Looking Back on the August 4, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

Looking Back on the August 4, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

Even though it is “summer vacation season,” there was a good attendance of AACC singers at Fairlington Presbyterian Church for rehearsal this week.

Jason Lee, assistant director of the Harmonizers, led the warm up session for the combined ensembles. He incorporated “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for his drills for proper vowels.

After the warm up, artistic director Joe Cerutti led the combined AACC chorus rehearsal of “I’m Still Standing.” 

Next Joe gave a thorough report of a long list of  major “good news points” about the great Alexandria chapter!

He started with the news that four members were certified by the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) as official judges for contests – having completed their training and evaluations recently at a BHS school in Denver. Congrats to Renee Tramack – singing category; Maggie McAlexander – musicality category; Tyler Carpenter and Terry Reynolds – administrative category!

Also four members will be retiring as official judges after years of service: Chris Buechler, Alan Lamson, Joe Cerutti and Tony Colosimo. 

Joe was excited to report on the successful Harmony University held recently in Denver, CO, with 100 attendees from all over the USA and other countries including Japan, Columbia, Canada, England and Sweden (those are the counties he could mention off the tip of his tongue).  Both Joe and Samantha Tramack were faculty.

Certainly the chapter is overjoyed to celebrate having a gold medal quartet member as part of the weekly meeting – Samantha from GQ (a first in the nearly-80-year history of the Alexandria chapter). Joe encourages all members to attend the celebration event on Monday, Aug. 24, at 7 pm, somewhere at Towson University (where the quartet got its start).  He did suggest that the planning committee is eager to hear from any current or former members who could make a donation to help support the event.  Let Joe or Becca Williams know if you can help with that. There is an RSVP form in Slack for folks to use so the committee has an idea of how many will be there to cheer and congratulate the quartet.  The celebration will be a joint celebration with the Parkside, PA, chapter.

The success story of GQ was noted by the Mayor of Alexandria, Alyia Gaskins, and she addressed the news in a letter to the quartet and the chapter.  The mayor acknowledged the super accomplishment for a quartet to have won the gold medal, and shared her pride as mayor by adding her accolades.  Mayor Gaskins also expressed her congratulations for the success of the entire AACC chapter including FIRST TAKE that earned a fifth consecutive top-five medal, the Harmonizers for earning their 22^nd chorus medal, and to Metro Voices for making an incredible debut as one of the top 20 barbershop choruses in the world. 

Looking ahead, the Aug.11 meeting will be at AlexRenew, and the chapter guest night and rehearsal on Aug. 25 will also be at AlexRenew. 

The outdoor sing originally scheduled Aug. 4, will be moved to Aug. 18, so stay tuned for more details and the exact location.  

The chapter will perform an outdoor performance on Thursday, Aug. 20, at Nottaway Park, 9537 Courthouse Rd., Vienna, VA 22181. It will start at 7:30 pm. Arrival time will be about 6:30 pm. Uniform will be the AACC t-shirt or any black t-shirt. Each ensemble will sing and then they will join together to wrap up the performance.

  Singers will be allowed to step off the risers for some songs during the performance if needed. In the past, these sorts of outdoor concerts were well attended by chapter member families and friends.  Sometimes folks have organized picnic dinners or gatherings in the area before report time. 

As a reminder, the chapter has accepted the invitation to sing Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) Midwinter convention in Virginia Beach.  Members should stay tuned about possible bus transportation to Virginia Beach, and other details. 

The music team sent word to the members via Joe that work on holiday music will begin in September.

Jacob Broude welcomed this week’s guests and reminded members that there will be a guest night on Tuesday, Aug. 25. The goal is for each member to bring a singing guest. The annual guest night events are always fun and a great chance to entertain prospects, plus a chance to help newer members sing the repertoire. Thanks to Maggie McAlexander for creating and sending out via Slack a couple attractive flyers that members could download and post in efforts to get more prospects to attend guest night.

