more beautiful…a deaf person was able to compose the best music ever.” So, I’d love to meet those two composers who wrote some of the most beautiful music known to man, who shared my Christian faith. I also wonder what they would think of the modern state of music–they weren’t necessarily traditionalists themselves, but they respected beauty and knowledge.
7. What is the future of composition and is there a space for traditionalists?
It is difficult to determine what exactly the future of music holds. I do not think that the academic trend of ugly, “atonal” music will last long–the midcentury serialists expected this kind of music to become a central tenet of pop music, and, of course, it didn’t. It continues to die off, even as academics still push for its creation. But I believe humans have a natural tendency to want to pursue things which are beautiful, so “traditional” composition will continue. In what form, I do not know, but it is certainly alive and well in the media scoring and songwriting world, which continues to produce the most popular music today.
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