Looking Back on the July 21st, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Looking Back on the July 21^st, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Virtual chapter meetings continue and just over 60 folks attended.  Always fun to have guests from around the country and former members attend. 

Associate director Tony Colosimo hosted the start of this week’s gathering at 7 pm via Zoom Director Joe Cerutti was finishing up a directing class for Harmony U when we started (actually the bad rain storm that came thru the area gave him some trouble with wifi, but he was able to finish the class.)  Terry Reynolds and Tony have also taught classes for HU.

It was great to have some Harmonizer folks with us this week we haven’t seen for a while including Bill Colosimo, Dave Kohls, Liz Birnbaum, Mike Kelly, and Tessa Walker. Great to see Calvin Schnure on the call – with his hand/arm bandaged after being hit by a car on his bike.  He is in pretty good shape considering.

Tony spoke about next week’s special guest, Chad Bennett (currently a staffer at BHS and former performer with Disney Dapper Dans).

Future presenters include Steve Tramack and his family (an arranger of many Harmonizer songs and singing with other members of his family for us); Cindy Hansen (our successful performance coach during the last several years); and Charlotte Murray (director of Vocal DX chorus from New Zealand).

Tony also invited members to submit ideas for electives – even some you’d like to present. And the music team would invite anyone of us who are interested in creating videos of folks singing.  Let him know. 

We moved right into warm up time and went through some physical exercises (this week Tony had the guys do movements while creating a variety of emotions such as holding a new baby, or yelling out to an old friend), and then concentrated on vocal matters to warm up the voice for the nite. 

Next all the singers at home in their own spaces worked in sectionals with their section leaders  on parts of the ballad we are preparing for future contests. Then it was back together for the whole chorus to work on the uptune.

Terry shared a Harmonizer Trivia game and we could all cast our vote and he could show us what percentage of us got it right.  Like one question was “which of these men has not been chapter president.” The correct answer was Steve White.  Another question was which of these men are not in the BHS Hall of Fame – Dean Snyder, Wilbur Sparks, Bud Arberg, Darryl Flinn, and Scott Werner.  The answer was Scott.  It was fun and helped new guys tap into our chapter leadership history.

Unfortunately, we had to bid farewell to Adam Shepard this week – he and his wife are moving to the state of Washington and departing at the end of this week.  Joe said it best – “Adam left a mark on the chapter!” He had new-guy energy and ideas and was willing to share them with the chapter leaders and music team. We bid him farewell with our traditional singing of “There Will Always Be a Place on the Risers for You” – these days we sing it along with a recording.

There were 61 attendees this week. Terry Reynolds used the Zoom system to randomly divide all attendees on the call into a small group of five to share “what ideas do you have for the theme of a future Harmonizer show?”  Reports from the groups were recorded for the music team to consider when we do get to produce a show again. Here are some of the ideas suggested: western, comedy, patriotic, Cole Porter songs, Lift Every Voice and sing with Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Choir, and another American Icon Show.

The chapter’s business meeting was brief with no major announcements. We were reminded to promote supporting the Choruses for Care and Compassion campaign (the Harmonizers are one of the 31 choruses working to support the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB).

President Stan Quick reports that Rob Barnovsky’s dad is on the road to recovery. 

Secretary Chris Buechler encouraged guys to be sure to submit new addresses or contact info to him since this is the season for moving and changing locations.  Chris is willing to accept the info and pass it on to the BHS office for you.

To wrap up the evening, we welcomed Clay Hine, gold medal baritone of FRED, and prolific arranger including some songs for the Harmonizers. Clay lives in the Atlanta area but was reporting from Panama City Beach, FL. He also was excited to report the good news that his daughter, Melody, just accepted a contract as a middle school music teacher in our area and is moving soon.

Joe asked Clay how he got started in barbershop and how he developed such a passion for the art form.  Clay shared the story of his parents involvement and his finally getting to join his dad’s chorus when he was 14.  His dad was very active in the Detroit area. Both parents were in quartets.

To understand Clay’s passion, here is his message on the bottom of the TTBB arrangement of his song he has given to the world this spring.

May 10, 2020

It's the Music That Brings Us Together

Words, Music, and Arrangement by Clay Hine, copyright Clayton B. Hine, May 2020

For as long as I can remember (literally), music and barbershop have meant a lot to me. To my whole family, to choruses I’ve sung with and directed, to quartets I’ve had the privilege of singing with, to barbershoppers I’ve sung tags with and had the amazing opportunity to meet from all over the world, and to folks who love music who I hope to meet someday: this is for you...make as many copies as you want...and thanks for sharing music with friends.