This week’s guests included Elizabeth Halford, Matthew Dacanay, Danny Ameduite, Jonathon Meyer, and Mattfrom the Ambassadors of Harmony who was in town for work. Terry Reynolds directed the chapter welcome song. 

The two ensembles worked separately on their music.  The Harmonizers worked more on “The Barber of Seville.” – first in sections led by Joe for the tenors and baritones, Jason Lee for the basses, and Matt Ambler for the leads.  Then Joe pulled the sections together and did a lengthy session on adding more color to the performance in addition to accuracy. He also organized a “push out” quartet for extra drills (there were enough new members present that Joe had to explain how a “push out quartet” works. A good problem to have to solve!).

They also worked “I’m Just A Bill” with Zak Sandler and Terry Reynolds reading through the narration.

Meanwhile in the basement room of the church, Metro Voices director, Samantha Tramack, and assistant director,Maggie McAlexander, used the second half of the meeting to continue preparation for their show songs.

About 9:15 pm the two ensembles regrouped and worked on “Defying Gravity,”  “Parting Glass,” and “We Are One” which Zak Sandler directed. 

After the 50/50 drawing, chapter leaders welcomed Rob Stark and Christine Pan back from their travels - first to give Rob his medal from St. Louis since they departed for their trip right after the chorus contest in July; and second, since it was also Christine’s birthday, Joe invited her to direct “Keep the Whole World Singing.” 

In other news related to the AACC: Tessa Walker submitted a call (in announcements in Slack) for someone to fulfill an administrative role for Capital Force youth chorus, the third active ensemble in the Alexandria A Cappella Collective. It is a voluntary position and generally is tied to that ensemble’s concert season.  The volunteer does not need to be an AACC member and might be a friend, spouse or partner of a member.  Chat with Tessa if you or someone you know might be interested. 

Tyler Carpenter will continue to engrave new Harmonizer medals or to make a replacement name tag at next week’s chapter meetings. Members can bring their medals and give them to Tyler as early as possible at the meeting place so he can do them all.  There is a small fee for the engraving.

YeEd received a note from former member and quartet promoter, George Azzam, reporting that his quartet, CHORAHOLICS, will be singing at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Nov. 24 as part of a large choir event.

At this week’s meeting, YeEd presented chapter history books to several recently added new members of AACC – both the 50 year history and the 75 year summary.  If you have not gotten the set of history books, let Jack know so he can bring them to you at a coming meeting.  Everyone is entitled to have the set. 

Finally, cheers for the dozen or so fellow AACC members who are classroom teachers in the area (several are music educators). They will be reporting back to their schools soon to get classrooms ready and lesson materials set for the next school year. 

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 July 28, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the July 28, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

The AACC singers were prepared for another solid rehearsal this week on their show songs for upcoming performances. The pending storms and possible tornadoes reduced attendance some, but it never did rain in Alexandria.

The chapter congratulates five members who were certified by the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) as official judges for our contests – having completed their training and evaluations recently at a BHS school in Denver. Congrats to Renee Tramack – singing category; Maggie McAlexander – musicality category; Tyler Carpenter and Terry Reynolds – administrative category;  and Cy Wood – performance category!

This week the BHS was holding the annual Harmony University also in Denver and artistic director, Joe Cerutti, was there as a BHS staffer. Samantha Tramack was there as a coach, teacher for a membership class and director for general session warm ups. Of course she was also there as a member of the 2026 quartet champs, GQ

Jason Lee, assistant director of the Harmonizers, led a good warm up session for the singers at AlexRenew. He taught a children’s jingle – one of many versions of  “Tony Chestnut Knows I Love Him” and Cooper Schwartz taught the body movements with the singer touching “toe, knee, chest, head for nut, nose, etc.” Of course, the faster the tempo, the more challenging it was!

After the warm up, Tony Colosimo directed the combined AACC chorus rehearsal of “I’m Still Standing,” and “We Will Be One.”

