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

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

AACC singers ignored the cold weather again  this week to be at the chapter meeting – this week at Fairlington Presbyterian Church. Assistant director of Metro Voices, Maggie McAlexander, led the warm ups for the combined chorus of AACC. 

After a fun round about a “little alligator,” associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo,  led a solid work session on “We Will Be One,” including some time for sectionals on the song.

AACC admin leader, Terry Reynolds, led the business session for the chapter. He reported on representatives from our chapter who were in the limelight at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) Midwinter convention in Pasadena. He recognized the accomplishment of INSTAGRAMP quartet who came in 8^th in the Senior Quartet Contest. He recognized Joe as having made the kickoff address for the convention (we should be able to hear it before too long from BHS). Samantha Tramack substituted for a singer in RADIANT on the Friday night show.  Tony Colosimo and Andrew Havens and FIRST TAKE knocked it out of the park for their show spot on the Saturday night show at Midwinter. 

Two major events on the AACC calendar coming up soon are the Wilbur Sparks Memorial Put Together Quartet Contest on Feb 3; and the first official guest night of 2026 will be held on Feb. 10. Also, members should stay tuned for more details about chapter quartets making appearances during the Valentine season at public locations and senior or health care facilities.  This project is coordinated by Frank Fedarko and Dean Rust. There were sign-up sheets for anyone who is looking for singers to be in a quartet for the contest; and a sign up for singers who could make daytime appearances for the Valentines season.

Membership director, Jacob Broude reminded members to get their photo posted on Groupanizer and on Slack.  Then he welcomed the six guests this week: four retuning guests were Ben Raja, Morgan Fabber, Laura Rutledge andJosh Frakes; and the two first time guests were Matt Goldstein and Bryan Reed. It was great to see Ryan Mextorfback this week too. Maggie directed the chapter welcome song.

Then the ensembles worked separately on their new music for the rest of the night. Before wrapping up for the night, all singers gathered together for reminders about events on the calendar,  Terry also suggested member make an effort to learn “Place on the Risers” song that is now available.

“Keep the Whole World Singing” was the wrap up song. There was not an afterglow again this week.

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 77^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 Jan. 13, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

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

AACC singers ignored the cold weather to be at AlexRenew for the chapter meeting to kick off work on new music for 2026.  Assistant director of the Harmonizers, Jason Lee, led the warm ups for the combined chorus of AACC.

Then the ensembles worked on their music – each taking a turn at using breakout rooms for sections. It was clear the music teams had done their homework based on messages sent to members prior to Tuesday so singers could  be preparedl; and as noted when directors had members use their pencils to mark their music with breaths and other interpretation notes. Several music team members helped with sectionals.

After a significant slot of time, the ensembles met to together for business coordinated by AACC admin leader, Terry Reynolds. He emphasized that next week’s meeting, Jan. 20, will be at Fairlington Presbyterian Church, 3846 King Street. Early arrivals into the meeting space is set for 7 pm - not extra early. The meetings on Jan. 27, Feb. 3 and Feb. 10 will be at AlexRenew.

Also note these changes in the 2026 chapter calendar of events – the traditional Put Together Quartet contest will be Feb. 3 at AlexRenew. Any AACC singer who wishes to compete in a quartet for that contest and needs help finding other singers, contact Terry. If there are questions about how the contest works, ask Terry.  For example, quartets can be mixed genders, guests can sing in the contest, quartets can sing a whole song or just a tag, costumes and comedy have always been a popular part of the event and in fact, we usually have awards for the best comedy group.

The first special guest night event for 2026 will be Feb. 10 at AlexRenew.  AACC members are encouraged to invite prospective singers that night as the program will be designed to provide information about the chapter and how to join. Invite them soon in order to give them time to change their schedules to attend.

AACC president, Craig Kujawa, reminded members of the important deadline on Jan. 15 – it is the last day to order tickets/registrations at the early-bird price for the 2026 Barbershop Harmony Society International Contest and Convention (BHS) in St. Louis, MO, in July. It is also the last day for members of competing ensembles to get an early bird housing reservation in designated hotels at competitor rates. For your planning, the Harmonizers will have their first rehearsal in St. Louis on Tuesday evening, June 30. 

The AACC chapter will also be represented at the BHS Midwinter convention in Pasadena, CA, scheduled for Jan. 13-18.  Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, was already there as a BHS staffer. Samantha Tramack will be filling in with RADIANT quartet (from the Sunshine District of BHS) for their appearance on Fri. Jan 16. The quartet was 2025 Next Generation Varsity champ.

