Looking Back on December 2022 Events on the Harmonizer Holiday Calendar

 Looking Back on December 2022 Events on the Harmonizer Holiday Calendar

This year’s December holiday schedule, after the major show, was fun and busy.

Tuesday night Dec. 13^th the chorus and their fans went on the annual Carol Crawl in Old Town Alexandria from Market Square down to the River and spots by the Torpedo Factory.  Pretty much all the same guys that sang on the show made it out for this fun event.

Singers warmed up vocally in the lobby of City Hall and greeted some family members and former members  who walked with singers (great to see the young kids who are now part of the Harmonizer family); and everyone welcomed David Wilt who was in town from his home in FL. 

The first stop to sing was on the steps at the big lighted tree in Market Square that gathered a nice crowd of fans.  

Santa hats were the uniform for this event and they helped alert folks out for the evening on King Street to realize something was “happening.” Mark Klostermeyer did a recon walk earlier to alert the restaurants and clubs that we would be stopping by to sing.

We sang just three songs from the show – “Let It Snow,” “Here Comes Santa Claus,” and “J-I-N-G-L-E Bells” – at each stop and ended with the traditional “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” Steve White brought along his set of heirloom sleigh bells. After a few stops enroute, the chorus assembled on the entry steps to the Torpedo Factory area and sang a mini show for the crowd that assembled at that busy corner.

After the last stop, director Joe Cerutti invited the Harmo family back to the Harmo House for an afterglow and to feast on the great spread he had prepared (with some help from his folks, Janet and Joe Sr.).

On Wed. Dec. 14^th, a quartet of Harmonizers sang for the annual holiday luncheon of the Northern Virginia  Antique Arts Association held at the Springfield Golf and Country Club.  The quartet was cheerfully received, and our contact (and annual show patron) Marjie Morris, was thrilled to have a barbershop quartet on the program.  Carl Kauffmann, Frank Fedarko, Michael Schwartz and Dean Rust formed up to be THE HARMONIZER FOUR for this event. They were also happy to plug the chorus show that was coming up on Dec. 17^th.

The Dec. 17^th holiday show at the Scottish Rite Temple in DC on 16^th Street attracted an expanded audience for the chorus.  The 2 pm show was basically a repeat of the show the chorus did in Alexandria on Dec. 9 with a few changes:  METRO VOICES did not sing on this show, several solos were sung by different singers, and some quartets included a different set of singers. The chorus wore their green, red or blue holiday sweat shirts and white scarf for the show too. A good crew of members helped with risers and moving and set up. 

BETTER TOGETHER sang again on this show and their appearance included an introduction of Tony’s father, Bill, and Tony’s son.

The hosts provided free valet parking for the show patrons.  There was an afterglow at Midlands thanks to coordination by executive director Randall Eliason.  

Another special holiday event for the chapter was the inclusion of our 2021 performance of “Joy to the World” as part of the WETA Songs of the Season broadcasts during December.  This PBS event included several choral groups in the DC area. President Noah Van Gilder included details about the WETA show schedule in his email blast to our chapter patrons and friends.

On Dec. 27^th, a number of members of the chapter will attend the annual Barbershop Blast hosted by the Dundalk MD Chapter.

The Harmonizers will reconvene their schedule and weekly meetings on Jan. 17^th at Scottish Rite Temple. A major activity that night will be a complete reveal of the 2023 schedule and an outline of plans for events next 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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

Looking Back in Memory of Terry Jordan – Nov. 19, 1940-Nov. 29, 2022

 Looking Back in Memory of Terry Jordan – Nov. 19, 1940-Nov. 29, 2022

 

(Many thanks to Martin Banks, chapter historian emeritus, for preparing this report. - YeEd)

The life of Terry Jordan was celebrated in song and remembrance on Saturday, December 10 at the Potomac Baptist Church of  Sterling, Virginia, in a service arranged by the Loudoun County Chapter, Ron Baker, President. Members of the Alexandria Harmonizers, directed by Joe Cerutti, presented “I’ll Be Seeing You” and “A Place on the Risers For You” and joined the Old Dominion Chorus in the “Irish Blessing.” Several of Terry’s friends and admirers recalled his personal and often humorous touch in perpetuating the values and traditions of the Harmonizers. Terry’s friend, Mike Fasano, shared many items of Terry’s memorabilia that were worthy of a new barbershop home. Mike also related that two of Terry’s cousins from Florida and the state of Washington were in town to pay tribute and settle his estate.

Terry Lee Jordan of Potomac Falls, Virginia passed away on November 29, 2022 at age 82.  Beloved husband to the late Virginia Mae “Ginger” Jordan; son of Harold T. and Alice Madeline Jordan.