Chapter leaders alerted everyone that the chapter will not sing in Old Towne on Tuesday, August  4 – instead the meeting will be held at Fairlington Presbyterian Church that night.  The outdoor sing will likely be held on Aug. 18, so stay tuned for more details. The Aug.11 meeting will be at AlexRenew. The chapter guest night on Aug. 25 will also be at AlexRenew.  

The outdoor performance on Thursday, Aug. 20, at Nottaway Park, 9537 Courthouse Rd., Vienna, VA 22181, is confirmed. It will start at 7:30 pm. Arrival time will be about 6:30 pm. Uniform will be the AACC t-shirt. Each ensemble will sing and then they will join together to wrap up the performance. 

Looking ahead, the chapter has accepted the invitation to sing Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) Midwinter convention in Virginia Beach.  Members should stay tuned about possible bus transportation to Virginia Beach, and other details. 

Chapter secretary Cy Shuster presented membership renewals to Devin Turner for two years; Logan Glauser for three years; Charlie Rothermel for three years; Jerry Candrilli for 26 years, and Ken Rub for 35 years.  As is the chapter tradition, Ken also was given his 35-year membership lapel pin. 

Earlier in the week, president Craig Kujawa forwarded messages to members of both active AACC ensembles about the BHS offer to sell photos from the St. Louis convention and contest.

Jacob Broude welcomed this week’s guests and reminded 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 Elizabeth Halford, Serena Davis, David Strasser, and Matthew Dacanay, plus CJ Hunt from Pennsylvania and Chris Noga from Ohio. Terry Reynolds directed the chapter welcome song. 

The two ensembles worked separately on their music.  The Harmonizers worked on one more section of “The Barber of Seville.” – first in sections led by Lance Fisher for the tenors, Jason Lee for the basses, Jared Liscinsky for the baritones, and Matt Ambler for the leads.  Then associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo, worked with the full chorus. 

They also worked on “Africa;” “I’m Just A Bill” with Zak Sandler and Terry Reynolds reading through the narration; and “Hey Jude” with Matt Ambler’s solo. 

Maggie McAlexander directed the Metro Voices rehearsal for their show songs.

Since Joe was in Denver, there was no afterglow at the HarmoHouse. The two ensembles combined to sing “Keep the Whole World Singing” to end the meeting with David Strasser directing.  

Tyler Carpenter will continue to engrave new Harmonizer medals or to make a replacement name tag at next week’s chapter meetings. Members can bring their medals and give them to Tyler as early as possible at the meeting place so he can do them all.  There is a small fee for the engraving.

YeEd received a note from Joel Golden about the classic rock band he is in – Riptide - with two other Harmonizers, Chris Huber and Doug White. They did a gig on Thursday evening,  July 23, as part of the Fairfax County Park Authority summer concert series. Several AACC members went to hear them.

Several members reported seeing Ben Hawker in the choir for Lindsay Graham’s memorial that was televised on Tuesday. 

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 July 21, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the July 21, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

Both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices came to this week’s rehearsal to work on music for shows and performances that are on the calendar soon.

Maggie McAlexander, assistant director of Metro Voices, led a good warm up session for the singers in the main hall of Fairlington Presbyterian Church. She taught a tag as part of the warm up and then directed rehearsal for “Parting Glass for the AACC chorus.

Several members of the chapter music team are headed to Denver, CO, for the annual training session for judges and judge candidates – Terry Reynolds, Tyler Carpenter and Maggie McAlexander are judge candidates from AACC.  Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, was already there on Tuesday night.

Chapter leaders confirmed that next week the July 28 AACC meeting will be at AlexRenew. Then on Tuesday, Aug. 4, the chapter will sing on the streets of Old Town Alexandria – certainly stay connected via Slack in case of weather or any other event that causes a change in location for the Aug. 4 meeting.   The Aug. 11 meeting will be back at AlexRenew. 