 Tony Colosimo and Andrew Havens will appear with FIRST TAKE on the Sat. night show in Pasadena. 

Three members of AACC will sing in the BHS Senior Quartet contest at the Midwinter – INSTAGRAMPS with Rob Seay, Rick Taylor, Jay Butterfield, and Steve White.  Their quartet will be representing the Mid-Atlantic District and district treasurer, Dave Welter, presented them monetary support from the district during this week’s AACC meeting. 

Chapter membership director, Jacob Broude, reminded everyone to be certain their mug shot photo was on Groupanizer and Slack.  He presented a new member pin to Logan Glauser.  And he welcomed guests Ben Raja, Morgan Tabber and Laura Rutledge.  Maggie McAlexander directed the chapter welcome song.  Long-time member, Bill Colosimo, was welcomed this week too. 

After the business session, the AACC chorus worked on “We Will Be One.” There were sectionals with some members reassigned to different parts for combined AACC songs. Samantha was director for the AACC chorus. Tony paid tribute to Zak Sander who wrote the song and to Lance Fisher who created the arrangement.

After the 50/50 drawing, Bill Colosimo directed “Keep the Whole World Singing.” There was not an afterglow this week at the Harmo House since Joe was out of town.

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 77^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 Jan 6, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Jan 6, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

The board room at AlexRenew was crowded and full of AACC members present for the kick off business session of the chapter on Jan. 6, 2026. Members of both Metro Voices and the Harmonizers attended. 

Highlights of the night and a complete set of the slides used for the presentations were emailed to all members. 

After enough chairs were gathered to fit everyone into the room, artistic director of AACC, Joe Cerutti, bid Happy New Year to all, and welcomed members and guests to the start of another fun-filled exciting chapter year. 

He welcomed TJ Donahue from Denver (stranded in DC after two flight cancellations for his trip to Amsterdam), and to Gary Cregan, who was back after several months of missing chapter with family issues he needed to help with. TJ actually was then present to receive his 14-year membership renewal card!  And Gary was presented with his past due Meritorious Service Award from chapter president, Craig Kujawa, for Gary’s work in the previous year. 

Joe invited shout outs from the members of good news to report: leading off with the exciting news that Sophie Clarke and Lance Fisher were recently engaged; other news bits included reports of pending family additions and grand-children on the way, retirements including Terry Reynolds!, new job start, new home purchase, and Ashley Merryman submitting her new book outline to the publisher.  What a year already.

Next, Joe did a year-in-review for 2025 with the addition of congrats to chapter quartet, 

INSTAGRAMPS, who won the district Senior quartet contest and are headed to the BHS MidWinter contest in Pasadena, CA, Jan. 13-18, to represent the M-AD and our chapter.  Quartet includes Rob Seay, Rick Taylor, Jay Butterfield and Steve White.  

The next review was a financial look at the chapter – some major changes to be implemented for 2026 to turn around a negative year-end figure, plus a change in philosophy about raising income: from members, from patrons, from business or outside supporters including grants. Basically, members are encouraged to support the chapter at least once per year at a level they can manage (and at least close to what they might have paid in dues). Some early efforts in fiscal year 2026 have been successful including a Major Donor Pledge effort from long-time chapter members.

Also, the chapter will be working to create endowments for funding the organization in the long term, and to align our efforts with those of other arts organizations.

In taking a look at the music team leadership for the chapter, there are mostly the same members.  Christine Pan is the new bass section leader for Metro Voices. Tessa Walker is admin for that ensemble. Sheryl Berlin is admin for the Capital Force youth ensemble.  There are two in-house AACC arrangers – Maggie McAlexander and Lance Fisher. Terry Reynolds is admin for the Harmonizers and will take on directorship of the senior, daytime, all-gender ensemble in the spring of 2026. A venue for their meetings is still needed.

Like the music team, the AACC board of directors, which works to manage strategy and high level policy for the chapter, remains the same with one vacancy to be filled in the coming weeks. Already announced 2026 priorities include refining philanthropic strategy, increase community awareness, implement operations team transition, improve fiscal sustainability, and ingrain nonprofit arts organization processes and ethos. 

