Looking Back on the Dec. 29^th Chapter Meeting

And yes, the Harmonizers also met on the Tuesday of New Years Eve week and a big crowd of singers were on hand for more work on the “I Am Harvey Milk” music which we will perform in April 2016. Director Joe Cerutti was really pleased that there were so many men there to work.  He spent a considerable amount of time giving us notes to mark on our music.  So don’t forget a pencil with your music every time.

We sat in chairs facing the stage again with Joe using the piano at some points. We were divided earlier in the month by associate director Tony Colosimo and got our assignments as to Tenor 1 or Tenor 2 or Bass 1 or Bass 2.  We stopped about 9 pm after some announcements. 

The rehearsal format will be a little different in future sessions with the piano on the stage and chairs facing the stage on one end of the hall for “Milk” music; and risers on the other end of the hall facing toward the stage for working on our new contest package.  According to Joe, we generally will start contest work at 7 - 8 pm and then at 8:30 switch to the “Milk” music.

The announcement period before we left Durant included a reminder to give any Nashville International convention registrations to Bob Rhome.

Our Annual Presidents' Banquet is Saturday Jan 9 at the Spates Club at Fort Myer, VA. 7:00 - 9:30ish. The Banquet is a great time to socialize with fellow Harmonizers and their spouses and significant others, to install our 2016 officers, and to honor Harmonizers receiving Distinguished Service Awards. Let’s all plan to attend.

 

The cost is $40 per person. Dinner will be a buffet including Top Round of Beef, Herb Roasted Chicken Marsala, and Orange Roughy.  Howard Nestlerode will be collecting cash and checks on Tuesday nights between now and then.

 

Please indicate your planned Attendance on Groupanizer right away. We are required to submit a complete list of attendees that will be used for ID check. Please include your spouse or guests' legal name(s) in the comments on Groupanizer. If you have difficulty, please let Howard or myself know your guest names.

 

Since we are going onto a military base, everyone needs to make sure they have a government-issued picture ID. Unless you have a military ID, there will be a vehicle inspection. Please allow extra time for this. (Detailed directions and gate instructions will come out the week of the event).

The planned schedule is: 7:00 Cocktails; 7:30 Dinner; 8:30ish Program. We will be done between 9:30 and 10:00.

 

In other news, there are some additional names to recognize for helping at the holiday show.  Joia Herz was videographer for the show; Don Dillingham’s wife Saundra was the major person who staffed the auction at the shows; and Robyn Murane had the major responsibility for sales and merchandising efforts in the lobby at the shows.

 

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the Dec. 22^nd Chapter Meeting

Yes, the Harmonizers met on the Tuesday of Christmas week and a big crowd of singers were on hand for the introduction of our work on the “I Am Harvey Milk” music which we will perform in April 2016.

We sat in chairs facing the stage with director Joe Cerutti on stage and Tom Jackson playing the piano accompaniment for us as we embarked on the learning process.  We were divided earlier in the month by associate director Tony Colosimo and got our assignments as to Tenor 1 or Tenor 2 or Bass 1 or Bass 2.  We stopped about 9:15 after some announcements.  (That meant a big crowd went to afterglow at LaPortas including a bunch of avid tag singers.)

We will also meet next Tuesday nite, Dec. 29^th in the same format to let as many guys as can make it during the holidays get a head start on the music. Each member planning to sing this special event should have signed for and gotten a notebook of the music – if not gotten yours yet – see assistant director Terry Reynolds.  (Hint – put your name on the cover sheet.)  (And also bring a pencil and maybe a highlighter to use as Joe and Tony give us clues and suggestions.)

The rehearsal format will be a little different in future sessions with the piano and chairs facing the stage on one end of the hall for “Milk” music; and risers on the other end of the hall for working on our new contest package.  According to Joe, we generally will start contest work at 78 pm and then at 8:30 switch to the “Milk” music.

The announcement period before we left Durant included greetings from Bob Wachter who stopped in to see everyone. He reported on his wife Jean’s health improvements. Dick and Carolyn Hall sang “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” to all their Harmo “kids”  - since they claim to be older than almost everyone in the chorus!

Chris Huber reported on a recent phone conversation with our friend Peggy Harris who we honored in France.

And president Terry Reynolds pointed out the date and place for the Presidents’ Banquet – Jan. 9^th, Spates Club at Fort Myer, VA from 7-9:30ish. The banquet is a great time to socialize with fellow Harmonizer family members, install our 2016 officers and board, and to honor those fellow members receiving Distinguished Service Awards.   The cost is $40 per person for the delicious buffet.  Cash or check payments in advance should be made to Howard Nestlerode.

