Resume

Alexandros Kozak

Open-source developer, web designer, Greek Orthodox chanter, teacher, discographer, and author with a background in Classics

Education

University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
MA in Greek (May 2000)

King’s College, University of Cambridge (Cambridge, England)
Postgraduate studies in Classics (1996 – 1997)

Harvard College (Cambridge, MA)
AB summa cum laude in Classics (June 1996)
  • Thesis: “The Myth of Hypsipyle in Greek and Roman Poetry”
  • Honors and awards: Phi Beta Kappa, Hoopes Prize, Honorary Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies

Work Experience

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation (San Francisco, CA)
Lampadarios Chanter (2026 – Present)
Assistant Chanter (2011 – 2012; 2017 – 2026)
Web Designer (2009 – 2012)
Operations (2009 – 2010)
  • As Chanter, facilitate worship with a cappella Byzantine music on Sundays and weekday feasts, and for events such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals
Independent (Berkeley, CA)
Open-Source Developer (2017 – Present)
  • Develop and maintain popular command-line tools and frameworks for the Zsh shell, including a directory-jumping utility integrated into the Oh My Zsh framework (2,000+ GitHub stars), an asynchronous Git-aware prompt, a plugin manager, and a cross-shell prompt supporting ten shells
Web Designer (2015 – Present)
  • Construct and maintain websites for clients in alternative healthcare, music hardware and software, religion, and entertainment
BizX (Oakland, CA)
Corporate Account Manager (2008 – 2009)
Corporate Trade Broker (2007 – 2008)
  • Used barter financing to buy media for travel, hospitality, and entertainment companies and to bring media companies new advertisers; brokered deals between a wide variety of companies; served as a liaison for trade exchanges and corporate barter firms; helped companies to offset marketing expenses by monetizing excess capacity and distressed inventories
  • Also served in office operations and executive support roles (2006 – 2007; 2009)
University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
Graduate Student Instructor (2000 – 2004)
  • As a language instructor, developed course curricula, provided all in-classroom instruction, and tutored and mentored students one on one; taught original Latin and Greek texts; created my own instructional material (including a commentary on Cicero’s Somnium Scipionis)
  • As a teaching assistant in lecture courses, led interdisciplinary discussion sections, coached students on writing projects, and evaluated student writing; by way of exploring the Greco-Roman world, taught a wide variety of skills, including composition and grammar, and fostered an understanding of cultural contexts and linguistics

Projects

GitHub

(2021 – Present)
Fast, simple Zsh plugin manager

(2020 – Present)
Real-time 78 rpm equalization curves for Equalizer APO

(2018 – Present)
Command-line utility that allows users to jump quickly to directories that they have visited frequently or recently; a native Zsh port of z.sh with added features
  • 2,300+ stars
  • Now also distributed with the popular Oh-My-Zsh framework
(2017 – Present)
Fast, asynchronous Zsh prompt with color ASCII indicators of Git, exit, SSH, virtual environment, and vi-mode status; framework-agnostic and customizable

(2017 – Present)
Color, ASCII-only Git prompt for zsh, bash, ksh93, mksh, pdksh, oksh, dash, yash, busybox ash, and osh

Music Research Websites

, , , and
Author, audio restoration specialist, and discographer (2014 – Present)
  • Author comprehensive discographies of four British interwar vocalists: Elsie Carlisle, Maurice Elwin, Anne Lenner, and Betty Bolton
  • Create digital transfers of their music from the original 78 rpm records using modern sound restoration techniques and publish transfers on YouTube
  • Produce analyses of all four artists’ songs
  • Conduct biographical research on all four singers

Volunteer Experience

Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation (San Francisco, CA)
Teacher, Introduction to Orthodoxy (2007 – Present)
  • Provide instruction on theology, traditions, and culture of Eastern Orthodox Christianity for non-Orthodox inquirers and for people already familiar with the faith in hour-long, weekly classes

Publications





“Elsie Carlisle: Recording Actress”
The Discographer Magazine 3, no. 4 (): 20–28

“Elsie Carlisle’s Top Hits, Then and Now”
The Discographer Magazine 2, no. 3 (): 8–15

“Elsie Carlisle’s ‘My Man o’ War’ (Dominion C 307 & Filmophone 143)”
The Discographer Magazine 1, no. 6 (): 8–12

Papers Presented

“Maurice Elwin, Dance Band Singer”
City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society (CLPGS), London, England, UK (Zoom appearance), June 17, 2025

“Bawdy and Soul: Naughty Songs of Elsie Carlisle”
City of London Phonograph and Gramophone Society (CLPGS), London, England, UK (Zoom appearance), June 21, 2022

“Holy Fools in the Byzantine Empire”
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, San Francisco, CA, September 10, 2017

“What If the Fall Had Never Happened?”
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, San Francisco, CA, March 6, 2016

Interviews

Interview with Jonathan David Holmes
British Dance Music Programme, Phonotone Classic (February 26, 2021)