Friday, April 29, 2011

Looking Back on the April 26th Chapter Meeting

A huge crowd was on hand for the David Wright coaching session in preparation for the International contest in July.

Here are the section stats for the active chorus according to Keith Jones, who took attendance for Dixie Kennett this week. (FYI - The attendance report each week goes via email to the section leaders, major officers, Director Joe and the music and performance team.)

Tenors – 8 of 8 were present = 100.00%
Leads - 25 of 27 were present = 92.59%
Baris - 20 of 20 were present = 100.00%
Basses – 37 of 38 were present = 97.37%
Special Forces – 2 of were 6 = 33.33%
Total 92 of 99 = 92.93%
In addition there were 5 other members present to help as needed.

No wonder that when Joe thanked our coach at the end of the evening, he added that the progress we made was not only due to David’s skill but because such a high percentage of guys were on the risers.

David managed to get out of the St. Louis airport after the tornado damage there this past weekend, and after a couple delays en route, got to DC around 6 pm. Music vp Terry Reynolds met him at the airport and hurried him to Durant with a quick stop for some fast food for dinner and a little time for a briefing of what to expect.

After vocal warm ups, Joe let David get right to work on the contest package. David offered a ton of great suggestions, another ton of reminders of things we know to do and must not forget, and another ton of ideas on what the message of the song is for the singer as presented by the arranger. As usual, David gave us a couple music lessons about the arrangement and helped us discover again the beauty of well sung harmony. Thankfully, Terry realized the need to take notes, which YeEd suspects will be shared with us next time, as well as help the music team recall them for coaching and working in the weeks ahead.

There was a very short break and a short business session. There are left over t-shirts members can buy from the Youth Harmony Festival. See Brad Jones.

Secretary Buechler presented renewal cards to the following: Ian Poulin for 8 years; Patrick Kim for 4 years; Tom Berkey for 14 years; and Dick Hall for 47 years. Chris also presented the 25-year card and lapel pin to Bruce Lauther.

Then it was back to work for the second half and Joe used every minute with David until we just had to close.

We are anticipating that the Rec Department will adjust the AC for Durant so that it stays on til 10. Bob Rhome has been working with the staff to make it happen. The guys were ringing wet when they left for home this week.

We all were glad to hear that Chuck Hunter is OK in Syria. He is looking forward to seeing us in Kansas City.

YeEd heard that a good sized crowd of guys were at the visual studio this past weekend. Chuck McKeever was happy with that. He also had a big crew on the stage at 6 before the meeting started. Terry Reynolds pushed for guys to remember the vocal studios this coming weekend.
Tho we did not have a formal introduction of guests at the meeting, there were several guys present who have been with us before.

Stay tuned next Tuesday to prepare for the Carnegie Hall show. Steve Lingo was distributing the free tickets for family or friends who will accompany singers to NYC.

A smaller crowd went over to the afterglow at the Hilton this week since many guys decided to go on home. David was there tho; and since we were outside on the patio, the tag singers were in heaven!!

Don’t forget to wear your (or a) name tag at all Harmonizer functions. Maybe keep it in your barbershop briefcase. It helps the guests and newer members!

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.)