In other news, our modern a cappella group, TBD, participated in the annual White House Christmas tree lighting ceremony on December 3. Despite some challenging acoustic circumstances, the group strolled around the Ellipse and sang for crowds bundled up waiting for the start of the program. According to Jeremy Richardson, “We also got to remain onsite to watch the program (which included Michelle Obama and Miss Piggy reading “The Night Before Christmas”). We were cold and hungry by the end but had a blast!”

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the Dec. 12^th Holiday Show

This year’s holiday show was a great success with lots of musical diversity for our large audiences with many great new Harmonizer songs on the program.

Our shows were at 2 and 7:30 pm Dec. 12^th at Schlesinger Hall on the NOVA Community College Campus in Alexandria.  It is a great venue and great to be performing there again.

This year’s show featured several guest artists and a complete break away from the long-running dinner party with elves and toys in Santa’s workshop (actually the First Baptist Church – which was not available this year). Our guests were Marilyn Moore, operatic soprano; Positive Vibrations, youth steel orchestra; Word of Mouth a cappella ensemble and former winner of the Harmonizer Aca Challenge; and a contingent of the Pride of Baltimore SAI chorus. Our chapter a cappella group, TBD, also sang several songs on the show. Will Cox did his annual humorous recitation of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” when he forgets his lines and gets some of the words wrong.  It was back by popular demand!

The Harmonizers sang the first half in green, red or blue sweatshirts and everyone had a long white scarf.  Thanks to the team headed by Robyn Murane for getting them for us and having them organized for all to wear on the show. The second half we wore our black suites and the SAI singers wore black dresses when they were sharing the center section of the risers with the Harmonizers.

The steel orchestra, directed by Josanne Francis was placed on the orchestral apron of the stage.

Nick Leiserson was shows vp and helped with the show management along with Eleanor Dicks who joined his team. The FRIENDS IN HARMONY coordinated by Christina Ammerman and Robyn Murane managed the refreshment sales and merchandise in the lobby and other non-stage duties.  There was a large silent auction with different items for each show that was coordinated by Randall Eliason and Don Dillingham with much help from Don’s wife Saundra Deltac.  Several non-singing members were pressed into service for CD sales, auction operations and ushering. Bruce Minnick was Santa Claus in the lobby for all the big and little kids!! Of course a lot of the members helped with riser and equipment set up including the items for the steel orchestra. And everyone brought extra large wrapped gift boxes to help decorate the stage. Clear Harmonies provided sound support. Several chapter family members including Brigit Gilvary and Dixie Kennett were back stage helping with the flow of people from one part of the theater to the stage.

Here is a historical list of the songs on the show (abbreviation codes - AH is the Harmonizers; TBD is our a cappella group; WOM is Word of Mouth; PV is Positive Vibrations; MM is Marilyn Moore; and POB is Pride of Baltimore):

ACT I

“Welcome Christmas”  AH

“Sleigh-ride” AH

“White Christmas” AH

“Let It Snow” AH

 

“Here Comes Santa Claus” TBD

“Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer” TBD

 

“It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” AH

“Fa La La” AH

 

“It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”  AH/Sing Along

“Joy to the World” AH/Sing Along

“Silent Night” AH/Sing Along

“Do You Hear What I Hear” WOM

“This Christmas” WOM

Two  songs PV

“Ave Maria” PV/MM

INTERMISSION

ACT II

“Twas the Night Before Christmas”  Will Cox

“O Holy Night” TBD

“O Come O Come Emanuel” AH

“Mary Had a Baby” AH/MM

“This Little Light of Mine” AH/POB/MM

“Kyrie” AH/PV/POB

“Tribute to World Peace” AH/MM/POB/PV

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” ALL

The musical leadership team included Joe Cerutti, director; Tony Colosimo, associate director; Terry Reynolds and Mike Kelly, assistant directors; Carlos Barillo, choreographer; Reed Livergood, musical director of TBD; and Steve White, music and performance vp (who also provided the sleigh bells accompaniment with the heirloom bells from his family).

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the Dec. 15^th Chapter Meeting - Old Town Caroling

This week about 40 of us gathered at Durant at 7 pm wearing our new holiday sweat shirts and white scarves to get some last minute announcements, swap WHOs to fill last minute orders, and prepare to go down into Old Town Alexandria.  It was our annual caroling “pub crawl style” in a half dozen or so restaurants and clubs.  All of the places had welcoming guests who cheered and some even sang along with us. Mark Klostermeyer did his usual great job of making arrangements with managers at all the places where we stopped to sing.  We looked into one new place and decided to go in almost unannounced – it was one of the most fun of all.

The evening ended with some guys staying in town for an afterglow.

