Looking Back on the July 14, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the July 14, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

There was a full-house for this week-after-International meeting with both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices together much of the evening to celebrate and make more great music! Dean Rust was sporting a “We Are Proud of You” balloon tied to his name tag, and Samantha Tramack was sporting a blue ribbon with a shiny gold medal around her neck.  When she arrived, the hall burst into cheers.

Jason Lee, assistant director of the Harmonizers, led a good warm up session for the singers in chairs in the board room at AlexRenew. 

Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, welcomed everyone back after such a wonderful experience in St. Louis. Then he shared news from the recent AACC music team meeting that the fall show will be cancelled.  Finding a venue is one reason. The plan is to find a more informal venue or setting for something in the fall.

He confirmed that next week the July 21 AACC meeting will be at Fairlington Presbyterian Church and then July 28 will be back at AlexRenew.

Joe alerted members that they need to sign up for appearances ASAP on Groupanizer – especially the Aug. 20 show at Nottaway Park, and then the Thursday, Feb. 4, appearance at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) Midwinter convention in Virginia Beach.  The music team needs to know who will be doing those shows before officially committing to the appearances. Members should stay tuned about possible bus transportation to Virginia Beach. 

Then it was time to sing!  Joe had the AACC chorus sing through “Parting Glass” three or four times. And then the two ensembles went to separate rehearsal spaces to work on songs for the upcoming shows.  The Harmonizers worked on “The Barber of Seville” and Joe used sectional duets to rehearse the music and then invited guys to volunteer to sing it in an octet. Metro Voices worked on some of their show music too.

Joe presented 2026 gold medals to Randy Lazear, Joel Golden and Antony Takahashi who had to leave St. Louis before the ceremony there. It was great to see Chuck Powell back on the risers with the Harmonizers. Mark Klostermeyer presented a framed replica of a poster promoting the original Comedian Harmonists to Joe for his collection. 

President Craig Kujawa reported some extra thank yous for International: for Ken Rub and Patrick Horne who drove the Harmo truck there and back; to Maggie McAlexander who created the Jumbotron ads for the chapter; and to the 30 members of AACC who bought gift cards to pay for hotel costs and earned nearly $3500 for the chapter. Joe paid tribute to Craig who served as convention/contest coordinator on top of being president. 

Jacob Broude welcomed a long list of guests and alerted members that there will be a guest night on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The goal is for each member to bring a singing guest. This week’s guests included Jonathon Meyers, Patrick Lawson, Elizabeth Halford, Ruth Catlett, Andy Budzinski, Matthew Dacanay, Serena Davis and David Strasser, plus the CHEF’S KISS quartet from Montgomery County – Mark Magpantay, Isaac Teheren, Danny Ameduite and Ivan Diehl - that sang a couple songs for the chapter.

There was a break about 8:30 pm and everyone enjoyed the various treats and lemonade some members brought in to share to celebrate the chapter’s success at International.

Following the break, Terry Reynolds did his traditional statistical review of the scores and history markers for the chapter and its ensembles (there were some new things to report with a second ensemble these days).  There were laughs when he referred to all the “Geeks” who like this sort of thing!  Just a few notes from his presentation: the performance score for the Harmonizers was a record. Samantha is the only gold medal quartet winner in Harmonizer or Metro Voices history. Steve White is the only Harmonizer to have sung in every one of their International contest appearances. Finally, the Harmonizers are tied with Cincinnati for the most medals ever. When he was done, the gang cheered “Terry!, Terry!, Terry!” 

As is the tradition, Joe invited any first timers who sang on the stage in either ensemble to share their thoughts and reactions and perspectives. There were about ten who raised their hand to share very personal thoughts. The common themes included the joy to be included and welcomed so warmly; the pride of the quality and work ethic; a discovery of the administrative and musical leadership that makes the chapter run at such a high level; understanding the ranking of the chapter in the BHS community; and developing an appreciation for what barbershop harmony can be!