 

But we also asked Clay about how comedy evolved into his barbershop world. Certainly singing with the guys in FRED had to progress to comedy.  Clay shared some times when things didn’t go “right” on a show, and the next best thing was to have fun. That approach yielded many laughs for the audiences of FRED over the years.  And Clay built a similar plan with the Big Chicken chorus he directed in the Atlanta area. Many Harmonizers recall the fun moments when that chorus took aim at us and other choruses during their contest sets!

It was particularly fun to hear stories about show appearances over the years when FRED was in the gold medal year and the pranks that happened to them and were caused by them.  We sent Clay off with our thanks for all he has done for the barbershop hobby.

As is the case each week, a bunch of guys stayed past the closing time of the Zoom meeting for an impromptu afterglow. Next week’s meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm.  Watch for email details.

 

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 during the 71^st year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the July 14th, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Looking Back on the July 14^th, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Again the chapter has suspended in-person meetings of the chorus, boards and committees until further notice as well as for any small group, quartet, or ensemble gatherings. Chapter leaders are discussing and considering how to move into the next phase of openings for groups – especially singing groups. The operations team has also started to budget planning for the next fiscal year trying to guess how it will unfold!

However, there was not a regular in-person meeting of the Alexandria Harmonizers on July 14^th   2020.  

Associate director Tony Colosimo hosted the gathering at 7 pm via Zoom video meeting this week to continue learning more about our chapter and our fellow members, learning about the barbershop hobby in general and meeting guests from around the Society. Plus we continue to work on our music.

It was great to have some Harmonizers with us this week we haven’t seen for a while including Paul Grimes, John Santora (recently reelected as BHS treasurer), and Keith Jones again from his home in FL. Membership chairman Jacob Broude welcomed our newest Harmonizer,  Yuhan Roh.

Tony spoke about next week’s special guest, Clay Hine from the Atlanta area. Clay earned a gold medal with FRED in 1999 and more recently sang in the International contest with CATEGORY FOUR (you could always count on good laughs with Clay’s quartets).  He has done several arrangements for the Harmonizers too.

Future presenters include Chad Bennett (currently a staffer at BHS and former performer with Disney Dapper Dans); Steve Tramack and his family (an arranger of many Harmonizer songs and singing with other members of his family for us); Cindy Hansen (our successful performance coach during the last several years); and Charlotte Murray (director of Vocal DX chorus from New Zealand).

Tony Colosimo moved right into warm up time and took the men through some physical exercises (this week he had the guys mimic riding a motorcycle with lip trills and handlebar movements!) and then concentrated on vocal matters to warm up the voice for the nite. 

Then all the singers at home in their own spaces worked on sections of the uptune and ballad we are preparing for future contests. Tony worked on specific rhythm hot spots in the ballad.

Director Joe Cerutti joined the call after having been a guest presenter for another chorus virtual meeting – in Europe.

Alan Wile conducted the sixth interview of Harmonizer Heroes – based on the forms submitted by members at the urging of Alan over the years (about 250 reports have been submitted and are on Groupanizer for all to see and so they can learn more about fellow Harmonizers).

This week’s interviewee was Noah Van Gilder – a 12-year barbershop singer.  Noah grew up in NYC Upper East Side. He attended one of the eight specialized high schools in the city  -Stuyvesant. That school has been serving youth there for over 100 years.

Noah was admitted to the school after passing mandatory standardized tests and it meant he had to travel 45 minutes or more on the NYC subway system to get there.  He figures he was riding the subway system by himself as early as age 13. He found the school atmosphere a motivator with strong student body achievements.

He especially enjoyed the time spent in Central Park growing up in the city. After high school Noah went to Cornell and majored in natural resources.  He likes birds and sometimes on our Zoom calls we get to see and/or hear the two Cockatiels – Max and Joey – who he has living at his home now.

His current work is in policy analysis at the Department of Interior after having spent some time at EPA working to promote clean water.

During his years as a chapter member, he has become a soloist for shows and events, has sung with the a cappella ensemble TBD, and has served on the board as marketing director. He sang in a campus group at Cornell called the “Class Notes,” and then when friends found out he liked to sing, it wasn’t long before they had encouraged him to find barbershop.  We are all glad Noah found the Harmonizers!

There were 54 attendees this week. Terry Reynolds used the Zoom system to randomly divide all attendees on the call into a small group of five to share “who is the one person you’d like to spend an hour with, one-on-one, and why?” There were a lot of men who wished they could speak with their dad, or grandparents and ask the questions they wished they had asked earlier. Others suggested Jesus, Abe Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jimmy Carter, Ed Waesche, and General Eisenhower – to name a few.

We did learn that Chuck Powell’s father died this week. Thoughts go out to Chuck and the family.

The chapter’s business meeting was brief with no major announcements. There were congratulations and thanks extended to Steve White for the excellent 2019 Chapter Annual Report. 

To wrap up the evening, we welcomed VINTAGE MIX from their home in Waukesha near Milwaukee, WI.  This quartet of college aged quadruplets – Kelsey, Anika, Ian  and Julia – has been making a name for themselves in the barbershop and a cappella world. Fortunately we have had them sing for us on a recent holiday show.

They started singing together in fourth grade, then in seventh and eighth grade they were singing even more. They graduated from high school and are all enrolled and working on associates degrees at a local school. They did share some of their challenges over the years as their voices were changing.

When they started singing together, they often did show songs. Lucky for them, the high school music programs in Wisconsin provided strong quartet contest experiences including some barbershop.  Also when a family friend in the Midwest Vocal Express introduced them to barbershop music, they locked onto our music right away.  They shared that they were totally caught up in our hobby after going to their first BHS International convention and contest is Pittsburgh, The quartet has been to the Mixed Barbershop contest in Germany and was expecting  to go this year too until Covid 19 came along.

Luckily we got to hear them sing some songs for us during the Zoom visit.  To thank them for sharing with us, the chapter pledged to sponsor the next arrangement they have made! And we look forward to having them do another show with us one day.

As is the case each week, a bunch of guys stayed past the closing time of the Zoom meeting for an impromptu afterglow. Next week’s meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm.  Watch for email details.

 

In other news – did you see that Terry Reynolds and Alan Lamson are on the faculty for the BHS Virtual Leadership Seminar.  There is a fee and the sessions will be offered July 14-25 from 2-3:50 pm Central.

 

And did you notice there were a number of Harmonizer and former Harmonizer names in the Friday, July 10^th, LiveWire?  The long piece about the Legacy Quartet Contest lists the 25 popular quartets from over the years that never won the gold medal. Here are the quartets that had Harmonizers in them: BSQ with Rick Taylor; CENTER STAGE with Lee Hanson; RIPTIDE with Rick Taylor and Richard Lewellen; and VAUDEVILLE with John Casey, Scott Werner, John Hohl and Bill Cody. Those members who register to attend/view the contest can vote to help pick a winner.

 

In that same issue there is news about the election of new members of the International Board for BHS. Our own John Santora has been nominated for reelection as treasurer.

 

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 during the 71^st year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the July 7^th, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Again the chapter has suspended in-person meetings of the chorus, boards and committees until further notice as well as for any small group, quartet, or ensemble gatherings. Chapter leaders are discussing and considering how to move into the next phase of openings for groups – especially singing groups. The operations team has also started to budget planning for the next fiscal year trying to guess how it will unfold!

However, there was not a regular in-person meeting of the Alexandria Harmonizers on July  7^th   2020.  

Director Joe Cerutti hosted the gathering at 7 pm via Zoom video meeting this week to continue learning more about our chapter and our fellow members, learning about the barbershop hobby in general and meeting guests from around the Society. Plus we continue to work on our music.

Joe shared that our chapter leaders had published/posted the Alexandria Harmonizers’ inclusivity statement and shared it with the BHS, all of our members, patrons and supporters and friends.  He reports that one patron shared it with US Senator Tim Kaine who represents Virginia. 

It was great to have some Harmonizers with us this week we haven’t seen for a while including Rick Wagner from HI, Alex Crounk back on the call, Mike Fasano from his home in DE, Bob Thames from his home in FL, Keith Jones from his home in FL, and Gene Swartz from the Virginia Gentlemen Chorus in Roanoke. There were two other guests on the call this week – both having moved to the Alexandria area recently:  Yuhan Roh for his third or fourth visit and Justin F for his first visit with us (he is moving to the area and sang with the Independence OH Chapter).

Joe reviewed the future guests that will be on our Zoom meetings in the weeks ahead.  VINTAGE MIX quartet from Wisconsin (quadruplets that sang on our holiday show a few years ago) will be with us next week. The future list includes Clay Hine (one of our arrangers and the baritone of  the popular comedy quartet FRED); Chad Bennett (currently a staffer at BHS and former performer with Disney Dapper Dans); Steve Tramack and his family (an arranger of many Harmonizer songs and singing with other members of his family for us); Cindy Hansen (our successful performance coach during the last several years); and Charlotte Murray (director of Vocal DX chorus from New Zealand).

For the first time on a Zoom call, the chapter bid farewell to a chapter member who is departing the area.  Shawn Tallant and his family are moving to Tennessee soon.  There were many accolades mentioned by Joe as we bid farewell to our recent past president and positive leader for the chapter.  As is our tradition, we sang “A Place on the Risers for You” while a chorus recording of it was played. Joe wished Shawn the best of luck from us all and urged him to keep singing.