Steve Murane brought a good supply of business cards for us to pass out to interested men we met during the evening.

Assistant Director Terry Reynolds was director.

On Monday that week, about 25 guys went to George Washington Middle School to sing on Casey Belzer’s choral department’s holiday show.  They were well received and much appreciated by one of our newest members.

Don’t forget that the chapter will meet on both Dec. 22^nd and Dec. 29^th as the  usual time and place for a Tuesday meeting.

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the Dec. 8^th Chapter Meeting

This week was another dress rehearsal with one of our fellow performing groups for the holiday show and we were on the stage at Schlesinger.  Positive Vibrations, Marilyn Moore and some members from the Pride of Baltimore SAI chorus joined us.

Earlier some of our men sang at the White House and TBD sang for the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree.  Great opportunities for our singers.

Associate director Tony Colosimo did the vocal warm ups and got us ready while director Joe Cerutti and shows vp Nick Leiserson worked on details with the other talent groups on the show.  Our sound guys were working to get things set too.

Actually, Positive Vibrations played a couple holiday songs for us while we waited for things to be ready for us to take the risers. Great to have them perform their music for us.

There was not a regular chapter meeting but some important announcements.  President Terry Reynolds reminded us all that there is a rehearsal on Thursday nite at 7 pm at Durant.

Robyn Murane explained the process of our getting our new holiday sweatshirts for the show.  Each guy should be certain to have paid the $10 fee to Steve Murane.

After the band and soloists left, we practiced our entrances and exits for the two segments of the show.

The chorus call on Saturday morning is 10 am.  Stay tuned for more specific details such as dressing room assignments, lunch planning, parking, other tasks you could volunteer to help with, and reminder of uniforms.

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the Dec. 1^st Chapter Meeting

This week was another dress rehearsal with one of our fellow performing groups for the holiday show.  Positive Vibrations came to spend a chunk of the evening with us for the songs they will do with the chorus.  Our operative soprano, Marilyn Moore, was with us again this week too.

Our guys helped the PV group haul in their steel drums and equipment – as well as helped them reload their truck.  While they were adjusting and setting up, director Joe Cerutti had the chorus run thru a couple of our songs for the show too – making good use of the time in order to cover so much music in one nite.

It was a great musical treat tho for the chorus to see the young musicians perform.

Joe introduced us to Eleanor Dicks who is production consultant for the show who is working with show producer Nick Leiserson.

Eventually Joe got thru most of the songs for the show.  He quickly reviewed how the show will unfold with two sets and our needs to change uniforms.  Each singer is asked to pay $10 for the sweatshirt and scarf they will be assigned for the first act.  Give it to Steve or Robyn Murane.  See her email with much more useful detail.  And if you don’t have the plain red Harmonizer tie, see Tom Kern ASAP.

We took an early break and then operations vp Todd Ryktarsyk conducted the business meeting.

Randall Elisaon and Don Dillingham are still eager to accept significant donations for the silent auction at the show – especially major gift cards from hotels, restaurants, lodges, vacation spots.

Secretary Chris Buechler presented new member materials to our two newest – Steve Sparr and Casey Belzer. Then Chris presented membership renewals to Clark Chesser for 6 years; Frank Fedarko for 14 years and Chuck Harner for 48 years.

Sandy Stamps has plenty of White House Ornaments for guys to take on consignment and sell.

President Terry Reynolds reminded guys to watch for the sign-up email for a holiday appearance for Casey’s school on Dec. 14^th.

Terry also announced that the chapter is decorating the theater much like we have done for past holiday shows. Therefore, each man is asked to wrap at least one large box with shiny colorful holiday paper.  Bows are not necessary.  Bring them the day of the show to the first chorus call.

Terry confirmed that music for the “I Am Harvey Milk” show will be distributed at a later date. Also there will be auditions for other singers to join us:

On the evenings of Wed Dec 9 and Thurs Dec 17, the Harmonizers will be conducting Open Auditions for male singers who would like to be part of the April  2016 Strathmore production of the oratorio "I Am Harvey Milk", starring Kristin Chenoweth and Andrew Lippa. Interested singers should sign up by going to the Harmonizer website (harmonizers.org) to sign up for a time slot to audition. This is an audition just for the performance, not to become a member of the Harmonizer chorus.

Finally Terry asked for our recommendations for the chapter awards.

We worked hard on the holiday show music and closed with the reminder that next Tuesday nite, Dec. 8^th, we are back at Schlesinger Center for another dress rehearsal. And then we have an extra rehearsal on Thursday, Dec. 10^th, we are back at Durant for a final run of the show music.

