Looking Back on the June 8th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

      Looking Back on the June 8^th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

On Tuesday June 8^th, the Alexandria Harmonizers had their first large group in-person rehearsal since the pandemic started. The music team extended an invite to members to attend this week in order to keep the number of singers controlled. Everyone had to be vaccinated. The technical crew worked hard to manage Zoom connection for those who weren’t present. 

 

At the start of the meeting there was a lot of talking among the guys catching up, seeing old friends we hadn’t seen in a while.  The chorus was split into two smaller groups known as green and red chorus. Each chorus did a warm up with associate director Tony Colosimo, while director Joe Cerutti was going over announcements with the other chorus in a separate room.

 

Joe shared the details about attendees for next week including reminders about keeping the chapter informed of any changes in your intentions to attend.  He  reminded folks to sign a Covid waiver form.

 

He explained the plans for submitting recordings for our virtual choir project performing “Stars and Stripes Forever.”  

 

After warmup,  the two groups merged together to go through “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin” with others participating through Zoom meeting. After some instruction and several run throughs the chorus split back to their respective rooms, the chorus reviewed “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” splitting the half hour with Joe and Tony working on different aspects of the song.

 

The guys came back together for their final 30 minutes of rehearsal and for our secretary, David DesPortes, to hand out renewal cards from the last several months. After all membership cards were handed out, we did a run through of “Sing.” 

 

We checked in with the guys from Zoom (whose faces were projected on the wall in the hall), to see how it sounded, with resounding thumbs up. We wrapped the evening up singing “Keep the Whole World Singing.” 

 

(Thanks to Jerry Jayjohn for taking the notes for the meeting while YeEd was on vacation in Illinois.)

 

YeEd asked for reactions from guys who attended this week and here is the reply from Frank Shipp:

 

“Joni Mitchell wrote, “Don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.” I never realized how dearly I felt about our chapter, and BHS, until the pandemic took it away. Zoom technology, and our amazing tech team and leadership, kept me sane, at least, until we returned to in-person singing. June 1st brought a few of us in for a “trial run”, and a dozen voices sounded like 25 as the harmony in the rooms filled my heart with joy. Then, June 8th, even more of us greeted each other with a genuine affection not felt in in nearly 15 months. The sound we generated near the end of the evening with “Bridge Over Troubled Water” seemed to emanate from the room into the night sky, and out to the whole world, completing the bridge over the troubled waters of the pandemic that we had created by staying together as best we could. A warmth descended upon our group, and filled the room, exceeded only by the love I felt when we finally sang “Keep The Whole World Singing.” We will always build our own bridges. We will always keep our world singing. And all is right with the world. Finally.”

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on June 15^th, 2021 at SRT following guidelines prescribed by the chapter leadership and per invitation.

 

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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)