Joe ended the comments with his thanks to all and his challenges to keep the ball-in-the-air. One challenge is the need to find ways to fund the chapter operation with grants and fundraising. Certainly there is a need to continue to grow the size of each ensemble. And finally, the unwritten magic is the volunteer leadership service members will need to contribute to the operation of a great barbershop chapter.

Before this week’s 50/50 drawing led by Alan Wile, Joe thanked Kathy Kauffmann for the mementos she created for each ensemble and presented to each member before taking the stage at the contest. 

Joe added to things in his part of the room, challenging YeEd to make a note of every detail for this report.  Samantha Tramack directed “Keep the Whole World Singing,” 

Before leaving the hall, members took advantage of the service from Tyler Carpenter to have their medal engraved or to have a replacement name tag created. A big crowd made it to the afterglow at the Harmo House for pizza and lots of story-telling from St. Louis. 

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 June 30-July 4, 2026 Alexandria Chapter Successes at the BHS International Convention in St. Louis, MO

 Looking Back on the June 30-July 4, 2026 Alexandria Chapter Successes at the BHS International Convention in St. Louis, MO 

The Alexandria A Cappella Collective (AACC) had a fantastic week at the 2026 Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) International Contest and Convention in St. Louis, MO. Many members of the chapter “family” traveled on Monday, June 29, in order to be there for the major contests and events that kicked off on Tuesday. Headquarters hotel was the Marriott St. Louis Grand and it was across the street from the contest venue, The Dome of America.

Several “big news” things happened at the convention for AACC members!!! Here is a report of the list of “wins” for AACC.

Top of the list celebrates that GQ quartet, with Amanda Sandroni, Katie Gillis, Ali Hauger, and Samantha Tramack,earned the gold medal in this year’s quartet contest – the first time for women to earn a gold medal.  Their total score after three rounds of competition was 6,723 (93.4 %). GQ pulled far ahead in the top ten finals round Saturday night which included their amazing performance of “Mothers and Daughters” which earned a perfect score of 100 from performance category judges. 

Next on the list is the success of FIRST TAKE with Alex Corson, Tony Colosimo, Drew Wheaton and Andrew Havens, who captured fourth place in the quartet contest. Their total score was 6,552 (91.0%). Their comedic coffee cup routine was an audience hit!

There were 52 quartets that started in the quarterfinals round of the contest, and 38 choruses in the chorus finals. 

Second place quartet was GIMME FOUR from Mid Atlantic District (M-AD) that has helped with Harmonizer youth camp over the years. There were two other M-AD quartets at the top ten – seventh was SECRET BEST FRIENDS (bass Will Daniel Simmons sang in the front row of the Harmonizer chorus before college), and mic tester at eleventh was SMOKE RING who sang at the chapter’s fundraising gala in 2025. 

Next on the list is news that the Harmonizer chorus earned fourth place in the chorus contest with their emotional story of the Comedian Harmonists. The total score for the Harmonizers was 2,199 (91.6%) with 70 singers on the risers. The chorus wore all black – suits, coats, slacks, shoes – their own choices.  The six Harmonists wore white tie and black tails. The package included “Harmony” and “Stars in the Night” – both from the musical “Harmony – A New Musical ” that was on Broadway. It was at one of those Broadway performances that the Harmonizer musical team discovered the story and songs about the Comedian Harmonists and determined it was a message they needed to share with the larger Barbershop Harmony Society of close-harmony singers. Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, led the development of the package, working for over two years, with arranger Steve Armstrong. 

Some long-standing Harmonizer traditions were continued this year with the riser placement ceremony (combined with Metro Voices this time) early on Friday morning.  Singers were invited to take the risers as their initiation class year was announced including the Class of 2026. (Bandanas were no longer required!) 

Then there was the medal presentation to each Harmonizer by Joe immediately after the chorus contest results were announced. Each man got one “clap” when his name was announced and he got a hug from Joe. There was spontaneous applause, though, when each of the Harmonists and other major characters were called. 