 In other news, earlier this week the Mt. Vernon Chapter Board elevated Bob Wachter’s status to that of “Director Emeritus” of the chorus he created back in the nineties … and for which he’s been the musical director since the very beginning. The new director of the Harmony Heritage Singers is Drew Fuller.

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the Nov. 24^th Chapter Meeting

There were nearly 60 Harmonizer men and many Friends of the chapter at the  memorial service for long-time member John (JP) Pence Sunday afternoon Nov. 22^nd at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax church in Oakton. We sang “I’ll Walk with God” and “Deep River” with Andrew Havens singing the solo.  Joe invited us to all sing and pay tribute to our friend. Several guys offered memories or stories at the service.

Tuesday nite’s rehearsal was on-stage at Schlesinger Hall so we could prepare for some of our stage and theater movements.  And so we could work with other artists who will appear on the holiday show with us.  After associate director Tony Colosimo did the vocal warm ups, director Joe Cerutti helped us prepare for the rehearsal with opera singer Marilyn Moore.  When she arrived we did a couple runs on each of the songs she will sing with us.  It was quite a great experience for all.

Many men were absent as they were en route to family visits for Thanksgiving.  Good to see Joe and Tom Jackson, bass section leader, back on the mend after some serious flu or colds.  The operations crews worked hard to get the risers in place and get the stage ready for us.

Between songs, president Terry Reynolds announced a sing out for a few of us at Washington Middle School (where Casey Belzer is the music teacher) on Dec. 14^th.

Craig Kujawa, chapter coordinator for our International convention and contest in Nashville, reminded all to get in their forms with housing and registration intentions by Nov. 30^th.  He has to submit a report to the BHS about how many rooms we will need. Craig had just returned from Nashville along with a rep from all of the other competing choruses.

Steve Murane reminded men to get in their $10 payment for the holiday show shirts and scarves. Pay to Robyn or to Steve.

Tom Kern reminded singers that they should see if they need any uniform parts for the holiday show tonite!  Basically we will need our black suits.

Next week our rehearsal will be back at Durant at the usual time.

After break we worked on choreography for the show and chorus movement on stage with TBD and our movement into the auditorium.

Joe released us for the evening with his thanks for the extra work on the show music and for a promise to work on some of the music over the holiday.

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the Nov. 17^th Chapter Meeting

The chorus arrived ready to work again and prepare for the holiday show.  It was great to have Bob Blair back in the hall and on the risers with us. And to have Ben Roberts back on the risers too.

After Reed Livergood did the warm ups, director Joe Cerutti was ready to push us right to work on the holiday music.  He took some time to share some of the specific plans for the show as to how we will perform with the other artists.  He played some for us to hear as well.

He used a pull out octet to help us check our preparedness.

Joe was pleased with the progress on several of the songs and joked that he just might miss another rehearsal if we will make such progress when he is gone (he was coaching in Germany last week).

Operations vp Todd Ryktarsyk started the chapter business meeting with a reminder from Sandy Stamps for guys to take White House Ornaments on consignment to sell.

Craig Kujawa reported on the progress of our scrip sales efforts that he is now coordinating. He saluted the several men who are using the option to buy scrip at the point of purchase.  See his recent “You Don’t Know Scrip” reports.   He also encourages folks to plan ahead for the holidays for purchases and to use scrip for gifts and all holiday purchases such a holiday meals and treat.

Craig is also the chairman for our trip to International in Nashville in 2016.  He alerted us that he has just released the first Harmo newsletter for that convention (while we were on the risers).  So please fill out the intentions form and follow his directions. The deadline is Nov. 30^th!! Thanks Craig for jumping on this task right away.

Ike Evans continues to take mug shots for the chapter photo board.

Secretary Chris Buechler presented Steve White with his 39-year membership renewal card.

President Terry Reynolds thanked everyone for their participation in the Veterans’ Day events.  Many of our members sing with the Harmony Heritage Singers who also did tribute shows that day.

Rick Wagner’s mother passed away in the last few days.

Our a capella group, TBD, performed with WORD OF MOUTH (the group that won our Aca Challenge) this past weekend.

Terry reported on the BHS leadership forum held in Nashville last weekend. He was part of the leadership operations team, Dennis Ritchey was part of the district leaders group as he is Ex VP for MAD, Chris Buechler was on the governance and bylaws team for the board, and John Santora is a member of the BHS board.

Terry announced a 2 pm call for those who plan to attend the memorial services for John Pence on Sunday Nov. 22 at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax. 2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton, VA 22124. Warm up in the Program Building Social Hall (furthest building down hill from church.  Attire will be coat & tie of choice. We will sing “I’ll Walk With God” and “Deep River.”