Associate director Tony Colosimo was leader of our warm up time and took the men through some physical exercises (encouraging guys to revisit the exercises taught by Quincie Snook a couple weeks ago on our Zoom meeting) and then concentrated on vocal matters to warm up the voice for the nite.  He ended the exercise with the two long-time traditional warm up pieces – “we sing late at times-canned goods” and “you could go all night-morning.”

Then all the singers at home in their own spaces worked on sections of the uptune and ballad we are preparing for future contests. Tony sang and Joe coached him so the members could see what Joe wanted.

At one point Joe asked every singer to get out his cell phone and record himself and then hit send to give it to the section leader or an assigned listener. This will be a regular activity for the chorus singers in order to build up the chorus custom of self-recording and to encourage the use of technology to help individual singers improve.  It is not a process for passing or elimination.

There were over 60 attendees again this week!! Terry Reynolds used the Zoom system to randomly divide all attendees on the call into a small group of five to share “what’s your ‘light-bulb’ moment as a Harmonizer? ” There were 12 groups to report and everyone of them had at least one guy who said something about how the coaching by Steve Scott in recent years was his moment of change. Other moments included singing the “San Francisco song for “I Am Harvey Milk,” discovering you don’t have to sing every note in the chorus songs, the moments when we turned out “down the tiles” to the audience to welcome them in, feeling the fear and doing it anyway, and realizing singing in a quartet makes you a better chorus guy and singing in the chorus makes you a better quartet guy.

The chapter’s business meeting was brief with no major announcements. Steve Murane shared a warm message of appreciation from Sandy and Mick Stamps to the Harmonizer family for the many messages, letters, cards, meals, serenades and prayers during their challenging time of late.

President Stan Quick urged members to take action to support or to ask others to support Choruses for Care and Compassion.  The Harmonizers have joined with 30 other choral groups in the DC area to raise monies for the Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB).  The goal is to raise $100,000 by Labor Day so the CAFB can provide assistance to those in our community that have been impacted by recent economic changes. It fits well with our mission “enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.” Matt Doniger is our cheerleader for this project.

Joe also thanked Dean Rust for his work in applying to get the Harmonizers on the roster of touring Virginia artists.  His work stimulated an endorsement by the artistic director of Strathmore.

To wrap up the evening, we welcomed Tony DeRosa, director of the Heralds of Harmony in FL; four-time gold medal quartet singer  - KEEPSAKE baritone in1992, PLATINUM baritone in 2000, MAXQ lead in 2007, and MAIN STREET lead in 2017; popular coach for us and other ensembles in BHS and SAI; and musical director at Disney World for Dapper Dans and Voice of Liberty. He and his wife Jodi are both singers and met as part of Voices of Liberty.

He started at the age of seven with his Dad Joe in Rochester NY. His Mom was active in Harmony Inc. Tony says he liked the chords and sound right from the start. He says he is “thankful for a decent set of pipes and a good ear” that has made his hobby great and his professional work a success.

Joe interviewed Tony and asked questions the members had submitted. Tony told us a lot about the Heralds work during the covid 19 crisis – like us busy with Zoom meetings. One big project their chapter did was ‘Judging in June.’ They had guest speakers for each of the BHS judging categories, they asked some BHS judges to listen to some performances during a Zoom meeting and score them and explain their scores. Then to wrap up in the final week of June, the members of their chorus judged some  clips and compared scores.

To wrap up his visit with us, Tony congratulated the chapter and saluted our efforts to “keep things going” for our chapter and our organization.  He is a loyal fan of the Harmonizers.

As is the case each week, a bunch of guys stay past the closing time of the Zoom meeting for an impromptu afterglow. Next week’s meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm.  Watch for email details.

 

Here are two other info items about our hobby and chapter.

First – here is the link to the video Joe and Darryl Flinn mentioned last Tuesday that gives a tour of the Harmony Hall mansion in Kenosha, filmed in the mid 90s.   For old timers, it’s also cool to see so many great society leaders as they looked in the mid 90s, Joe Liles, Mel Night, Ev Nau, Keepsake, Gas House Gang, and many more.  Enjoy.

A Walk Through Harmony Hall 

Second – the chapter’s history team (actually Martin Banks) has posted a list of all the men in the chapter who have earned gold medals as a Harmonizer.  It is posted in Groupanizer/Harmonizer Heritage/Harmonizer Chorus Competitions titled Gold Medal Men By the Numbers,

 

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 during the 71^st year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd