Thursday, March 31, 2011

Looking Back for the March 29th Chapter Meeting

Another busy nite for the Harmonizers at Durant. The crew worked and had things all ready for the 7 pm call to the risers by operations vp, Mark Klostermeyer. A lot of guys were on the stage early for the stage presence review session that starts at 6 with Chuck McKeever. The admin tables were busy – especially with guys turning in their application form and $100 deposit to president, Steve Murane, for the China trip. Will Cox conducted the vocal warm ups. Michael Gellert was present to conduct more individual vocal coaching sessions for the chorus. Music vp, Terry Reynolds, orchestrated those who should leave the risers to meet with Michael. Will passed the chorus on to director, Joe Cerutti. Joe was eager to get to work and was full of excitement. He thanked Dennis Ritchey for his quick response in creating more props for the contest package – after an aside comment from Joe just last week. First off we ran thru “The National Anthem” a few times in preparation for our performance this weekend at the National baseball game. We also recorded it to submit to the team management firm. Next we ran thru “New York, New York” for our tv performance during the Cherry Blossom parade on April 9th. We did the stage presence and sang along with the recorded version which will be the same situation for the tv gig. Thirdly, Joe got the chorus to work on “Great Day” which will be our opener for the Carnegie Hall show. As promised last week, he invited octets off the risers to demo their preparedness for the words and notes. Then before starting the full chorus on the contest package, the section leaders met with their sections to work on some specifics which Joe asked them to work on. The chorus returned to the risers and sang and drilled. The chapter meeting period was conducted by K-12. He honored those guys who had birthdays. Shows vp, Ken White, briefed the guys on plans for our gig at the Nats game. A big change! We need to be there at 10 am for sound check. The small ensemble that will sing in the 7th Inning stretch will also do a sound check. We will be sitting in Section 231. We are to meet at the Centerfield Gate. We were encouraged to use the Metro – Green line to the Navy Yard Stop. Tickets for each of us and for our guests will be distributed at the park. Chorus manager, Mark Klostermeyer, will be in charge of things that day. YeEd suspects there will be an email or three before the game on Sunday. Marketing vp, Steve Lingo, thanked the guys for their efforts in earning third place recognition for the chapter as a popular performing group in DC. He also took a couple minutes to share the many hits we are getting for our Facebook page. President Murane reminded everyone to get him their China trip form and deposit. He also asked the board to be present for a brief meeting at 10 pm tonite. Terry Reynolds reminded everyone about the qualification process. Director Joe gave a good plug for the Pride of Baltimore show this weekend at 7:30 pm on Saturday. Secretary, Chris Buechler, presented a membership name tag to one of our newest, Jay Butterfield. And he gave Carl Kauffmann his replacement name tag – a way for Chris to explain that if any one of us looses his name tag, speak to Chris about ordering a new one. Membership vp, Phil Ashford, introduced a good line of guests. As usual there were some barbershoppers from other chapters, and at least one first-timer. It was back to the risers after coffee break. The bulk of the ”second half” was used as a stage presence review and drill. Everyone appreciated the good job Chuck McKeever did in coaching all the changes and final details at this point. It was looking good. The front row worked on their own for a long time and then came into the main hall to join the riser singers. Just before closing for the nite, we filmed the chorus so evaluators can review the performances. It finally happened! The front row had a complete collision and Dennis Ritchey’s glasses fell off and were stamped. He said he could see well enough to drive home to Fredericksburg!!! But before we did our final song, Joe gave a great pep talk about the benefits of being a Harmonizer. His main point was that individuals need to at least do their best to attend a higher percentage of events and rehearsals. He even said he would be easy and accept that it is hard to get on the risers by 7:30, but he hoped we would have 90+ guys on the risers every Tuesday. His point was that we can really grow faster toward our goal of excellence with a full chorus. Until next time – editorjack! (This message is prepared for your review if you were there, for your information if you had to miss, and as a historical record of the great things going on each week at an Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter meeting. —YeEd.)