Costume item for the job on Dec 5^th is the all-red tie.  Some guys need to bring in their tie to load to those who are doing that show and don’t have one yet.

For those who plan ahead, the Presidents’ Banquet is Jan 9^th at Ft. Myer.  Everyone should try to attend – it is the kick off of our year and the time to honor those who have served us in many ways over the years.  Terry has invited all of us to offer our suggestions as to which of our members should be honored.  Do your part and submit ideas in response to Terry’s email.

Dave Kohls announced the holiday concerts for The Washington Men's Camerata coming up next month: Saturday Dec 5, 8:00 p.m. at Fairlington Methodist Church, Alexandria; Sunday Dec 6, 4:00 p.m. at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Bethesda; Sunday Dec 13, 4:00 p.m. at the Church of the Epiphany, Washington DC. Tickets cost $25 for individuals, or for $60 you can buy a "family" ticket which can be used for any four people (need not be related) to attend. Tickets are available online through www.camerata.com or from Dave directly at rehearsal on Tuesdays.

Membership vp introduced a bunch of guests before we went to break.

After break, we reviewed the songs for Sunday’s service and then more concentrated work on the holiday songs. Our chapter quartet BRAVADO helped us learn the special tag we will use in the show – thanks Doug White, Kevin McKenzie, Chris Odell and Todd Ryktarsyk.

We closed after a terrific rehearsal with the reminder that next week’s rehearsal will be at Schlesinger, then Dec. 1^st  back at Durant, and then for Dec 8^th back to Schlesinger and for the extra rehearsal on Dec 10^th back at Durant.  Take note.

The chapter board meeting was set for Wed this week.

Everyone was invited to the afterglow and we put all the equipment away and sang KTWWS!!

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd.

Looking Back on the Nov. 10^th Chapter Meeting; Tag-a-Thon; Veterans’ Day

First – a report about the Tag-a-Thon that was held on Saturday, Nov. 7^th at First Baptist Church following our all-sectionals rehearsal in the morning.  Calvin Schnure coordinated the event and here is his report: 

Seventeen Harmonizers joined their voices in song on Saturday at the First Annual Harmonizer Tag-a-Thon. Singing in literally dozens of quartet combinations, the men mixed it up on all voice parts (including at least one mixed voice quartet) and performed dozens of tags, for fun and prizes. Participating: Andrew Havens, Tom Jackson, Tim Buell, Scipio Garling, Todd Ryktarsyk, Elizabeth Ryktarsyk, Josh Roots, Rick Savage, Joel Golden, Kevin Kaiser, Clyde Crusenberry, Jack Pitzer, Tony Colosimo, Bill Colosimo, Eric Wallen, Mike Wallen, Steve White, Mick Stamps. (Tony, who was warming up in DC for a matinee quartet gig, participated remotely by singing a tag with Eric, Mike and Bill.)

 

Award winners included:

Most Different Tags Performed: Tom Jackson (24 different tags, at least)

 

Most Tags Performed on All Four Voice Parts: Tim Buell (five tags on all four parts). Runner up, Calvin Schnure (four tags on all four parts)

 

Most Men Performed With: Scipio Garling

 

Fundraising winners will be announced after all pledges and donations are collected. There's still time to participate--get your pledges and turn them in. Fundraising categories to be awarded are Highest total donations collected and Most donors pledging to the Tag-a-Thon. Please turn donations collected into Calvin.

The sectional rehearsal on Sat. morning Nov. 7 also at First Baptist was a useful one for singers preparing for the holiday show.  Associate director Tony Colosimo started the work session with warm ups and work on “Mary Had a Baby.”  The section leaders met with their men then til noon in the various rehearsal rooms in the music suite in the church.

The singout on Sunday at the foot of King Street at the Yacht Club was a success and fun.  About 25 guys were there to sing a couple times for those folks present to help raise money for a Wounded Warrior project.  Chorus members actually paid to enter but we got food and some time to relax between appearances.  We sang for lots of military men and their friends.  They were an enthusiastic audience.  Hopefully there will be pay off as they come hear us or hire us.  Terry did the warm ups and was emcee; and Tony directed both shows. Community service guy, Clyde Crusenberry, coordinated the gig.  AHI board member Liz Birnbaum met with the new mayor of Alexandria who was present.

The two Veterans’ Day events were great too.  The first one, at Oakton Elementary, was for over 850 students and all their military guests. About 25 singers were there. Assistant director Terry did the warm ups and was our maestro. Greg Tepe was there to coordinate details with the school staff.  We had a shock during our performance when Bob Blair suffered a seizure or something that took him to the floor.  The staff in the school, several medical folks in the audience, and the quick-to-arrive rescue squad handled our brother well.  And after a stop in Inova Fairfax hospital, he was home that nite to rest and prepare to see his doctor next week!! Thanks to all the men who stepped up to load the truck and get it back to its parking spot.