Another behind-the-scenes activity was for the AACC choruses to go sing their set for another chapter in the contest.  The Harmonizers sang a “swap” with Bloomington Sound of Illinois chorus. Metro Voices sang a “swap” with Space City Sound from Houston Metro Area, and with VocaMotion from the Greater Boston area. 

Both AACC choruses received a gift from the 2025 chorus champs, Vocal Majority. And as is becoming the custom for AACC ensembles, they both were there for each other as they headed for the ready room and stage.

The men who brought the Comedian Harmonists to life in the Harmonizer package were Matthew Ambler, Matthew Darouse, Chad Ross, Robert Santine, Robert Stark, and Ben Watsky. The extra rehearsals, the added choreography, the deep dives into the history of the men they were portraying, all paid off. Michael Berkson and Randall Eliasonwere the understudies for all the actors in the package and are credited for their extra work, knowing they might never perform it. 

 

Stuart Zagnit, a Broadway professional who joined the chapter to help with the package, played the “Older Roman,” a role he understudied on Broadway.

 

Patrick Horne, who has a theater background, volunteered to play the role of the German officer after the chapter spent months searching for a non-barbershopper to do it. Patrick willingly stepped into the role.

 

The creative team including Steven Armstrong, Darin Drown, David McEachern, Steve Tramack and Cy Wood, partnered with Joe for two full years on this huge project. Their expertise, their honesty, and their willingness to wrestle with hard questions, pushed the Harmonizers to be better at every turn. 

 

The Harmonizer internal music team including Matthew Ambler, Turner Arndt, Anthony Colosimo, Lance Fisher, Jason Lee, Jared Liscinsky, Terry Reynolds, and Calvin Schnure carried the daily/weekly weight of preparing a chorus for something that had never been done before.

 

Norbert Hammes from Barbershop in Germany, (BinG), was willing to fact-check every historical reference to the Comedian Harmonists. Greg Tepe learned the performance inside and out so he could call cameras and capture it properly. Dennis Ritchey stepped up to build the stage piano used in the package.

 

A special social media campaign, daily, for weeks on end was conducted by Alex Chen, Randall Eliason, Mike Kelly, and Robert Santine. There is remarkably little information about the Comedian Harmonists available in the world, especially in English. The information the team shared on behalf of the Harmonizers now lives in perpetuity, for anyone who goes looking today or twenty years from now.

 

Next on the list of AACC success stories at convention has to be the 19^th place finish by Metro Voices chorus directed by Samantha Tramack, and assistant director, Maggie McAlexander.  Their total score was 1,970 (82.1%).  They sang “Yes I Can” arranged by Steve Tramack, and “Me and the Sky” from “Come from Away” and arranged by Maggie McAlexander. This was their first competition at International.  There were 29 singers on the risers. They wore assorted black and teal semi-formal outfits to represent airline uniforms, with some accent pieces of bling like pilot pins.  An airline pilot’s coat and hat were handed to Samantha for the end of their package. 

The music team for Metro Voices supported the ensemble’s preparation for the contest. That team includes Tessa Walker, administrator, plus section leaders Elisabeth Cosh, Hannah Drobac, Sheryl Berlin and Christine Pan. 

Here are some other high-on-the-list successes for AACC at convention: SUPERNOVA quartet with Maggie McAlexander and Tessa Walker plus Amanda Pitts and Serena Davis captured 34^th place in the quartet contest. Former member Ryan Killeen was in TRIBUTE quartet that placed 16^th. Family member Heather Havens sang in TALL GIRLS QUARTET (the quartet competed after winning the Sing-In contest earlier in the week in St. Louis) that placed 25^th. Julian LeFlore and the QUIN-TONES placed 6^th in the Next Gen Varsity quartet contest, and Muamen Alshealdh sang in BOYSEN BLUE quartet that placed 9^th in that contest. 