YeEd assumes everyone in AACC responded with their availability for the Aug. 20 and Feb 4 performances. And YeEdassumes the chorus might do both of those shows if numbers are good. 

The show on Thursday, Aug. 20 show will be at Nottaway Park, 9537 Courthouse Rd., Vienna, VA 22181. Stay tuned for arrival details.  Uniform will be the AACC t-shirt. Each ensemble will sing and then they will join together to wrap up the performance.

Looking ahead, the chapter had been invited to sing Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) Midwinter convention in Virginia Beach.  Members should stay tuned about possible bus transportation to Virginia Beach. 

Congratulations to Tessa Walker, recipient of the 2026 SingUnited (formerly Sweet Adelines) International Music Educator Award!  Tessa is currently director of choral activities and adaptive music at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, MD, and director of Capital Force Youth Chorus as part of AACC. She sang with several quartets, including the 2018 Sweet Adelines International Rising Star Champion and 2019 Harmony Inc. Champion HOT PURSUIT. 

Tessa has used her own music education to inspire and teach youth and adult singers.  Her nominator writes, “I know of no one who cares more about bringing barbershop to the world than Tessa Walker.” 

She will receive the award in the fall at the SingUnited convention in Columbus, OH.

There was a surprise in the July- August 2026 issue of the BHS “Harmonizer” magazine – the article by AACC member, Joel Golden, on page 14!! Titled “Are We Having Fun Yet?  a theory of performance.” It was illustrated with the great photo of Joe Cerutti in a gold lame jacket with his arms outstretched to the sky for the finale of the Alexandria Harmonizers 2013 contest package in Toronto. Great article Joel.

Chapter secretary Cy Shuster presented membership renewals to Brigham Blackhurst for 14 years;; Ashley Merryman for 3 years; Matt Ambler for 4 years; Jacob Broude for 9 years; Rob Barnovsky for 16 years and Joel Golden for 21 years.

Jacob Broude welcomed this week’s guests and reminded 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 Elizabeth Halford, plus the CHEF’S KISS quartet from Montgomery County – Mark Magpantay, Isaac Teheren, Danny Ameduite and Ivan Diehl. Former active singer Rob Korsan was back to sing with the Harmonizers after several years.  Scott Kitzmiller was in town and was on hand to sing along and see all of his friends in the chapter. Terry Reynolds directed the chapter welcome song. 

The two ensembles worked separately on their music.  The Harmonizers worked on one more section of “The Barber of Seville.” – first in sections, and then with associate director, Tony Colosimo, as a chorus. They also worked briefly on “I’m Just A Bill” with Zak Sandler and Terry Reynolds reading through the narration to see how long it was. After “Wonderful World” the two ensembles combined for “We Will Be One.”

Scott Kitzmiller directed “Keep the Whole World Singing” to end the meeting.  Although bad weather was predicted, members had to rush to their cars in the deluge just as members were leaving. There was no formal afterglow this week.

Tyler Carpenter will continue to engrave new Harmonizer medals or to make a replacement name tag at next week’s chapter meetings. Members can bring their medals and give them to Tyler as early as possible at the meeting place so he can do them all.  There is a small fee for the engraving.

There have been a number of former Harmonizers contact YeEd after reading the Looking Back reports from St. Louis including Scott Kahler, Larry Sylva, and Bob Wilson.  Scott Werner, former Harmonizer director, reminded YeEdthat REMINISCE was the gold medal champion senior quartet in 1995 with John Adams, Scott Werner, Alan Durick and Dick Whitehouse.  Scott is the only living member of that gold medal quartet. David Welter shared with YeEdthat chapter coaches Steve Armstrong and David Wright were at the breakfast honoring new 50-year members of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) in St. Louis. 