Several of us did take advantage of the Veterans’ Day free lunch at Applebee’s in Falls Church.

The evening performance was at George Washington Middle School on Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria. Our own Casey Belzer is the director of music and he invited us to sing on their school Veterans’ Day Concert as a surprise guest.  His various choruses sang well and were enthusiastic.  Then we appeared at the end of the show singing “Lullaby” and “Sweet Caroline.” The students went wild!  And so did their folks and families.  About 25 guys made it to this show too.  Terry was our director again. Thanks to him for his long day’s work.

The Tuesday, Nov. 10^th chapter meeting was a busy one in preparation for the holiday show – on the music, on new show uniform sweatshirts and scarves, on sign-ups for holiday special appearances and on the usual chapter nite matters such as getting your picture taken by Ike Evans for the member photo board and getting White House Ornaments from Sandy Stamps to sell.

Tony did the warm ups and was our director for the nite. During the chapter meeting period, we learned that TBD is appearing on the “Word of Mouth” invitational a cappella event.

Tom Jackson reported on the successful open heart surgery for Jim Clancy this week.

If you want to buy a Harmonizer CD, email Steve or Robyn Murane in advance of a chapter meeting and they will bring them to you. He email is  rlmurane@aol.com.

Congrats to Steve Szyszke for his participation in the Ukrainian Bandvrist Chorus at Lisner over the past weekend.  It was great to see Gary Mankin in the hall – and he renewed his membership!

President Terry asked if anyone knows what happened to the nice table cover we used for display events.

Secretary Chris Buechler recognized the following membership renewals: Reed Livergood for 5 years; Shawn Tallant for 9 years; Chris Yates for 16 years; and Drew Fuller for 26 years.

Thanks to those who have remembered to chip in for the coffee break goodies – and for those who have brought contributions of goodies too. Always great to get them.

Dick Hall shared this story on Tuesday, the eve of Veteran’s Day, after he used a bell to get the guys back to the risers after break:  “I called the Harmonizers back to the risers after the break tonite by ringing a bell.  When I was chapter program vp (formerly the title for ops vp), I used a bell like it to call the guys to the risers before rehearsal and at break.  Not the bell I used tonight, but this bell has a story behind it.  This is the story:

When my mom was 12 years old, she and her Grandpa (my great-grandpa) were in the field pulling corn.  When grandma came running out of the house ringing her dinner bell, and hollering ‘Pa come on in, come on in – the War is over.’ Grandpa unhitched the mules and took them to the barn, hitched the horse to the buggy, and went in and cleaned up and changed clothes.  They all got in the buggy and went to town to celebrate the end of the war.  That was  Nov. 11, 1918, the end of the First World War.  This is my great grandma’s dinner bell – it is well over 100 years old.”

Musically our work included time on pronunciation for the Italian passage in “Kyrie” and quartets and octets for “White Christmas.”

In other news, Terry Reynolds, John Santora and Chris Buechler have served as trainers for chapter officers from other chapters in our M-AD.  Chuck Harner is coordinator of the district’s leadership academy programs that are held in the fall and early winter in the northern, southern and central parts of the district. 

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd.

 

Looking Back on the Nov. 3^rd Chapter Meeting

(Thanks again to Don Harrington for taking notes for this week’s report! YeEd)

Bob Blair and his crew had the risers in place and the hall set up at the First Baptist Church before the riser call came and Reed Livergood started the warm-up.  Director Joe Cerutti went right to work on holiday songs the chorus has not sung since last year, and then split the chorus into two groups for sectional work on “Kyrie” and “This Little Light.”

Todd Ryktarsyk kept the business meeting moving, making sure the important issues were discussed and announcements made.

Randall Eliason put a plug in for the Silent Auction, explained the items needed and encouraged everyone to get out and ask for gift certificates from restaurants, movies, and other local businesses.  PresidentTerry Reynolds brought greetings from Chuck Hunter, who is enjoying his assignment in Istanbul, but looking forward to a move next year that might bring him back to our area. 

Clyde Crusenberry reminded the chorus of the opportunity this Sunday, November 8 to help the Old Dominion Boat Club raise funds for the Wounded Warriors.  More singers are needed at this great venue in our backyard.  Look for more details in a separate email. 