Joe and Chuck Miller from Metro Voices spoke about the operations structure – facing change for 2026.  The AACC has grown significantly since the pandemic; has expanded more programs and events and experiences than our current structure can reliably support; relied heavily on a few “hero” leaders which lead to a challenge to find members to commit to major roles; and finally, confirmed the need to implement better management of a hired staff as general manager.

In summary, this change is not about replacing anyone.  It’s about replacing an outdated system with something that helps us thrive long-term. Said another way, there will be some challenges and stress during the months ahead of change. 

No doubt there will be more explanation about the switch over to triad team leadership – moving away from the ops team system of recent years. Those triad teams will be for finance, culture, membership, community, improvement, and communications. Triad teams are responsible for execution – strategy is still the responsibility of the board. Each of the three members of the triad team will have different responsibilities: one will head day-to-day operations; one will lead planning and pipeline development; and one will lead liaison with other triads.

Another announcement about this whole change is that the chapter has purchased project management software – Monday.com.

The hiring process for the executive director position will begin ASAP.

At this point in the chapter meeting, there was a break and then associate Harmonizer director, Tony Colosimo, taught the fun tag, “Run to the City of Refuge.” Business matters were addressed next starting with membership.  Jacob Broude asked everyone to be sure their photo is on Groupanizer and Slack so other members can learn who they are. He welcomed Ben Raja, Logan Glauser, Owen Lyons and Laura Rutledge  Assistant director of the Harmonizers, Jason Lee, led the chapter welcome song. 

Cy Shuster presented a large batch of membership renewals for chapter members. The ones with the asterisk were not present – among those asterisked, there are many long time members who believe in the chapter and continue to pay dues every year – even though they cannot attend or sing. Thanks to them. (And thanks to Cy for preparing the list for YeEd to share!)

Mireille Kouagou 2 *; Catherine LaValley 2; Marsha Ansel 3; Ryan Mextorf 6 *; Adam Shepard 8 *; EJ Herold 10; Turner Arndt 12; TJ Donahue 14; Cy Shuster 14; Jim Kirkland 16 *; Ernie Doyle 23 *; Bob Rhome 24 *; David Reyno 26 *; Tim Cash 27 *; Scott Kahler 27 *; Tom Berkey 28; Lou Manfre 32 *; Jeff Taylor 33 *; Don Thompson 33; Mike 

Geipel 34 *; Bill DePuy 34 *; Jim Lucey 35 *; Matt Kahn 36 *; Sam McFarland 38 *; Ken Ives 40 *; Paul 

Grimes 42 *; Terry Reynolds 42; Rick Wagner 44 *; Joe Wagovich 44 *; Dave Ermlick 45 *; Mike Kelly 45 *; Mark Klostermeyer 45 ; Don Harrington 46; Larry Walker 46 *; Bob Bates 47 *; Andy Smith 48 *; Steve White 49; Eddie Allen 50 *; Randy Lazear 51; Chuck Hunter 53 *; Rick Taylor 57; Bob Bowman 71 *.

 

Joe confirmed plans for the launch of the 10^th annual member interview process to be done in late January thru early March, 2026. The process includes each member responding to a survey form before their interview, then a one-on-one interview with a section leader or director. Joe and Samantha will each be part of interviews for all new members.  Most interviews will be at Harmo House and are designed for the member to offer his or her suggestions, input, ask questions, and get to know chapter musical leaders better. There is not singing as part of the interview.

 

The 2026 calendar of events was reviewed and all readers should make certain to post those dates and events in their personal calendars!

 

Joe and Samantha spoke about the repertoire plans for each ensemble for 2026 – designed to provide songs so that the chapter can adequately recognize the 250^th anniversary of the Nation. One of the songs for the AACC combined chorus includes a piece written by member Zak Sandler and arranged by member Lance Fisher – “We Will Be One.”

The big surprise for the night was announcement of a chapter trip to Japan in 2027!  The Japanese Barbershop organization invited the chapter to appear at their convention in Yokohama in August 2027.  The chapter will also appear at concerts in Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. Brad Jones will be chapter coordinator for the trip as he has done for recent international trips for the chapter. Costs are reasonable and members were a buzz about going.

Leah Musico lead off a thank you applause to Joe, Terry, and Chuck for their thorough and exciting report to the chapter!

There was a big crowd of members and guests at an afterglow at the Harmo House – lots of pizza and goodies. 

