Looking Back on the Oct. 20, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 20, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

This week the ensembles of AACC met separately again.

Metro Voices met at Fairlington Presbyterian Church. Patricia Chow reports: Maggie McAlexander led warmups, including teaching/singing the tag "Back in My Hometown." The group then had sectionals on "Queen Anointed." The music team with Samantha Tramack led the review of "Auld Lang Syne," "Christmas Time," and "Happy Holidays." The first two verses of "Christmas Time" will be solo features, and singers of all voice parts are encouraged to audition if they are interested - more than one soloist may be chosen to sing. The chorus then started work on a new holiday song - "Ocho Kandelikas" arranged by Maggie. The song celebrates Hanukkah and is written in Ladino by Bosnian-American musician Flory Jagoda. 

Amanda Ridlington is a new member of Metro Voices. Returning guests for their rehearsal were Holly Faust, Serena Davis and Naomi Takagi. Several Metro Voices members did join the Harmonizers for the extended afterglow at the HarmoHouse.

Meanwhile, the Harmonizers hosted this year’s celebration of harmony with the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Gospel Choir – a traditional chorus event since 2017. The gathering was at the Fairlington Methodist Church. Call time was 6:30 pm which gave some time for the singers to warm up (and get to the meeting place on a busy evening during rush hour). The chorus wore their AACC black t-shirts. 

After the warm up session, the Gospel Men’s Choir sang two songs for the evening – “Give Me Jesus” and “Walking Up the King’s Highway.” Melvin Bryant is their director and piano accompanist. He and the choir taught a four-part prayer song, “Give Thanks.”  The Harmonizers cheered and applauded loudly for their singing friends.

After Alfred Street, the Harmonizers assembled at the front of the sanctuary, while artistic director, Joe Cerutti, shared the story behind the Harmonizer’s songs “Harmony” and “Stars in the Night” sharing the story about the Comedian Harmonists, and how it came to be the chapter’s contest package.

All six of the Harmonists were present for this performance (Matthew Ambler, Matthew Darouse, Chad Ross, Robert Santine, Robert Stark, and Ben Watsky) and wore long-sleeve white shirts.  Randall Eliason, Michael Berkson and Terry Reynolds performed their speaking parts. 

After the Harmonizers sang, the chapter team taught two tags to all the others singers in the hall – “Life Is Interwoven with the Friends We Used to Know” and “We’ll Build a Rainbow in the Sky.”  Tony Colosimo lead the team of tag instructors of Lance Fisher, Ben Hawker, Danny Ameduite and Devante Lucas.

There were a number of Harmonizer friends and non-performing guests who joined in the fellowship for the evening including several singers from the Men’s Camerata.   Carl Pankin and Matt Balfour were returning guests, Michael Rogin, who sings barbershop in Miami, was also a guest.  

Both Joe and Melvin thanked everyone for attending this important harmony fellowship event, and announced the need for a team of singers – a couple people from each ensemble – to help coordinate next year’s gathering. Harmonizer volunteers should chat with Joe about their interest or availability. 

After both groups sang, everyone adjourned to the fellowship hall for refreshments. Many members brought goodies, or drinks, or supplies.  Frank Shipp’s wife, Joan, prepared several large platters of veggies and cheeses, and there were plenty of desserts including a big homemade chocolate cake Terry Reynolds won at a fundraising auction at the Presbyterian Church where we often meet. 

It is also important to report on the first rehearsal and meeting of the AACC Youth Chorus, Capital Force, who met at Fairlington Presbyterian Church, on Sunday, Oct. 18.  This was the kick off of their new season.  Tessa Walker is music director for the 20 or so youth from grades 7-12 in the DC area. There were about ten singers who had sung in previous Capital Force seasons. David Strasser and Serena Davis were there to help with administrative details as was Sheryl Berlin. The chapter provided simple refreshments for the singers and Tessa helped them discover what barbershop can be like, and helped them determine which part they would sing. 

Here are other calendar notes: Stay tuned for details from the Culture Team about a Halloween celebration at a chapter meeting in October 

The AACC Culture Team has also organized a social event at Cox Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 11 am to 4 pm.  Members interested in attending should contact Culture Team members and make a reservation/payment of $30 by Sept. 30!.  Don’t pay or register with Cox Farm but with a Culture Team member – Becca Williams, Kellen Hertz or Matt Darouse.  The chapter will have the pavilion there as part of the fall festival for friends and family of AACC - at 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, VA 20120, at the corner of Braddock Rd., and Pleasant Valley Rd. 

Remember the next Honor Flight sing is on Nov. 7 – call time at 8 am; and then the next performance will be on Nov. 11 – that’s a Wednesday afternoon event assuming most singers will have that day off from work. The songs will be chosen from the songs often used for the Honor Flights. 

 Looking way ahead: there will be caroling for Blue Star Families on Dec. 6 from 12 -2.

The Dec. 12 holiday shows are scheduled for 3:30 pm and 7 pm at Fairlington United Methodist Church (across the street from our weekly meeting place). Good news – GQ will be featured quartet for that show!! ALERT: Singers will need to make plans to stay at the church between the two shows – the chapter will order in some dinner foods. Then everyone will need to be out of the church by 9:30 pm.

Tickets for the holiday show are on sale now with a 20% early discount until Nov. 1 – Code: EARLY.

The chapter will sing carols in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 15.

Even after all the refreshment at the Methodist Church, there was an afterglow at the HarmoHouse so Metro Voices could join in the fun (and help eat up the left over goodies that members brought from the church after clean up there). 

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 for the great things going on each week during the 78th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.

 

 

Looking Back on the Oct. 13, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 13, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

This week the ensembles of AACC met separately – the Harmonizers met at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church to work on their repertoire. Metro Voices sang for the folks out-and-about in Old Towne Alexandria. This was the first time for Metro Voices to do the sing-out there without the Harmonizers. This report from Patricia Chow: The Metro Voices ensemble gathered at the Torpedo Factory at 7 p.m. Samantha Tramack, music director, led us in warmups in a nearby corner. We then sang four sets in various places along King Street and the waterfront. Our song choices included: “Queen Anointed,” “Stop the World,” “Me and the Sky,” “Yes I Can,” and “Preamble” (with Maggie McAlexander speaking the solo part). We ended up with 24 performers in all with a lively crew continuing to Chadwicks for food and drink. 

The Harmonizer rehearsal at the church concentrated on the holiday songs and “Barber of Seville.”  Associate director, Tony Colosimo, directed the warm up session bringing back an often used exercise from the past ending with “zoom, zoom, zoom, zaw.”  Members had to fight a lot of traffic to get to the meeting this week, but in the end there was a good crowd.

Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, updated the Harmonizers about up-coming events including his plea for members to make every effort to be there next week, Oct. 20, to celebrate harmony with the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Gospel Choir at Fairlington Methodist Church, 3900 King Street. Call time is 6:30 pm. AACC t-shirts for attire. This is a long-standing event for the Harmonizers who will sing their recent contest package songs “Harmony” and “Stars in the Night.” This year it is the Harmonizer’s turn to provide the refreshments for the afterglow in the social hall of the church.  Chapter leaders asked members to bring some goodies to share. New Harmonizers and recent guests are all welcome to come join in the fellowship to sing and visit and enjoy the evening.  

Metro Voices will meet at Fairlington Presbyterian Church that night. 

Joe also reports that plans for the Japan trip in 2027 are developing to be spectacular with two international barbershop ensembles joining Alexandria.

He also gave a plug for singers to remember the next Honor Flight sing on Nov. 7 – call time at 8 am; and he reminded singers about the Nov. 11 performance – that’s a Wednesday afternoon event assuming most singers will have that day off from work. The songs will be chosen from the songs often used for the Honor Flights. 

After the announcements, Joe led vocal work on holiday songs; led a run-through of the 2026 contest package with all six Harmonists on hand; and led work on “Barber of Seville” which he confirmed will be sung as part of the chapter’s appearance at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) Midwinter convention in Virginia Beach in February 2027. Tony led work on the New Year medley. 

In other recent chapter news, the first of the special sing-outs for AACC chorus members from both ensembles to welcome Veterans arriving on Honor flights at National Airport was Saturday, Oct. 10. E.J. Herold, project head, reports: On a sunny and cool day at Reagan National, 15 Harmonizers and 3 Metro voices (to include several first-timers from each ensemble) sang to welcome two Honor Flights as they landed in DC to spend the day in our Nation’s capital. Terry Reynolds organized the singers, providing music folders for all to use. Tony Colosimo handled directing duties as we serenaded the arriving veterans composed of those who had served in WWII, the Korean War and Vietnam. The two flights came from Fort Meyers, FL and Charlotte, NC. Each flight had 60 veterans along with escorts (family members or friends) and support staff of their local HF team. 

AACC singers performed “America the Beautiful,” “Armed Forces Medley,” “God Bless America,” “This is My Country,” “America the Beautiful,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” Arriving veterans were surprised to hear us (some singing along), and local DC supporters of the arrivals came by to applaud the singing. As usually happens, there were other regular Americans who came out in support, including one lady bedecked in American flag headdress, illuminated sneakers and a bespoke American flag with added sleeves so that when she spread her arms (for a hug?) the flag was presented in all its glory! Often, as the singers performed “You’re a Grand Old Flag” she paraded in front of us to the delight of those performing.

 

Two notable occurrences. First, Jason Lee and family just happened to be departing on travel, so they came to hear us for the first flight and complimented the group on our sound. Second, on the Charlotte flight, there was a Marine veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam and when we sang the Armed Forces Medley he snapped to rigid attention and presented a perfect salute for the singing of the Marine Corps Hymn before leaving in a wheelchair to make the long trek to the busses.

 

Our next chance to sing for an Honor Flight is November 7  when we welcome flights from West Palm Beach, FL and Madison, WI.

 

Returning guest singers at the Harmonizer meeting this week included John Ferri, Ethan Hattingh, and Mason Meiners. Jacob Broude introduced the guests and reported that he had been in contact with several local collegiate ensembles to invite them to come sing with us.  He has had good response from two groups, so far. Terry Reynoldsdirected the “chapter welcome song.”

 

Here are other calendar notes: Capital Force,  the youth ensemble of AACC, will have their first rehearsal on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 2:30 – 4:30 pm, with Tessa Walker as music director. Singers who sign up will be given details as to where the rehearsal will be held that afternoon.  David Strasser and Serena Davis volunteered to help with admin support for the rehearsal session.  

Stay tuned for details from the Culture Team about a Halloween celebration at a chapter meeting in October 

The AACC Culture Team has also organized a social event at Cox Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 11 am to 4 pm.  Members interested in attending should contact Culture Team members and make a reservation/payment of $30 by Sept. 30!.  Don’t pay or register with Cox Farm but with a Culture Team member – Becca Williams, Kellen Hertz orMatt Darouse.  The chapter will have the pavilion there as part of the fall festival for friends and family of AACC - at 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, VA 20120, at the corner of Braddock Rd., and Pleasant Valley Rd.  

Looking way ahead, the Dec. 12 holiday shows are scheduled for 3:30 pm and 7 pm at Fairlington United Methodist Church (across the street from our weekly meeting place). Good news – GQ will be featured quartet for that show!! ALERT: Singers will need to make plans to stay at the church between the two shows – the chapter will order in some dinner foods. Then everyone will need to be out of the church by 9:30 pm.

Randy Lazear conducted "Keep the Whole World Singing" at the Harmonizer meeting. Many of the usual members went to the afterglow at the HarmoHouse and enjoyed the pizza and chat.

Chapter secretary, Cy Shuster, reports that he sent a membership renewal card to former Harmonizer director, Scott Werner, in Florida. This is his 63rd year!!! Scott sent a thank you note back and a message of greetings to all who sang with him years ago. 

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 for the great things going on each week during the 78th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.

 

 

Looking Back on the Oct. 6, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting and Results from M-AD Fall Contest

 Looking Back on the Oct. 6, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting and Results from M-AD Fall Contest 

Both of the AACC ensembles met at Fairlington Presbyterian Church this week after a busy weekend in NJ for quartets and chapter leaders who attended and participated in the M-AD fall contest. Tuesday evening included celebration for the quartet successes at the contest.

There were six quartets with AACC members in this year’s Mid-Atlantic District quartet contest, Oct. 2-3, at the Middle Township Performing Arts Center in Cape May, NJ. Here are the results showing how successful the chapter quartets were this year: 

SIDE HUSTLE with Tanner Perdue, Matt Darouse, Ian Trent and Cooper Schwartz   placed 13^th. (1253-69.6%)

FANTASTIC 4 with Susan Friel, Heidi Brown, Paul Grimes, and Dale Bird placed 10^th. (2599-72.2%)

BREAKTHROUGH with Mike Fasano, Jordan Zimmerman, Jason Lee and Ken White placed 6^th. (2682-74.5%)

ONE AND DONE with Tim Keatley, Ben Catt, David Breen  (who responded to a phone call a couple days before the contest to substitute for the quartet’s baritone) and Tom Moyer placed 4^th. (2729-75.8%)

SUPERNOVA with Maggie McAlexander, Tessa Walker, Amanda Potts, and Serena Davis placed 2^nd. (2392-80.3%)                                                                                               

BETTER TOGETHER with Elizabeth Colosimo, Heather Havens, Tony Colosimo and Andrew Havensplaced 1^st and were named M-AD champion quartet for 2027! (3050- 84.7%) The quartet was honored in a traditional ceremony as the finale of the Saturday night Show of Champions when members of the quartet champs association (M-AD ASSOCIATION OF QUARTET CHAMPIONS) sang “This is the Moment” to congratulate and honor the new champs. Steve White hosted the quartet champs reception after the show. 

Here is history reflection from Steve White about the chapter’s long list of district quartet champs: The Harmonizers and Metro Voices have a rich history of Mid-Atlantic District Quartet Champions starting with the NOVA CHORDS in 1968 and now BETTER TOGETHER in 2026.  A total of 21 quartet champions have had chapter members in them when they won the title.  And several chapter members have won championships in other districts, regions and areas, or organizations like the Mixed Barbershop Harmony Association, Sweet Adeline’s International, Harmony Inc., and the Worldwide Barbershop Quartet Association.  Quartet singing makes for better chorus singing!(The list of all past quartet champs can be found at midatlanticdistrict.com then in the history section.)

Also, INSTAGRAMPS quartet was named 2027 M-AD Seniors Quartet Champion and the district qualifier for the International Senior Contest at the Midwinter convention in Virginia Beach in February. Their title was based on scores earned at the division contest. The quartet includes Robbie Seay, Rick Taylor, Jay Butterfield and Steve White.

GQ, the 2026 International gold medal quartet champion, with AACC member Samantha Tramack, appeared throughout the weekend as mic coolers for the chorus contest and in a special Gold Medal Hour on Saturday to share their year so far as champs. The quartet includes Amanda Sandroni, Katie Gillis, Ali Hauger and Samantha. In addition to the district contest this past weekend, GQ sang the National Anthem for the Raven’s NFL game on Sunday. 

There  were several AACC members who appeared in the chorus contest as directors or as singers on the risers. The AACC choruses did not compete this year.

 Also, there were a number of AACC members who helped facilitate the convention including those members who worked back stage all weekend to make the contest sessions flow smoothly including Mike Kelly, Ken Rub, andPatricia Chow. Steve Tramack and Darin Drown served on the judging panel for the weekend.  Bill Colosimo was emcee for the quartet finals session on Saturday night. Steve White introduced this year’s inductee to the M-AD Hall of Honor, Jamie Patricia. 

Besides celebrating the contest successes this week at the chapter meeting, president Craig Kujawa conducted the annual chapter election with these members being elected to the board of directors for 2027: President – Craig Kujawa; Secretary – Cy  Shuster; Treasurer – Terry Reynolds; Community Board Members – Carolyn Griffin, Alex Chen, and Betsy Mullins (the chapter bylaws permit the election of these non-members to the board); and At-Large Board Members –  Dana Richardson, and E.J. Herold.

To kick off the singing this week, assistant director of the Harmonizers, Jason Lee, led warm ups for the AACC chorus. That was followed with sectionals for “Let There Be Peace on Earth:  which were followed by a work session on that song with associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo, directing. He encouraged singers to have a pen or pencil or a way to take notes on their music for this nine-part arrangement by Jay Giallombardo adapted by Lance Fisher. 

The chapter has added a number of new members this fall and so the orientation series continued this week with Terry Reynolds as the presenter in the church library. 

There were a lot of guest singers this week again: Amanda Ridlington, David Strasser, Holly Faust, John Ferri, Andy Zane, Serena Davis, Ethan Hattingh, Naomi Takagi and Carl Pankin,, plus first time guest, Orleane Alima! Jacob Broude also introduced the two most recent new members of the chapter – Heather Blackhurst and Ben Bugajski.

Chapter secretary, Cy Shuster, presented membership renewal cards to the following members: Brenden White for 3 years; Annie Ermlick for 3 years, E.J. Harold for 11 years, Don Thompson for 34 years and Carl Kauffmann for 54 years.  Each member got one clap from the chorus for each year, so there were some red hands after the 34 and 54 year numbers!!

Both the Metro Voices and the Harmonizers worked on holiday music and songs they will need in the weeks ahead.  That included the Harmonizers reviewing the 2026 International contest package they will sing for the Alfred Street visit.  David Hillinck has announced that he will relaunch taking rehearsal notes and making them available for the Harmonizers in preparation for the holiday show 

Here are other calendar notes for the chapter: on Oct. 13, the Harmonizers will rehearse at the First Presbyterian Church and Metro Voices will sing in Old Towne. 

Capital Force,  the youth ensemble of AACC, will have their first rehearsal on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 2:30 – 4:30 pm, with Tessa Walker as music director. Singers who sign up will be given details as to where the rehearsal will be held that afternoon. AACC singers are asked to contact families of singers in 7^th -12^th grades to sign up and bring their youth to the rehearsal, The 2026-27 season runs from October to March. Fee is $30 for the season – scholarships are available.  NOTE: AACC executive director, Dita Rao, has issued a call for volunteers from the Harmonizers or Metro Voices to provide musical or admin support for Metro Voices (it can even be for one week at a time). 

The fellowship event for the Harmonizers and the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Gospel Choir will be held at the Fairlington Methodist Church and fellowship hall on Oct. 20. Call time is 6:30 pm.  Black t-shirts for attire. The Harmonizers will sing their recent contest package songs “Harmony” and “Stars in the Night.”  Meanwhile, Metro Voices will meet at Fairlington Presbyterian Church that night. 

This fall, AACC chorus members will be singing a welcome to Veterans arriving on Honor flights at National Airport. There are two flights each day - Oct. 10 between 7-10 am, and Nov. 7 between 8-11 am. E.J. Herold organizes these service projects to welcome military veterans to the Nation’s Capital. All AACC singers are welcome to attend as there is printed music available for the basic patriotic songs that will be sung in a comfortable key for all. Learning tracks are also available on Groupanizer for most of the music.  Attire will be the black t-shirts.

Stay tuned for details from the Culture Team about a Halloween celebration at a chapter meeting in October 

The AACC Culture Team has also organized a social event at Cox Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 11 am to 4 pm.  Members interested in attending should contact Culture Team members and make a reservation/payment of $30 by Sept. 30!.  Don’t pay or register with Cox Farm but with a Culture Team member – Becca Williams, Kellen Hertz orMatt Darouse.  The chapter will have the pavilion there as part of the fall festival for friends and family of AACC - at 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, VA 20120, at the corner of Braddock Rd., and Pleasant Valley Rd.  

Looking way ahead, the Dec. 12 holiday shows are scheduled for 3:30 pm and 7 pm at Fairlington United Methodist Church (across the street from our weekly meeting place). Good news – GQ will be featured quartet for that show!! ALERT: Singers will need to make plans to stay at the church between the two shows – the chapter will order in some dinner foods. Then everyone will need to be out of the church by 9:30 pm.

Latest news about the chapter’s trip to Japan in 2027 – it is still possible to sign up to join. And there is news that Northern Stars chorus, a Scandinavian chorus directed by Rasmus Krigstrom, will be a part of most, and possibly all, of the performances in Japan. Plus there is a possibility that Vocal Fix from New Zealand will join us for some performances. Contact for the trip is Brad Jones and he can help with the last-minute sign up process. 

Congrats to several AACC members who have been nominated to serve on the 2027 M-AD District Board:  Mike Fasano as president, David Welter as treasurer, Sheryl Berlin as member at large, and Ken Rub as member at large. This report came from Bill Colosimo, chair of the M-AD Leadership Development Committee, who created the slate of candidates for the election that will occur in a few weeks at the district board’s Oct. meeting. 

After the 50/50 drawing Tuesday night, Patrick Horne conducted "Keep the Whole World Singing." No formal afterglow was announced but likely some folks found a spot to go relax after a fun rehearsal.

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 for the great things going on each week during the 78^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.

 

 

 

Looking Back on the September 29, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the September 29, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

The AACC ensembles met separately this week since there was not room for both of them to meet at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church.  Metro Voices did meet there and continued working on holiday music and other music for the repertoire.  Jeanne Hillinck reported for Metro Voices this week:  there were three returning visitors – Amanda Ridlington, Heather Blackhurst and Holly Faust.

Metro Voices music director, Samantha Tramack, invited Annie Ermlick to lead a warm up with some dance "moves" while Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine encouraged us to "Conga". This was followed by vocal warmups led by associate director, Maggie McAlexander, -- notes were bubbled, jokes were made, and a good time was had by all.

After the warm ups, Samantha led work on "Auld Lang Syne" focusing on vowels. Then the ensemble adjourned to sectionals for work on "Queen Anointed" and "Stop the World” before coming back together to run "Stop the World" as a whole chorus.

After break there was work on "Happy Holidays," duet sectionals on "Tribute to World Peace," then work on "Queen Anointed" as a whole chorus (Samantha announced that she planned to have Metro Voices do at least some of it when singing in Old Town in two weeks). After a bit of hiatus, there was a run of "Yes I Can."\

Rob Stark conducted "Keep the Whole World Singing" for the ensemble. 

The Harmonizers sang in Old Towne Alexandria and included “Barber of Seville” as part of their show set so the singers could get some reps on the song. The sing-out started at the steps into the Torpedo Factory at 7 pm with a brief warm up. Associate director, Tony Colosimo, was director for the evening and he frequently introduced the chorus, plugged the Capital Force youth ensemble and welcomed singers to consider contacting the chapter. Thankfully the weather was dry after the recent rainy spell, so there were crowds of folks to listen and cheer for the chorus at the various stops along the walk.  (Although YeEd heard from one member who went to the afterglow, and when he got back to his car the high tide on the Potomac had his car in several inches of water, so he had to take off his socks and shoes to get into his car to drive out of the parking area!) 

The Harmonizers sang first on the steps into the Torpedo Factory, then on the boardwalk along the Potomac River, then on King Street amid the crowds of folks having dinner in the restaurants there, and finally back at Torpedo Factory.  Tony led congratulations and bid farewell to Ian Trent who was attending his last meeting before heading out of town on travel and then to relocate in Ohio for a new job. 

In addition to “Barber of Seville,” they sang “Africa,” and “I’m Just a Bill with Lance Fisher, Terry Reynolds andJason Lee doing the comedic narration. They also sang a “Happy Birthday” greeting for a crowd of friends of the birthday girl at an outdoor restaurant. 

There were three returning guests visiting the Harmonizers – Carl Pankin, Ethan Hattingh, and John Ferri.  As it usually happens when the chorus sings in Old Towne, the evening ended with a casual afterglow at Chadwicks. Also, a number of men brought copies of flyers announcing the call for youth singers and before going to the afterglow, the flyers were posted around Old Towne. 

David Hillinck has announced that he will relaunch taking rehearsal notes and making them available for the Harmonizers in preparation for the holiday show 

Cheers of support for the five quartets with AACC members who will be competing this weekend in the Mid Atlantic District (M-AD) fall contest and convention in Cape May, NJ – SUPERNOVA, SIDE HUSTLE, BREAKTHROUGH, FANTATIC 4 and BETTER TOGETHER! 

Here are other calendar notes: on Oct. 6, both ensembles will meet at First Presbyterian. Chapter president Craig Kujawa has announced the annual chapter election will be held that night too. It is very important for a high number of AACC members to attend so there is a quorum for the election. 

And then on Oct. 13, the Harmonizers will rehearse at the church and Metro Voices will sing in Old Towne. 

Capital Force,  the youth ensemble of AACC, will have their first rehearsal on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 2:30 – 4:30 pm, with Tessa Walker as music director. Singers who sign up will be given details as to where the rehearsal will be held that afternoon. AACC singers are asked to contact families of singers in 7^th -12^th grades to sign up and bring their youth to the rehearsal, The 2026-27 season runs from October to March. Fee is $30 for the season – scholarships are available.  

The fellowship event with the Harmonizers and the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Gospel Choir will be held at the Fairlington Methodist Church and fellowship hall on Oct. 20. Call time is 6:30 pm.  Black t-shirts for attire. The Harmonizers will sing their recent contest package songs “Harmony” and “Stars in the Night.”  Metro Voices will meet at Fairlington Presbyterian Church that night. 

AACC chorus members will be singing a welcome to Veterans arriving on Honor flights at National Airport this fall. There are two flights each day - Oct. 10 between 7-10 am, and Nov. 7 between 8-11 am. Sign-ups are needed to boost the number of singers. E.J. Herold organizes these service projects to welcome military veterans to the Nation’s Capital. All AACC singers are welcome to attend as there is printed music available for the basic patriotic songs that will be sung in a comfortable key for all. Learning tracks are also available on Groupanizer for most of the music.  Attire will be the black t-shirts.

The AACC Culture Team has organized a social event at Cox Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 11 am to 4 pm.  Members interested in attending should contact Culture Team members and make a reservation/payment of $30 by Sept. 30!. Don’t pay or register with Cox Farm but with a Culture Team member – Becca Williams, Kellen Hertz or Matt Darouse.  The chapter will have the pavilion there as part of the fall festival for friends and family of AACC - at 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, VA 20120, at the corner of Braddock Rd., and Pleasant Valley Rd.  

Looking way ahead, the Dec. 12 holiday shows are scheduled for 3:30 pm and 7 pm at Fairlington United Methodist Church (across the street from our weekly meeting place). ALERT: Singers will need to make plans to stay at the church between the two shows – the chapter will order in some dinner foods. Then everyone will need to be out of the church by 9:30 pm.

Latest news about the chapter’s trip to Japan in 2027 – it is still possible to sign up to join. And there is news that Northern Stars chorus, a Scandinavian chorus directed by Rasmus Krigstrom, will be a part of most, and possibly all, of the performances in Japan. Plus there is a possibility that Vocal Fix from New Zealand will join us for some performances. Contact for the trip is Brad Jones and can help with the last-minute sign up process. 

In other news, CHEF’S KISS quartet will be appearing on the fall show of the Patapsco Valley Chapter in Columbia, MD, on Saturday, Nov. 7. 

Plus, chapter coach, Darren Drown, and his quartet SYNC OR SWIM, won the BHS Rocky Mountain District quartet championship recently. Congrats!

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 for the great things going on each week during the 78^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.

 

 

 

Looking Back on the September 22, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the September 22, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

Both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices had a full slate of music to work on this week at their meetings at Fairlington Presbyterian Church.  Many of the songs are for the Dec. 12 holiday shows – 3:30 pm and 7 pm at Fairlington United Methodist Church (across the street from our weekly meeting place). ALERT: Singers will need to make plans to stay at the church between the two shows – the chapter will order in some dinner foods. Then everyone will need to be out of the church by 9:30 pm.

Warm ups this week were led by associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo.  Samantha Tramack, music director of Metro Voices, led the AACC singers in several rounds of “Once Upon a Dream;” and then Tony  had the chorus sing a tag a couple times. 

After the warm up work, artistic director, Joe Cerutti, led work on a new song, “Tribute to World Peace” which will be the finale for the holiday show. That was followed with work on “Welcome Christmas. Then Joe had the singers regroup to stand in the 8-part sections for “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” 

Here are calendar notes: on Sept. 29,  Metro Voices will meet at Fairlington Presbyterian while the Harmonizers will be singing in Old Towne that night. On Oct. 6 both ensembles will meet at the church. And then on Oct. 13, the Harmonizers will rehearse at the church and Metro Voices will sing in Old Towne. 

There will not be a sing-out on Oct. 14. 

The fellowship event with the Harmonizers and the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Gospel Choir will be held at the Fairlington Methodist Church and fellowship hall on Oct. 20. Call time is 6:30 pm.  Black t-shirts for attire. The Harmonizers will sing their recent contest package songs “Harmony” and “Stars in the Night.”  Metro Voices will meet at Fairlington Presbyterian Church that night. 

AACC chorus members will be singing a welcoming to Veterans arriving on Honor flights at National Airport this fall. There are two flights each day - Oct. 10 between 7-10 am, and Nov. 7 between 8-11 am. Sign-ups are needed to boost the number of singers. E.J. Herold organizes these service projects to welcome military veterans to the Nation’s Capital. All AACC singers are welcome to attend as there is printed music available for the basic patriotic songs that will be sung in a comfortable key for all. Learning tracks are also available on Groupanizer for most of the music.  Attire will be the black t-shirts.

The Culture Team has organized a social event at Cox Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 11 am to 4 pm.  Members interested in attending should contact Culture Team members and make a reservation/payment of $30 by Sept. 30!. Don’t pay or register with Cox but with a Culture Team member – Becca Williams, Kellen Hertz or Matt Darouse.  The chapter will have the pavilion there as part of the fall festival for friends and family of AACC - at 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, VA 20120, at the corner of Braddock Rd., and Pleasant Valley Rd.  

AACC singers are asked to encourage youth singers to attend the opening meeting of Capital Force for the 2026-27 season which runs from October to March. Fee is $30 for the season – scholarships are available. One way to do that is to contact families of singers in 7^th -12^th grades to sign up and bring their youth to the rehearsal Sunday, Oct. 18, from 2:30 – 4:30 pm with Tessa Walker as music director.  Another way to help if to print flyers for the Oct. 18 event from Slack and bring them to the up-coming sing-outs in Old Town to pass out. 

The Culture leadership team recognized quartets that will be competing in the Mid-Atlantic District convention and contest Oct. 2-3 at the Middle Township Performing Arts Center in Cape May, NJ. Quartets with AACC members will sing in the following order in the Friday night contest session that starts at 5 pm: SUPERNOVA with Maggie McAlexander and Tessa Walker sings second; SIDE HUSTLE with Tanner Perdue, Matt Darouse, Ian Trent andCooper Schwartz sings eighth; BREAKTHROUGH with Mike Fasano, Jordan Zimmerman, Jason Lee and Ken White sings ninth; FANTASTIC 4 with Susan Friel, Heidi Brown, and Paul Grimes sings tenth; and BETTER TOGETHER with Elizabeth Colosimo, Heather Havens, Tony Colosimo and Andrew Havens sings sixteenth. Good luck to all of our quartets! GQ, 2026 International Gold Medal Quartet with Samantha Tramack, will appear during the convention as well. 

Devin Turner, from the Membership Triad,  recognized the most recent AACC member added to the roster – Jamie Bazen. 

Then he welcomed retuning guests who were back this week: Ben Bugajski, Ethan Hattingh, Brianna Hara, Heather Blackhurst, John Ferri, and Carl Pankin.  There were also two first-time guests this week: Matt Balfour and Holly Faust. Maggie McAlexander directed the chapter welcome song.  

New members to the chapter were invited to an orientation session in the library at the church with Joe Cerutti as presenter.

After the AACC rehearsal, Tony led Harmonizers rehearsal until Joe was finished with the orientation. The men’s ensemble worked on holiday songs, a sing though of the recent contest package as it will be used frequently in the months ahead (such as at the Alfred Street event); and worked on “Barber of Seville” which Joe wants to use in the months ahead as well.  He also shared the fun news that the creative team of Cy Wood, Steve Armstrong and David McEachern have been at work to recommend the contest package for the Harmonizers for 2028.  Joe promised to share their plan soon!

Likewise, Patricia Chow reports that Leah Musico led Metro Voices  in a physical warm up session this week. Then the ensemble worked on "Christmastime Is Here" and "Stop the World." The last song of the evening was the "Queen Anointed / Vuelie" medley where we worked in sectionals and brought it together at the end of the rehearsal. 

At 9:30 pm, the two ensembles regrouped as AACC chorus and Joe directed “Keep the Whole World Singing” and invited folks to the HarmoHouse for afterglow. Even though it was a rainy cold night, there was a good crowd at the house to visit, to sing tags and to enjoy pizza. 

Good news to hear that CHEF’S KISS quartet competed in the second annual Parkside, PA, chapter’s novice quartet contest Sept. 19 in Lancaster.  They placed fifth in a close scored contest. The quartet includes Ivan Diehl, tenor; John Mark Magpantay, lead; Zeke Ramirez, baritone, and Danny Ameduiet, bass. Maggie McAlexander and Kevin Mendez were on the judging panel.

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 for the great things going on each week during the 78^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.

 

 

 

Looking Back on the September 15, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the September 15, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

This week’s meeting was at Fairlington Presbyterian Church and both ensembles worked on holiday music for the 2026 holiday show. The early word on a date for the show is that there will be two shows (late afternoon matinee and night) on Saturday, Dec. 12 at the Fairlington United Methodist Church (where the chapter had its holiday shows in 2023 and 2024). Music team leaders asked members to work on the holiday songs at home and sing along at the meeting, or else just listen and learn until ready to sing.  Many of the songs are repeats from past shows so some members have an advantage to knowing the holiday repertoire. 

Chapter leaders have encouraged members to support the silent auction at Fairlington Presbyterian Church which will help the church renovate their kitchen. 

The recent 9/11 tribute by the  Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) used the recording of the Metro Voices performance of  “Me and the Sky” (from “Come From Away) which they sang at the 2026 International convention.  It was a perfect way to recognize the occasion and the emotion of that important date!

Also, BHS CEO Robert Rund recognized Joel Golden’s article from the July-August issue of The Harmonizer in the e-blast LiveWire report. Good job Joel!

Warm ups this week were led by associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo.  His session included a fun tag for the combined ensembles to ring – “I Don’t Know, I Don’t Know, I Don’t Know.”

Membership triad team member, Jacob Broude, invited any new members to join him for an orientation session, led by Terry Reynolds, in a break out room. 

Meanwhile, the AACC chorus worked with artistic director, Joe Cerutti, on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Welcome Christmas.” Joe announced there will be two new combined songs coming soon.  One is “Tribute to World Peace” and work on it will start next week. 

Calendar notes: the chapter meeting will be at Fairlington Presbyterian Church on Sept. 22.  Then on Sept. 29,  Metro Voices will meet at the church while the Harmonizers will be singing in Old Towne that night. And then on Oct. 13, the Harmonizers will rehearse at the church and Metro Voices will sing in Old Towne. (The church has a conflict those weeks so that meant a change in location for the ensemble rehearsals.)

There will not be a sing-out on Oct. 14. 

The fellowship event with the Harmonizers and the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Gospel Choir will be held at the Fairlington Methodist Church and fellowship hall on Oct. 20. Metro Voices will meet at Fairlington Presbyterian Church. 

Joe took a minute to tell the many new members how the AACC chorus supports an Honors flight at National Airport.  There are two coming up – Oct. 10 from 7-10 am, and Nov. 7 from 8-11 am.  E.J. Herold organizes these service projects to welcome military veterans to the Nation’s Capital. Watch for further details. All AACC singers are welcome to attend as there is printed music available for the basic patriotic songs that will be sung.  Attire will be the black t-shirts.

Matt Darouse, from the Culture Team, has sent out messages and registration forms for a social event at Cox Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 11 am to 4 pm.  Members interested in attending should contact Culture Team members and make a reservation/payment of $30 by Sept. 30!.  Don’t pay or register with Cox but with a Culture Team member – Becca Williams, Kellen Hertz or Matt Darouse.  The chapter will have the pavilion there as part of the fall festival for friends and family of AACC - at 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, VA 20120, at the corner of Braddock Rd., and Pleasant Valley Rd.  

Members who ordered t-shirts can get them from the Culture team now.  And any member who didn’t pay for their registration for the chapter retreat, should speak to a team member also. 

The team also brought cookies to share at break to celebrate September AACC birthday! They were good!!

Jacob Broude recognized the most recent AACC member added to the roster – Anne Lefeuvre. 

Then he welcomed eight retuning guests who were back this week: Jamie Bazen, Mason Meiners, Amanda Ridlington, Naomi Takagi, Serena Davis, David Strasser, John Ferri, and Carl Pankin.  There were also three first-time guests this week: Ethan Hattingh, Stuart Conrad and Sam Rose. Tony directed the chapter welcome song.  It was great to have Janet and Joe Cerutti Sr. at this week’s meeting! It was also announced that Kathy Kauffmann has fallen and broken her arm.  Everyone sends her good wishes and a speedy recovery!

He also alerted the chapter to the re-start of Capital Force youth ensemble for the 2026-2027 season on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 2;30 – 4:30 pm with Tessa Walker as music director.  All AACC members are encouraged to invite potential youth singers in rising 7^th-12^th grades. Watch for details. 

After the AACC rehearsal, the Harmonizers continued to work on “Hanukkah in Santa Monica” in sectional breakouts in various rooms in the church. Tony, Joe, Michael Berkson and Lance Fisher led those sectionals. Then they all gathered in the basement hall with artistic director, Joe Cerutti, to sing together. Joe thanked the men for their apparent extra work on the song at home! Next they worked on the “Silent Night” arrangement that includes two quartet spots and some solo spots. Harmonizers interested in doing those spots should speak with Tony ASAP. Finally, the chorus worked on “Here Comes Santa Claus.” 

Likewise, Patricia Chow reports that Metro Voices practiced “Auld Lang Syne” in various quartet configurations and then transitioned to working on “Stop the World.” This is the second song from the musical Come From Away. arranged by Maggie McAlexander for Metro Voices (the first was “Me and the Sky”) and will be performed at Midwinter. The chorus then started work on a new holiday song, a medley of two songs from the Disney film Frozen, also arranged by Maggie. The two songs in the medley are “Queen Anointed” and “Vuelie.”

The two ensembles met together for a wrap up of the rehearsal.  Serena Davis directed “Keep the Whole World Singing.” There was a good crowd at the HarmoHouse for afterglow, with many members enjoying the outdoor patio and the great September weather.  There were  several guests who made it to the afterglow too.  

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 for the great things going on each week during the 78^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.

 

 

 

Looking Back on the September 8, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the September 8, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

This week’s meeting was at AlexRenew and both ensembles worked on their music after a couple of weeks extra meeting time and less singing.  Both groups moved into holiday music. To get things started, a warm up session was led by assistant director of the Harmonizers, Jason Lee.  Prior to the start of the music, early arrivals helped the chapter admin team collate and assemble holiday music for a good supply of guest books. 

After the warm ups, artistic director, Joe Cerutti, welcomed all singers and asked for the top three take-aways from last week’s meeting to launch the operations teams for the chapter.  Three points surfaced including (1) a shout out to new executive director, Dita Rao; (2) there was a clear point that there are many opportunities to volunteer; and (3) thanks to the leadership triads for their work and efforts to step up to the tasks needed. 

Calendar notes: the chapter meetings will be at Fairlington Presbyterian Church on Sept. 15, Sept. 22.  Then on Sept. 29,  Metro Voices will meet at the church with the Harmonizers singing in Old Towne that night. And then on Oct. 13, the Harmonizers will rehearse at the church and Metro Voices will sing in Old Towne. (The church has a conflict those weeks so that meant a change in location for the ensemble rehearsals.)

There will not be a sing-out on Oct. 14. 

The early word on a date for the chapter holiday show is that there will be two shows (matinee and night) on Dec. 12 at the Fairlington United Methodist Church.

The fellowship event with the Harmonizers and the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Gospel Choir will likely be held at their church and fellowship hall on Oct. 20. Stay tuned for details.  Harmonizers should plan ahead for getting their on time and finding a parking place.  Car-pooling is a good idea. The Alfred Street folks are great hosts including a terrific spread of eats.  

Kellen Hertz, from the Culture Team, reminded members to sett

le up on payments for the retreat, and for t-shirts ordered.  He also shared some details about a social event at Cox Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 10 am to 5 pm.  Members interested in attending should contact Culture Team members and make a reservation/payment of $30.  

 

Chapter secretary Cy Shuster, presented membership renewal cards to six members with the now traditional one-clap-for-each-year.  There were some long ones this time! For four years, Marsha Ansel; for four years, Adele Jones; for five years, David Hillinck; for 14 years, Rob Korsan; for 43 years, Terry Reynolds; and for 61 years, Jack Pitzer.

Devin Turner  welcomed seven retuning guests from the chapter’s guest-night-event back on Aug. 25. Chapter members stepped up to help the guests and get them situated with music books and meet other singers in the section the guest was likely going to sing in. Jason Lee was busy all evening auditioning guests to help them determine the best voice part for them. There were also three first-time guests this week: Mason Meiners, Steven Minson, and John Fern. It was great to see Josh Frakes back on the risers after taking some time off for the new baby arrival in their home. Terry Reynolds directed the chapter welcome song.

When the ensembles met for their rehearsal time, Joe announced some temporary changes in Harmonizer section leaders duties with Ben Hawker filling in for Matt Ambler, and Michael Berkson filling in for Jared Liscinsky.

The Harmonizers continued to work on “Barber of Seville,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” and then started work on a fun holiday song, “Hanukkah in Santa Monica.” Michael Berkson helped clarify pronunciation for the Hanukkah terms for the song. (Old timers will note that it was arranged years ago by former Harmonizer director, John Hohl. Steve Whitereports that it was commissioned to be arranged many years ago, but music leaders never added it to the repertoire until now.) The rehearsal for the song was in sectionals led by Lance Fisher, Matt Ambler, Michael Berkson and Calvin Schnure.

Likewise, Metro Voices worked on “Auld Lang Syne,” “Christmas Time,” and “Happy Holidays.” Director Samantha Tramack and her team were busy helping the five guests they had feel comfortable and enjoy the singing. 

The two ensembles met together for a wrap up of the rehearsal.  After the 50/50 drawing,   led a robust sing of “Keep the Whole World Singing.” There was a moderate crowd at the HarmoHouse for afterglow including several of the guests. 

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 for the great things going on each week during the 78^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.