Also, plan on being a part of this year’s Veteran’s Day tribute at the Oakton Elementary School on the morning of Wednesday, November 11, always a rewarding experience.  Also on November 11, in the evening, we have a performance in Alexandria at the George Washington Middle School.  New Harmonizer Casey Belzer, a music teacher there, has organized a Veterans Day program within the school auditorium and he has asked for Harmonizer help.

Membership vp Rich Hewitt gave an update on Jack Stonesifer and applicant Larry Dennis, who have both been under doctor’s care, but are hoping to be back with us soon.  Steve Spar was introduced as the newest member of the bass section. 

After break, we came together for more work on the holiday songs.  We made great progress on these songs, but imagine how they will sound after our sectional rehearsal this Saturday, November 8 at the First Baptist Church!  It’s not too late to get those pledges and plan for an hour or two of tag singing, while helping the chapter on Saturday, immediately after the rehearsal, at our first Tag-A-Thon.

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd.

 

Looking Back on the 2015 Fall District Contest in Ocean City Oct 23-24

This year’s fall contest weekend was back in Ocean City MD. The Harmonizers were well prepared and won their 26th M-AD chorus championship with a great 90.9 score.

We had 97 men on the risers and we sang “Someone Like You” arranged by Steve Tramack and “Me Ol’ Bamboo” arranged by Clay Hine. The music team had prepared us well and we had all worked hard to achieve these high marks – Joe Cerutti, director; Tony Colosimo, associate director; Carlos Barillo, choreographer; Chuck McKeever, riser coach; and Steve White, music and performance vp. Plus there are the assistant directors, visual team members, and section leaders.

We also had four Alexandria quartets in the semi finals on Friday nite:  FORECAST with Mike Fitch, Tyler Rackley, Travis Murray, Dan Cook ranked 4^th; HERSHEY TRANSIT COMPANY with Bill Keet, Pookie Dingle, Frank Resek, Steven Matuszewski ranked 8th; YOUTH RECLAMATION PROJECT with Mike Wallen, Roger Tarpey, Hardman Jones, Vic Owen ranked 9th; and BRAVADO with Doug White, Kevin McKenzie, Chris Odell, Todd Ryktarsyk ranked 17^th. And on Saturday night at the Show of Champions, LAST MEN STANDING with TJ Barranger. Drew Feyrer, Ed Bell, Mike Kelly sang their swan song as the outgoing M-AD Champion.

This year’s quartet champ features former Harmonizer, Scott Disney, in ROUTE 1.

Also joining in the crowning of the new M-AD quartet champion will be the M-AD Association of Quartet Champions (MADAQC) chorus with many Harmonizers representing the 19 quartet champs from our chapter (see page 35 of the chapter directory).

 

The Harmonizers appeared on the Saturday nite Jamboree as new district champs and presented songs from our American Icon CD - “America” and “Lullaby.”  We actually wore the contest attire for the show. Joe spoke to the audience about our pride to represent the district at International.  He saluted the other top choruses who will be joining us.  And he spoke of former director John Hohl and announced that we wished to dedicate “Lullaby” to John.

Sales for the CDs went great at our booth in the lobby all weekend. Several guys chipped in and helped sell. The ad on the jumbotron was good too.  And we had a great ad in the printed program about our 2015 holiday show.  

A special surprise on Saturday during the chorus contest was the induction of two more Harmonizers into the M-AD Hall of Honor – Terry Reynolds and Mike Kelly.  They join 20 other chapter members in this group.

 

The chorus championship entitles us to go to the International contest in Nashville in July 2016. Hell’s Kitchen, NY, Voices of Gotham, ranked 2^nd in the chorus contest. The new Hershey, PA, Parkside Harmony, directed by former Harmonizers Jay Butterfield and Sean Devine, ranked 3^rd. The Hamilton Square, NJ, The Brothers in Harmony, ranked 4^th.

As usual the chapter was well organized for the weekend.  Most men and many families and friends drove up on Friday and everyone seemed to manage the huge traffic delay when an accident closed the Bay Bridge for a few hours.  We had our first gathering on Saturday morning at a Holy Savior Catholic Church, which we have used in other years when in OC.  Our great front row met early there to button down their routines.  The chorus arrived at 9. Then Tony, Carlos and Joe worked hard to get us in the groove.

The chorus contest actually started at 8:30 am but our FRIENDS IN HARMONY came to the church to cheer for us and presented each man on the risers with a memento. Robyn Murane came with us to the ready room with her trusty needle and thread to fix or adjust uniforms as needed.

As is our tradition, Joe asked to see the hands of the guys who are singing with us for their first district contest – YeEd thinks there were five.

Shawn Tallant gets a large thank you from the chapter members for finding us a hotel that would open up on this weekend.  The Harmo truck drivers got everything to OC including the props we used as part of the contest package.