Another wrap up story from St. Louis – Class of 2026 member Cooper Schwartz wore his class bandana a different way each day at the convention concluding the last day on Saturday using it as a belt with the Harmonizer logo as the belt buckle. He started with a pocket stuffer, then headband, then as an untied tie, a bandit style Wild West look, braided into his hair, a triangle over his hair, flight attendant style around his neck, woven thru the buttons on his shirt, a square in a pants pocket, a square in a jacket pocket, an ankle bracelet, tied onto his ponytail, tied around his glasses and finally as a belt.  Creative and a fun class tradition.

Here is other news about a singing opportunity in the DC community: Be part of an extraordinary production of Leonard Bernstein's MASS, bringing together singers from leading choral organizations across the Washington, D.C. region.Community singers are invited to join the ensemble for the “Agnus Dei” and “Pax” movements.

Two barbershoppers, Shana Oshiro (HALO Quartet) and David Breen, AACC member and bass of  PRAXIS quartet, are featured vocalists in this production.

Performances will be September 4 & 5 at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C. Rehearsals take place throughout August, with singers asked to attend at least 4 of the 8 scheduled rehearsals. Learn more and sign up here.

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 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.

 

 

Looking Back on the June 23, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting and Send Off

 Looking Back on the June 23, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting and Send Off

The Harmonizers have held a send-off concert for many years prior to taking a package to the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) International convention.  The 2026 send-off celebration was a great success this week at Beth El synagogue. Both ensembles performed at a very high level. Some friends and family of the chapter were there for the warm up rehearsal that started at 7 pm led by Tony Colosimo, associate director of the Harmonizers.

 

 A big thank you to the crew of members who helped set up all the extra chairs for the standing-room-only audience at the venue and of course for those who brought in risers and sound equipment for the evening. Mike Kelly and Dennis Ritchey managed the sound and filming equipment operation. Thanks also to the members who volunteered to iron the waiter towel props that the Harmonizers will use in St. Louis. 

 

Additional guests and fans arrived for the 8 pm start of the performances. Alex Corson, tenor of FIRST TAKE quartet, was emcee for the performance. 

 

Metro Voices sang their package first.  Their attire for contest is a combination of black and teal semi-formal attire along with several accent pieces of airline attire and bling to carry out the theme. Samantha Tramack, director of Metro Voices, directed the set which included “Yes I Can” arranged by Steve Tramack, and “Me and the Sky” arranged by Maggie McAlexander.

 

The Harmonizer package led by artistic director, Joe Cerutti, included “Harmony” and “Stars in the Night”  both arranged by Steven Armstrong.  The songs were part of the Broadway musical “Harmony” and tell the amazing story of the Comedian Harmonists, who were a popular close harmony ensemble of five singers and a piano player.  (The Harmonizers will use a piano prop that was built by Dennis Ritchie for the package.) The chorus wore all black semi-formal attire and the six Harmonists wore tux and tails. 

 

The Harmonizers who appear as the Comedian Harmonists for the 2026 contest package are Chad Ross as Harry Frommermann; Ben Watsky as Young Roman Cyckowski; Matt Ambler as Erick Collin; Rob Santine as Ari Leshnikoff; Matt Darouse as Erwin Bootz; and Rob Stark as Robert Biberti. Randall Eliason will understudy for Older Roman, who will be portrayed by Stuart Zagnit for the contest. Michael Berkson will understudy the six Harmonists portrayed by fellow chapter members and will be the radio announcer.  Patrick Horn will be the soldier for the contest and his understudy is Terry Reynolds.

 

The Harmonizers have conducted an extensive social media campaign to expand awareness about the work of the Harmonists. Alex Chen was manager of that effort with help from several other members to prepare copy and manage the technical details including Randall Eliason and Mike Kelly. 

 

Because the evening was so busy this week, there was no official ‘bandana check’ for the Class of 2026, although there was evidence that many did have them with them on stage (such as one YeEd saw that was pinned on the inside of a jacket!). The class includes 11 Harmonizers: Matt Darouse, Robby Della Bernarda, Cooper Schwartz, Jerry Candrilli, Devante Lucas, Billy Ermlick, Ben Raja, Owen Lyons, Josh Frakes, Logan Glauser, and Ben Hawker; and five Metro Voices: Susan Friel, Morgan Fabber, Laura Rutledge, Renee Tramack and Sarah Lott.  

 

Before the AACC chorus sang, chapter leadership presented a 50-year membership card and pin to another AACC member, Bill Colosimo. Also, Ken Rub, chapter development coordinator, invited attendees to consider donations using QR codes he had posted in the hall to support contest efforts by the chapter and its two ensembles. 

 

The two ensembles combined on the risers as the AACC chorus to sing “We Are One” directed by Samantha Tramack. The song was written by AACC member Zak Sandler and arranged by AACC member Lance Fisher.  The finale song of the AACC chorus was “I’m Still Standing” directed by artistic director, Joe Cerutti.

 

It is terrific to have two ensembles competing in the 2026 chorus contest.  This year will be the first time for Metro Voices to compete at the International. Then add to that excitement, three quartets in the contest too – GQ, FIRST TAKE, and SUPERNOVA – with AACC members – who were recognized at the send-off. 

 

Among the huge crowd of guests for the sendoff, there were many former members, partners and spouses of singers, and long-time friends of the chapter. The large crowd yielded an extremely full house for the afterglow at the Harmo House – cars were parked for blocks around the neighborhood! The attendees ate about a dozen large pizzas, and a cake, and the usual snacks.

 

There were several gold medal quartet singers there; a quartet in town who are also instrumentalists from the British Royal Marines Band, who are performing at DC area landmarks (they are friends of Tessa Walker) agreed to sing a song; plus, in addition to tag singers in the basement, BELTWAY quartet was on hand and singing for folks in the kitchen. The patio and outside areas were full since the weather was so great.  

 

In other news, AACC held an extra rehearsal on Thursday, June 18, and both ensembles worked hard to fine-tune their package musically and visually. There will be another extra session on Thursday, June 25, at AlexRenew.  The chapter’s Culture team is launching a monthly BIRTHDAY TREATS NIGHT – the first one set for June 25.  Their team is also looking to create a Sunshine Committee as part of their operation. The purpose of that committee is to help the chapter show support for any member during times of both celebration and/or hardship. Anyone interested in serving should contact Matt Darouse. 

 

There also will be a work crew needed to load the Harmo truck on June 25 that will be driven to St. Louis with risers, sound equipment, and such.  Drivers will be Ken Rub and Patrick Horn. Plus Terry Reynolds has asked for volunteers to iron the white hand towels used by the Harmonizers in their package prior to St. Louis. 

 

Then here is more news about AACC members who attended the Mid Atlantic District  (M-AD) Harmony College East (HCE) education weekend, in Westminster, MD, at McDaniel College.  The following list of AACC members and some former Harmonizers (hopefully it is correct and we didn’t miss anyone!) were involved as organizers, as district leaders, as quartet singers, as individual students, as coaches, as presenters, as tech team, and as tag singers: Tony Colosimo, Andrew Havens, Joe Cerutti, Mike Wallen, Rick Taylor, Mike Kelly, Mike Fasano. Bob Eckman, Jay Butterfield, Julian LeFlore, Biff Gaut, Sam McFarland, Mike Geipel, Heidi Brown, Jerry Candrilli, Paul Grimes, Devante Lucas, Susan Friel, Scott Beach, Will Daniel Simmons, Tessa Walker, Samantha Tramack, Kenny Floyd, Ben Hawker, and David Welter.  

 

Bill Colosimo and Sheryl Berlin continued their long years of service as “deans” of the weekend. Alan Wile was on hand as usual to accept donations to the M-AD endowment fund all weekend. He happily reports a record-breaking donation total at the event. A special recognition to Tessa Walker and her student ensemble, JAMD, who assisted with the music educator’s program and then performed on the Saturday night show.

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.