Department of Music

Nikos Myrogiannis-Koukos

Greek conductor, educator, church musician, singer, and musicologist, Dr. Nikos Myrogiannis-Koukos (known to his students as Dr MK) serves as the Director of Choral Activities at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Dr Myrogiannis-Koukos hails most recently from Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he earned a doctoral degree in Choral Conducting, Pedagogy, and Literature from James Madison University. At JMU, Nikos served as a graduate conductor for The Madison Singers, the JMU Chorale and other vocal ensembles. His teaching responsibilities have included teaching Basic Choral Conducting, as well as General Education music classes.

Before pursuing a doctoral degree, Nikos resided in Fort Worth, Texas, where he earned a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Texas Christian University. Before his time in Texas, Nikos received an MA in Musicology and Music Education from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a Diploma in Music Theory from Seirios Conservatory.

An active church musician, Dr. MK has served as the Director of Music Ministries at Dayton United Methodist Church in Dayton, Virginia, where he conducted the DUMC Chancel Choir. During his time as an undergraduate student in Thessaloniki, Greece, Nikos founded and directed the "YouTune Vocal Ensemble", while he collaborated with various collegiate, church, and community ensembles both as a singer and a conductor.

His research interests include creating and instituting techniques for the development of harmonic audiation and harmonically informed sight-singing, implementing the use of Laban movement analysis in choral conducting, customizing the warm-up routine to fit the needs of ensembles consisting of mature adults, reassessment of the relationship between music analysis and choral pedagogy in preparation of large-scale choral masterworks, and widening the choral canon through diversified programming. He has presented in music education conferences both in Greece and the US, including the 2024 Organization of American Kodaly Educators Conference. 

When not making music, Nikos enjoys cooking, vintage video gaming, discovering exciting places to read his books, and spending as much time as possible with his beloved wife Maria.