Actually there were a lot of non-singing current members at the convention – several sang with other choruses on Saturday or directed other choruses. As usual we had many guys in leadership and operations positions to run the district and the convention. Dennis Ritchey was emcee for the Friday nite contest session and is the executive vice president for M-AD. Special forces guys for this contest were Mike Geipel, Mike Fasano and Bill Conway.

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 66th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd.)

 

Looking Back on the Oct 27^th Chapter Meeting

(Thanks to Don Harrington for taking notes and preparing Looking Back for Oct 27 . And to Walt Page and Jeff Burkey for coffee detail. // YeEd)

Thanks to the work of the early arriving volunteers, the risers, tables, chairs and displays were in place as Harmonizers began making their way to the risers Tuesday night. Featured prominently on the front table was the Mid Atlantic District Chorus championship trophy, already engraved with the chapter’s name by Ship’s Hatch, Inc., as a congratulatory token of our having won the chorus champion title for the 26^th time. At 7 pm, associate director Tony Colosimo did the warm up, then took a few minutes to congratulate the chorus on the awesome performance that earned us the district championship. Our score was our second highest district score since 1997, and represented the greatest increase in average scores from international to district contest. He told us how proud he was of the chorus and gave special congratulations to the initial group of singers enrolled in the certified singers program.

Tony then taught us the first half of a new tag for Rejoice a.k.a. “Emanuel Shall Come to Thee.” Director Joe Cerutti asked us to be ready to sing the whole tag next week and later sent out the chart by email. Joe also praised the work ethic and quality improvements in the rehearsals leading up to the contest, especially the all day Saturday rehearsal.

Feedback from the judges was every helpful, and Joe singled out one common message: the chorus must take more individual responsibility to achieve unity in sound and visual presentation. He promised more work in quartets and duets to lock in 100% accuracy on notes and words. He challenged us to hold ourselves to a higher standard, starting with the holiday music, followed in quick succession by the special spring performance and the international contest. He us led through sections of the new songs for the holiday show.

Todd Ryktarsyk conducted the business meeting. Steve White called Mike Kelly to the front to be recognized as one of three new members inducted into the Mid-Atlantic District Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Mike and to Terry Reynolds, another Hall of Fame inductee who was recognized at a chapter gathering in Ocean City.

Don Dillingham announced plans for this year’s Silent Auction. With our new venue, more limited space, and two shows instead of three, we are having a somewhat scaled-down effort this year. For starters, we will not be doing the on-line auction, only the live auction at the actual shows. We are also trying to focus on quality, rather than quantity. In particular, we want to focus on getting things like gift cards and gift certificates from restaurants, jewelers, and other merchants who are interested in supporting us. These are extremely easy to sell and frequently bring in bids close to their face value. Certificates for other high-end items are also great, and artwork is usually good as well. But given our space constraints, we will steer away from very large items that take up a lot of room, and from used, personal household items that are not as easy to sell (the "garage sale" stuff). Time for us to go out and get gift cards from merchants that we frequent. Or send an email to your favorite jeweler, restaurant, hair salon, spa, or any other business that you (or your significant other) think might be willing to support us. Donations can be given to Don Dillingham or Randall Eliason on any Tuesday night.

Josh Roots, Calvin Schnure and Liz Birnbaum showed us how important, how easy and how much fun we will have getting pledges and singing tags at the TAG-A-THON on November 7 from 1-3 PM, immediately following the All-Sectional rehearsal. Now is the time to ask friends, neighbors, coworkers, and family for a donation. Lots of prizes will be offered, so pick up a pledge form and clear your calendar.

Clyde Crusenberry reminded guys of the November 8 performance at the Old Dominion Boat Club in support of the Wounded Warriors. We are in need of 10-15 more guys for this performance. Since no guests were present, MVP Rich Hewitt welcomed Tim Cash (bass) and Art Medici (Lead) to the risers for the first time as chapter members!

We were called back to the risers after break with the video of our district championship performance. Mike Kelly explained how each of us can download and enjoy this and previous district performances by going to www.midatlanticdistrict.com, clicking on Members Login, entering our BHS member number and password, then clicking on the link named “Download your contest videos here”, and downloading and saving it to our computer. Do not try to play it directly from the website because the file is too big.

The rest of the rehearsal was devoted to holiday show music. These songs are already sounding great. What a great show this promises to be. At 10 pm, Carl Kaufman directed “Keep the Whole World Singing” and several guys went to LaPortas after returning the hall to the condition we found it in. REMEMBER, next Tuesday, rehearsal will be at First Baptist church, because of the election.

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 67^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd.