He was also the distinguished leader of cantors in the Great Cathedral, and was appointed to be the first instructor of hymns in the Coptic Orthodox Clerical College by Archdeacon Habib Girgis.
The hymns from Cantor Mikhail were the source of the vocal notes recorded by Ernest Newlandsmith, a musician and composer from England, with the help of Ragheb Moftah.
In light of this great achievement, Moftah commented, "He was the only way of passing down Coptic hymns in its original form to us."
At the end of his journey, on 18 April 1957, Cantor Mikhail the Great departed, at the age of 83, after serving the Coptic Orthodox Church for approximately 70 years.
His musical studies were preserved by Moftah in the United States Library of Congress, and cantors still chant them in their churches to this day.