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 77^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 Dec. 16, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Sing in Old Town

 Looking Back on the Dec. 16, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Sing in Old Town

AACC members braved the cold temps for the annual holiday sing in Old Town Alexandria this week. Singers gathered at Market Square inside City Hall to warm up at 7 pm before departing to stroll along King Street toward the Potomac. 

This event has a long tradition for the chapter and includes stopping to go inside restaurants along the popular Street.  Mark Klostermeyer had visited the establishments prior to the meeting to confirm permission to come inside and sing for the patrons in about ten restaurants to include Virtue Feed & Grain, Union Street, and Fish Market.

At the Torpedo Factory, the two ensembles did a mini show on the riser-like stairs there.  Metro Voices sang their “Happy Holidays Medley” and the Harmonizers sang “Here Comes Santa Claus.” They combined to sing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as they departed each business.

Everyone dressed for the cold and the chapter brought out the supply of Santa hats for folks to wear.

Maggie McAlexander led warm up exercises for the AACC chorus; then they did a run-through of the songs for the evening. Jason Lee directed the Harmonizers, Maggie directed Metro Voices and Samantha Tramack directed the AACC chorus for the evening.

Assistant director of Capital Force ensemble, Julian LaFlore, and several of the members, joined the other AACC singers for the carols in Old Town. 

Looking ahead: There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be the traditional kickoff session for the 2026 year and will be held at AlexRenew. The chapter’s next Put Together Quartet Contest will be postponed until Jan. 13 at AlexRenew. 

President Craig Kujawa recently sent a message on Slack about housing at the International convention in St. Louis this summer.  All members need to carefully study his recent message on getting room reservations (it is wise to try to get into the headquarters hotel as it is where the chapter ensembles will rehears, and is close to the contest venue).   

Craig also recently released a letter to all members inviting them to consider a suggested annual donation of $150 (or an amount more or less as their choice) in lieu of dues. The chapter no longer assesses members annual chapter dues; instead the chapter now relies on voluntary contributions from those who are able to help sustain our shared mission. 

Nearly all of the singers made the walk to Chadwick’s for the last stop to sing and to enjoy the chance to get warm and relax in an afterglow atmosphere.

Until next time – editorjack! And Season’s Greetings to all.   

(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 77^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 Dec. 12 and 13, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Holiday Show

 Looking Back on the Dec. 12 and 13, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Holiday Show

The show was terrific! Both nights were equally good. The Metro Voices and the Harmonizers ensembles each sang a set of songs alone and then there were songs that all AACC singers did to open and close the shows. They all wore classic black outfits with red and green accents. 

There was awesome singing, full houses, fun audience participation, and a cooperative audience to find parking around the Fairlington Presbyterian Church.  The Friday night show started at 8 pm which allowed for singers and audience to get there after work – traffic was a bear on Friday night, but it did not delay the start time. The Saturday night show started at 8 pm and included a one-song appearance by the new Capital Force ensemble that has joined AACC.  Tessa Walker is director with Julian LaFlore as assistant.  There were 15 youth from grades 7^th-12^th to sing “I Will Go Sailing No More.”

The show started with the entry of the singers walking in the side aisles of the church, as artistic director, Joe Cerutti, welcomed the audience to “Follow the Season.” (He decked out in his plaid vest and red bow tie.) The show opener by the AACC chorus was “Welcome Christmas” directed by Joe.

Then Joe introduced the thirty Metro Voices to start their set with French carol, “Sing We Noel” directed by Samantha Tramack. Assistant director, Maggie McAlexander, stepped out to direct their second song, “Winter Wonderland.” Jean Hillinck set the stage for the third song; “Christmas Time” directed by Samantha. Sophie Clarke did the solo for this song. 

To set the stage for their song in Hebrew, Leah Bernstein and Sheryl Berlin  explained the theme of the song, “Oseh Shalon,” and Maggie was soloist. Metro Voices finished their set with “Auld Lang Syne.”

Metro Voices exited via the center aisle and guest quartet, BETTER TOGETHER, took the stage to continue the family music theme of the show as introduced by Becca Williams.  The quartet includes Elizabeth and Tony Colosimo and Heather and Andrew Havens.  Their great singing included several tradition holiday songs to include a warm and lovely “Away in the Manger.”

At this point, the AACC singers arrived back into the sanctuary for this year’s audience sing-along time.  Joe invited guests to enjoy and follow the cues from chorus members who brought signs for the words for “Twelve Days of Christmas.”  Assistant director of the Harmonizers, Jason Lee, directed the AACC chorus who kicked off the song, then each of the mini sections of the audience sang their day (with word changes to fun things as the song progressed such as ‘seven deadly sins’). The ‘five golden rings’ line was sung from the balcony by Joe, Samantha, Tony andMaggie who, each time, took more time with key changes and swipes and gestures to try to steal the show!  The audience loved it all. 

Then AACC chorus sang “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” with all singers singing from all sides of the sanctuary, directed by Joe standing in the balcony. Zak Sandler and Heidi Brown had solo spots in this song. 

Then Metro Voices left the room and the 50 Harmonizers took the stage (there were no risers, so singers formed in the front space of the sanctuary). Samantha introduced the Harmonizer set and explained the NORAD call-system for kids to call and check on Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve as the chorus started their set with “Here Comes Santa.”  Joedirected the fun song as well as the Harmonizer’s traditional presentation of  “Toyland.” 

Tony directed a fun arrangement of “White Christmas” as made famous by the Drifters. To add to the fun, members each pulled out a pretend microphone to sing this one – the variety of the mics was fun too: spoons, holly branches, water bottles, umbrellas, pieces of wood, wrenches – to name a few examples.

Michael Berkson helped change the mood for the serious Hebrew song  “El Yivneh Hagalil.”

Jason directed “Little St. Nick” next.

David Hillinck set the stage for “O Come Emmanuel” which was partially in Latin. Joe directed this major song for the show.

Tony led the chorus for its final song, a fun “New Year Medley.”

The AACC chorus regrouped on the stage for the finale, “Gloria,” with BETTER TOGETHER singing the solo spot leading into the conclusion of the magnificent arrangement.  The audience responded with their eager standing ovation. 

Terry Reynold, thanked the audience for their support and promised the chapter’s New Year’s resolution will be to find a venue for next year with plenty of parking! The chorus and the audience sang “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

Congratulations to Catherine LaValley for her leadership as producer and coordinator for the holiday show. Thanks to the many family members and friends who volunteered with ticket sales, ushering, parking attendant, and stage set up.  Mike Kelly and Cy Shuster were in charge of the sound set up. The music team had the ensembles well prepared for this year’s holiday concert!

Great to see so many former members in the audience and some current members who were unable to sing this time, as well as several of our community board members. The ushers passed out business cards with the chapter’s QR code for a show program or to make donations to the chapter.

The afterglow on Saturday night was great fun with a full Harmo House.  Joe ordered 17 pizzas and everyone knows the chapter can eat lots of pizza!!  Other members brought sweets and snacks including Ashley Merryman’s eggnog cake!

Tuesday, Dec. 16, the chapter continues its tradition of singing holiday music in Old Town Alexandria. Singers will assemble at 7 pm at Market Square.

 

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 77^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 Dec. 9, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Dec. 9, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

AACC held the pre-show rehearsal and chapter meeting at Fairlington Presbyterian Church which will be the venue for the shows. It was a busy night but admin chief, Terry Reynolds, kept everyone informed as to next steps and things flowed well. Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, and directors Tony Colosimo, Jason Lee, Samantha Tramack and Maggie McAlexander were well prepared and helped the ensembles keep their performances at a high level. The singing was awesome!!!!

Maggie led warm up exercises for the AACC chorus before Jason worked with them on more vocal exercises. Next, each ensemble took a few minutes to work out chorus line ups to determine where the singers would stand in the sanctuary for their songs.  

Then the AACC singers ran the entire show with only a stop for a business meeting mid evening.  The show run-through included emcees and soloists (they were so terrific – GREAT JOB), as well as how the ensembles would move to the ‘stage’ between sets. It all worked smoothly – thanks to chorus leadership who had a plan in advance.

A couple sneak previews here – the wranglers to help sections of the audience sing each of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” went well – everyone got a kick out of the ‘five golden rings’ signers – Joe, Tony, Samantha and Maggie – as they milked the chords and stole the show!  The Harmonizers pretend microphones for “White Christmas” was a laugh too – spoons, water bottles, drum stick, and a piece of picture frame wood were just some that YeEd noticed!

The chapter’s holiday shows are scheduled for Friday December 12 at 8 pm, and December 13 at 7:30 pm, both at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church, 3846 King Street. Call time for both shows is 5:30 pm for all AACC singers. Uniform for both ensembles for the holiday show will be all black dressy with red and/or green accents. For the Harmonizers, that also means no white shirts. If there is a question, contact Becca Williams. 

Catherine LaValley, show producer, reinforced lots of details and logistics that members will need to know regarding parking options for members with thoughts about how members could get their family to the show. Again, she emphasized the need for members to each sell five more tickets to the shows. Tickets for the shows, “Follow the Season,” are available via Eventbrite. We are not sold out yet! There will be tickets sold at the door.

Recent messages on the Slack channel from Randall Eliason confirmed the location of a lot of on-street parking spaces.  

Catherine also asked for members or their friends who are willing to volunteer outside at the show to direct the parking situation.  She emphasized that this year’s parking and venue challenges are well documented with intentions to remedy next time.  

Looking ahead:  

AACC will have their traditional holiday carol sing in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16, gathering at Market Square at 7 pm.  Wear colorful scarves and gloves if it is cold. This is a fun evening and singers will pop into restaurants along the way to entertain folks inside. (Usually someone brings a supply of Santa hats for singers to use for the event.)

There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be the traditional kickoff session for the 2026 year and will be held at AlexRenew. Terry announced a change in plans and that the chapter’s next Put Together Quartet Contest will be postponed until Jan. 13 at AlexRenew. 

President Craig Kujawa re-emphasized his recent message on Slack about housing at the International convention in St. Louis this summer.  All members need to carefully study his recent message via Slack on getting room reservations.  The key is to do it on Dec. 15 using the link from Craig. That will get our chapter members into early bird housing (which is a perk for those choruses competing in the contest).

On another subject, Craig asked members to be watching for a new chapter form to use in suggesting fellow members for any of the official chapter awards to recognize 2025 participation. A list of the awards with a description and a list of former recipients will be sent out with the form. 

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed returning guests this week: Billy Ermlick, Josh Frakes and Logan Glauser. Also Patrick Horne’s child Riley was in the audience. 

Word went out this week that the local WETA station used the Harmonizer recording of “O Come O Come Emanuel” during holiday programing on Monday, Dec. 8. 

Theis week’s rehearsal wrapped up about 10 pm. A good crowd of members enjoyed the afterglow pizza and snacks at the Harmo House.

On Thursday of this week, a study task force will also meet at the Harmo House at 7 pm to discuss the official launch of the Vintage Blend mixed gender daytime ensemble as part of AACC.  Terry Reynolds will be the director. The task force includes Terry, Joe, Jack Pitzer, Alan Wile, Bob Bates, Mary Cooper, David Welter, Don Harrington, and Chuck Miller.

In other news reported by E. J. Harold,  Sunday, December 7, saw the Harmonizers singing Christmas carols for the Blue Star Family Christmas gathering and Santa Meet and Greet held at the BAE Headquarters in Falls Church, VA. The chorus had over 20 voices singing for a large gathering of families – about 250 people.

 Blue Star Families is a charity established in 2009 to empower military families to thrive as they serve. The organizers work to connect military families to their neighbors creating vibrant communities of mutual support. A blue star family is the family of a currently serving military member, including active duty, National Guard, Reserve forces, and those transitioning out of service.

The Harmonizers, a balanced group of voices outfitted in their Holiday Show black outfits, with red and green accents, performed in the lobby entrance of the building and sang a rotating play list of their Christmas repertoire. The run time was about an hour and a quarter and, once the families had processed in through the lobby, the singers joined them on the 10^th floor for three final songs before departure. Audience appreciation was keenly felt and the interactions with several children brought smiles all around. The performance was directed by Tony Colosimo. Terry Reynolds andFrank Fedarko handled all logistics for the event, which was first signaled to us by Dana Richardson, Military Outreach co-coordinator.

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 77^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 Dec. 2, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Dec. 2, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

AACC held their post-Thanksgiving chapter meeting at AlexRenew and there was a large attendance for the rehearsal getting so close to the holiday show.  Again, artistic director, Joe Cerutti, mentioned several times how pleased he was that so many members were able to attend this week. 

Development chairman, Ken Rub, reports that the chapter reached 64% of its $6000 goal (as of 8 am, Wed. 12/30)  for  our Giving Tuesday campaign.  Donations may still be made.

 https://givebutter.com/AACCGivingTuesday2025. Kenand the team thank everyone for inviting friends and relatives and chapter supporters to donate.

Associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo, led warm up exercises for the AACC chorus before Joeworked with them on “Welcome Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Gloria.”  He invited Steve Tramack to offer a few points for improvement of the songs that were made right away.  Zak Sandler and Heidi Brown will be soloists for “Have Yourself.” Our own BETTER TOGETHER will be the guest quartet for the show and sing a solo spot in “Gloria.”

Steve was attending the meeting this week as specific coach for Metro Voices.  He particularly worked with them for voice placement and riser placement, plus offered inputs for their holiday songs, as well. The placement exercise was a fun, first-time experience for many of the Metro Voices singers. Thanks also to Steve for donating his coaching fee to the Giving Tuesday campaign! 

Before the two ensembles went to separate rehearsal space to work on holiday show songs, the weekly business meeting was held. Both groups were reminded to be off the paper before next week’s  rehearsal that will be at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church, 3846 King Street. As a reminder, AACC cannot enter the church on Tuesday until 7:25 pm. Please be careful about that. 

The chapter’s holiday shows are scheduled for Friday December 12 at 8 pm, and December 13 at 7:30 pm, both at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church. Call time for both shows is 5:30 pm for all AACC singers. Uniform for both ensembles for the holiday show will be all black dressy with red and/or green accents. For the Harmonizers, that also means no white shirts. If there is a question, contact Becca Williams. 

Catherine LaValley, show producer, announced lots of details and logistics that members will need to know regarding parking options for members with thoughts about how members could get their family to the show. She also explained it would be good if one passenger in each car takes the shuttle back to the parking area, and then that driver goes to get the other passengers at the church.  

Again, she emphasized the need for members to each sell five more tickets to the shows. Tickets for the shows, “Follow the Season,” are available via Eventbrite. We are not sold out yet! 

She is also appealing for members or their friends who are willing to volunteer outside at the show to direct the parking situation.  Catherine emphasized that this year’s parking and venue challenges are well documented with intentions to remedy next time.  

The show audience will be invited to sing-along on “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and Terry Reynolds is seeking volunteers who would coordinate a section of the audience to sing one of the “days” as part of the fun.  Watch for a detailed message from Terry about volunteering to help. It has always been an audience hit. 

Looking ahead:  Sunday, Dec. 7 some members will sing holiday music for Blue Star Families in Falls Church. Then the Dec. 9 meeting will be back at Fairlington Presbyterian prior to the shows.

AACC will have their traditional holiday carol sing in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16, gathering at Market Square at 7 pm.  Wear colorful scarves and gloves if it is cold. There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be the traditional kickoff session for the 2026 year and also the chapter’s next Put Together Quartet Contest – as the name implies, members are encouraged to “put together” a quartet and enter the fun.  Usually some BHS friends are the judges.  Rules and details to come soon from Terry, but members were encouraged to form a quartet to sing a song, or even a tag, in the contest.  (Since we won’t be meeting for two weeks in December, now is the time to talk to your fellow singers about forming a fun quartet.)  If anyone needs help finding a singer or two for a quartet, Terry will be offering service for this “put together” event.

President Craig Kujawa gave an update for some details regarding the AACC participation at the International convention in St. Louis this summer.  Metro Voices will sing third on Friday in the chorus contest, and the Harmonizers will sing sixteenth that day. As for housing, he request all members to be alert for a housing link (only for members of choruses competing) that we can use to get into an approved hotel. We will be rehearsing on the 20^th floor of the headquarters hotel – a Marriot property.

On another subject, Craig asked members to be watching for a new chapter form to use in suggesting fellow members for any of the official chapter awards to recognize 2025 participation. A list of the awards with a description and a list of former recipients will be sent out with the form. 

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed two returning guests this week: Josh Frakes and Logan Glauser. Devante Lucas was announced as our newest member.

At this point the two ensembles went to work on their music for the rest of the evening.  Tony and Joe each ran through the songs they will direct on the show for the Harmonizers. Joe shared that local WETA will use our recording of “O Come O Come Emanuel” during this holiday season. He also asked for singers to bring a pretend microphone to animate the fun arrangement of “White Christmas” – a toothbrush, hairbrush, banana, carrot or candy cane – for example.

The Harmonizers wrapped up about 9:30 and Metro Voices worked til 10. There was a good crowd of members and guests at the afterglow this week with reports to share of Thanksgiving travel last week.

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 77^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

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