The 2026 gold medal chorus winner was the Ambassadors of Harmony with 129 singers that earned a score of 2,307 (96.1%). There were two other Mid Atlantic District (M-AD) Choruses besides the AACC ensembles - Parkside Harmony and Gotham Chorus that finished fifth and seventh respectively. Family member Erin Odell directed the Visons of Harmony treble chorus from St. Charles, MO. 

 

Joe Cerutti made a guest appearance in the Bloomington, IL, chorus package as the Christmas elf including landing on the floor for the finale. He was also busy all week as a BHS staff member launching the new philanthropy campaign, Ring True. He also was co-host for the Saturday evening Live Stream event. Rick Taylor was busy all week as a staff member too, Thanks to Robert Rund and all of the BHS staff for a really successful convention. 

 

Two major awards presented during the convention went to AACC friends. Cindy Hansen Ellis was a Class of 2026 addition to the BHS Hall of Fame in recognition for her work as coach and mentor for quartets and choruses. Darin Drown was a Class of 2026 Joe Liles Award recipient. The BHS also named Scott Joplin an Honorary Life Member of the Barbershop Harmony Society posthumously.

More on the list include shout outs to Terry Reynolds who was an emcee/presenter for the third chorus contest session, and to Kevin Keller, a chapter coach and friend who was presenter for the semi-finals quartet round. Brad Jones was a finalist interviewee for a slot on the BHS board. Ben Raja sang with the Nashville chorus. Sean Devine is a director of the Parkside chorus.  And who can forget the stage curtains falling down during a break in the semifinals quartet session? And salutes to whoever prepared the AACC advertisement that was on the Jumbotron in the contest venue. One more shout out – to the AACC social committee Becca, Matt and Kellen who organized visits to the axe throwing place, the walk to the arch, and some eating adventures during the time in St. Louis.

Several members and friends of the AACC family were judges during the convention:  Steve Tramack is chair of the overall judging committee. Panel members for the chorus and quartet contest included Cy Wood. Steve Armstrong and Jay Butterfield. 

 

Finally, three Harmonizers were recognized as new 50-year members  - Bill Colosimo and David Welter -  at a BHS breakfast event during the convention.

The Monday afternoon BHS board meeting had several Harmonizers present:  John Santora is the immediate past president. Friend Kevin Keller is current BHS president.  Terry Reynolds is chair of the Leadership Development Committee and conducted the board elections.   Bill Colosimo was the official representative for Harmony Foundation International. Alan Lamson attended as a past BHS president.  Chris Buechler and Dixie Kennett were observers.

On Thursday morning there were meetings for the BHS judging program. Chris Buechler and Alan Lamson attended.  Several AACC members are in the judging program: Terry Reynolds, Maggie McAlexander and Tyler Carpenterare all candidates invited to Category School later this month.  

Mike Fasano, M-AD executive vice president, was busy during the convention to visit all district competitors and present them an honorarium of support from the district as a thank you for representing M-AD.

 

All during the week YeEd and reporters (Dixie Kennett, Ken Rub and Steve White in particular) spotted current and former members of the  AACC family at the convention (it is likely we missed someone – but it is still amazing how many members of the AACC family attended): Rich Peyton, Craig Odell, Bill Conway, Tim Cash, Keith Jones, Lynn Hineman, Lew Klinge, Torbjorn Molander from SNOBS, Ken Ives, Bob Rhome, David Wilt, Tom Gannon, Mike Louque, Jim Shoenhard, Donnell Torres, Jim Lake, Chuck Botts, Glenn Williamson, John Rettenmayerand Dan Cook.

 

The AACC crowd kept track of things and each other all week via Slack.  There were lots of volunteers to manage riser set up (and at least one time to relocate them). Ken Rub and Patrick Horne drove the Harmo truck with risers and sound equipment and other supplies, including the prop piano. 

 

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.