Terry grew up in Dunbar, West Virginia. He had a career in the U.S. Air Force that took him from the Arctic Circle to American Samoa in the South Pacific but he never lost his love of West Virginia.

Terry maintained a decades-long passion for barbershop quartet and chorus singing. He joined the Alexandria Harmonizers in 1965 and served as Chapter President in 1984. He originated the idea for the Chapter Barbershop Store which he operated for 20 years. He sang bass in the MAD-For Tunes quartet. Terry was “pitch man” for the chorus and was a member of the 1986 and 1989 International Gold Medal Choruses.

Ginger Jordan suggested the name “Harmonettes” for the chapter’s new auxiliary organization and served as its President in 1968.  Ginger and Terry were awarded the 2008 Ibbianne and Wilbur Sparks Award that recognizes the important contributions of “Family” to the success and well-being of the chapter. Terry received the Harmonizer Memorial Award in 1982.  

Terry Jordan served in a number of chapter and district positions in public relations and marketing for which he received honors from the Society of Public Relations Officers and Bulletin Editors (PROBE). He was honored with Mid-Atlantic District membership in DELASUSQUEHUDMAC in 1988 and the District Hall of Honor in 2005.

Terry received many honors for his dedicated service and leadership but he most valued his barbershop fellowship. He no doubt found true friendship to be one of the best gifts that life has to offer.

Terry will be interred at Grandview Memorial Park, Kanawha County, Dunbar, West Virginia, where his wife and parents are also interred

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 Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

 

Looking Back on the December 6th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the December 6^th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

(Many thanks to Carl Kauffmann who took notes for this report while YeEd was in NYC again to see ‘Music Man!’)

Tuesday was the final pre-holiday show rehearsal and final rehearsal scheduled at Scottish Rite, Alexandria in 2022.

Next Tuesday (Dec 13) will be the traditional Christmas Carol Crawl through Old Town Alexandria. Singers will meet in front of City Hall at 7 pm. The following Saturday (Dec 17) is the reprise of the holiday show at the Scottish Rite Temple in Washington DC. Chorus call time for that 2 pm performance is 11:30 am.

Terry Reynolds  announced the chorus call for those attending Saturday's 10 am funeral for Terry Jordan is 9:15 am. The Harmonizers will sing "A Place on the Risers" and " I'll be Seeing You".  Uniform is coat and Tie.

The January 17, 2023 chapter meeting at SRT will be the kickoff meeting for the new year. 

Tony Colosimo conducted the warmup for the Harmonizers. Metro Voices did not meet.

Artistic Director Joe Cerutti and Tony ran through the sequence of songs for the holiday show with several run-throughs of the "Caroling, Caroling" medley to smooth out the transitions from chorus to the three quartets/octets performing the segments inter-leaved with the verses of the title song.

Joe mentioned that introductions during the show will be conducted via a video package being put together by Mike Kelly. A five minute video will start playing at 7:27 pm and ends at 7:32 pm - one minute before the show starts. 

Technical rehearsal will be conducted at Schlesinger on Wednesday. The facility will be available starting at 5 pm. Those who have volunteered to help with riser set-up, lobby set-up, and decoration of the stage were asked to be on hand to off-load the Harmo truck which will arrive at the loading dock at 5:30 pm. 

Dress rehearsal will be conducted at Schlesinger on Thursday. Call time (on stage) for the chorus is 7 pm.  Everyone is asked to bring two brightly wrapped boxes with them on Thursday which will be used to complete the stage decorations. 

Call time for the 7:30 pm Friday show is 5:15 pm. Uniform is white collared dress shirt with holiday sweatshirt, white scarf, black trousers, black socks and black dress (not formal) shoes.

Joe shared highlights of another "Harmonizer Hero" - Tyler Carpenter. 

He also acknowledged Dennis Ritchie, who took the initiative to put together a quartet (with Reed Livergood, Paul Grimes, and Steve White). - his first quartet appearance on a Harmonizer show.

Randall Eliason announced that there will be an afterglow at TGIF's (Beauregard at King Street) after the show Dec. 9^th.  

Cy Shuster...won the 50/50 drawing.   

Another good crowd was at the afterglow and enjoyed special holiday goodies prepared by Joe.

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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the November 29th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the November 29^th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

The Harmonizer chorus is well prepared for the holiday show, ‘Comfort and Joy – a Harmonizer Holiday.’ This week’s rehearsal mostly concentrated on parts of the newer songs and some of the staging transitions for the show. Metro Voices joined in the last half of the rehearsal night to sing their part of “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo conducted a warm up session in the auditorium with the singers on the risers. The music team had developed a new riser chart for the show chorus and that took some time for guys to relocate and adjust. 

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti started off the Harmonizer evening with Thanksgiving holiday wishes to all. He spent the holiday in Ireland with chorus friend Doug Carnes and his family. (Joe brought back a great cupcake recipe that he fixed for the afterglow – yummmm!) Doug has a new youth chorus over there.

 

Then Joe shared the shocking news that Terry Jordan died earlier today.  A friend and neighbor found him when he came to check on things.  As president Noah has suggested, it is too early to know any other details.  Terry was 82 on Nov. 19^th. He joined the chorus in 1965 and was president in 1984-85. 

 

Joe with chapter development director Ken Rub reminded everyone that it was GIVING TUESDAY and that donations could still be made or even on Wednesday.  Members were also encouraged to use social media to promote donations from friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. Ken reported later in the night that we were approaching our goal for this effort.

 

The music team’s work plan for the night was to be certain all singers were in artistic mode as they performed. 

 

The business session included many announcements.

 

Here are some calendar updates for the next couple months: there will be a dress rehearsal on Thursday  Dec. 8^th since the show is on Friday night and most members could not make an extra-early call time; the annual pub crawl/caroling-sing in Old Town Alexandria will be Tuesday Dec. 13^th  followed by an afterglow at the Harmo House; we will not meet on Dec. 20^th. The chorus will sing on Saturday Dec. 17^th at the Scottish Rite Temple in DC. The annual Blast party will be held Dec. 27^th at 7 pm in the Dundalk MD area for any barbershoppers. Cost is $16 each.

 

The holiday show will include background projected videos of warm holiday memory scenes. More submissions are needed from ASAP. Get them to Terry.

 

Operations director Gary Cregan asked for help with loading risers onto the truck after the meeting and the movement of holiday decorations from the chapter’s storage unit, getting things to Schlesinger for the dress rehearsal and the show on Dec. 9^th, and for the show in DC on Dec. 17^th.  Many members are needed to help with these work projects – especially since Gary will be having some surgery this week. 

 

Assistant director Terry Reynolds reported that about 35 Harmonizers attended the funeral services for Bruce Minnick.

 

Terry also reported the uniform plans for the holiday show – the holiday sweatshirts with the white scarf. Gary Cregan has been getting those to new members. The plan is for singers to wear those sweatshirts over a long sleeve white dress shirt, with black dress pants and shoes. There will be a tech rehearsal on Dec. 7^th at Schlesinger, then the dress rehearsal for all singers at 7 pm on Dec. 8^th.  Call time for the Fri. Dec 9^th show is 5:15pm.

 

Jack Pitzer filled in for membership director Jacob Broude and welcomed chorus fans Kathi Trepper and Maribeth Besani – they have been coming to our shows for 20 years and can’t make it on Dec. 9^th so decided to come hear the songs tonight. It was great to have Craig Odell and Greg Tepe with us for the evening too. 

 

Before work on the show songs in the second half of the night, Tony recorded a promotional piece announcing our chapter’s participation in the All Chapter Chorus that will be at BHS MidWinter. Tony will be co-directing it. Our representative will be Mick Stamps. Tony spoke, Will Cox directed the chorus singing “The Harmonizer Welcome Song,” and Ken Rub did the filming. 

 

Joe invited members to the afterglow at Harmo House this week as usual.

 

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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the November 22nd 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the November 22^nd 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

The Harmonizer holiday show date for ‘Comfort and Joy – a Harmonizer Holiday,’ is approaching fast.  This week there were many final details announced and explained and smaller ensembles worked into the plan.

 

Several members of the chorus were exposed to a positive COVID case over the weekend and wore masks, as is the protocol for the Harmonizers.

  

Artistic director Joe Cerutti started off the Harmonizer evening in the auditorium with a warm up session that included working on selected spots of a couple holiday show songs.  Tessa Walker worked with the Metro Voices in the cafeteria. 

 

Joe reported the plans for the chapter to accept the April 2023 special invitations to appear out of the DC area as part of the chapter’s participation in the Virginia Commission for the Arts touring program is “all go!”  The road trip  and overnight trip will be fun fellowship and the two college audiences will help the chapter connect with new audiences. Joe was appreciative of the response from the members to allow chapter leadership to respond promptly.  He did appeal to everyone to keep the April 21-22, 2023 dates open.

 

He also announced that Mick Stamps has agreed to be our chapter representative in the all-chapter chorus that will sing at the Mid-Winter BHS convention in January.  

 

And he paid tribute to Bruce Minnick who died recently. A service will be held Sat. Nov. 26^th at The Church of Latter-Day Saints, 6219 Villa St., Alexandria, VA 22310 with viewing at 10 am and the service at 11 am. Barbershoppers present will sing “Irish Blessing.”

 

Here are some calendar updates for the next couple months: there will be a dress rehearsal on Thursday  Dec. 8^th since the show is on Friday night and most members could not make an extra-early call time; the annual pub crawl/caroling-sing in Old Town Alexandria will be Tuesday Dec. 13^th; we will not meet on Dec. 20^th. The chorus will sing on Saturday Dec. 17^th at the Scottish Rite Temple in DC. The annual Blast party will be held Dec. 27^th at 7 pm in the Dundalk MD area.

 

The holiday show will include background projected videos of warm holiday memory scenes. All members are encouraged to provide photos and memory scenes that could be used. Give to Terry.

 

Joe and associate director Tony Colosimo proceeded to sing through all the songs for the holiday show, as well as worked out staging for the various ensembles or performers that will be part of the songs.  A new quartet of guys – Dennis Ritchey, Reed Livergood, Paul Grimes and Steve White – will sing the intro verse for “Santa Claus in Comin to Town.” Michael Pugh will do the narration for “Grinch.”  A quartet of Lance Fisher, Tony Colosimo, David Breen and Josh Myers will sing the Jim Clancy arrangement of  “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” that leads into the chorus singing of “Silent Night.” David will sing the solo in “Joy to the World.”

 

Metro Voices will sing “Christmas Hymn” on the show and demonstrated that song for the Harmonizers who gave them a standing-o for the first performance of the new chorus.  Tessa Walker directed.

 

They will also sing a fourth verse to “Do You Hear What I Hear” and they joined the Harmonizers on stage for the sing through of this show closer.

 

For the business meeting, Operations director Gary Cregan asked for help with loading risers onto the truck after the meeting.

 

Craig Kujawa recently recognized the top five members who use the chapter’s scrip program – 

Randall Eliason raised $489.00 for the chapter; Dean Rust raised $396.20; David Welter raised $253.50; Craighimself raised $238.50; and Ken Ives raised $154.00. In total, 32 members spent $56,531.37 that earned the chapter $3,018.63.

 

Jack Pitzer filled in for membership director Jacob Broude and welcomed  prospective member Stephen Gudauskas who returned for his second visit as a bass; greeted Anita Martineau and Cindy Mariani were in town and came just to listen; and welcomed member Ian Poulin and Al Herman.  In other news about the Harmonizer family, Don Harrington’s wife Naida was injured when a car hit her as she was in a cross-walk in a Fairfax shopping center.  She suffered a broken ankle and knee and has been hospitalized for about three weeks. She is due for an operation to try to repair some of the damage.

 

Joe invited members to the afterglow at Harmo House this week as usual.

 

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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the November 15th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the November 15^th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

Again this week, there was a lot of great barbershop singing at the Scottish Rite Temple (SRT) on Tuesday night! Both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices were in session.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti started off the Harmonizer evening in the auditorium with a warm up session that included working on selected spots of a couple holiday show songs.  Tessa Walker worked with the Metro Voices in the cafeteria. 

 

Joe took a minute to recognize a member who had submitted his Harmo Hero form for publishing on the website: Don Thompson served 21 years in the Army, worked in a career of electronics and worked with German Shepherds.  Alan Wile, who manages the Hamro Hero form process, welcomes submissions from those members who have not done it yet.

 

Although associate director Tony Colosimo was not able to attend this week, he encouraged Joe to explain again the self-assessment process for singers to be prepared for the show. In short, a singer can rate himself at a level 5 if he recognizes what he does not know and that he won’t sing it, and that a listener has confirmed that the singer knows.  Baritone section leader, Jason Lee, suggested that all section leaders would welcome any recordings submitted by singers. 

 

Joe thanked all those who sang the Veterans Day show and thanked the members of the chapter who served in the military for their service.

 

Chuck Hunter was with us this week, visiting in DC from his home in Chicago. Chorus general manager Susan Fitzpatrick was at the meeting too and helped Joe and Mike Kelly prepare a thank-you musical message that will go to anyone who contributes to the chapter on Giving Tuesday. 

 

At the BHS midwinter in Daytona Beach this winter, there will be a chorus of reps from all chapters in the Society.  Our own Tony Colosimo will be the director of that group.  Any Harmonizer who wants to represent out chapter in that chorus should contact Terry Reynolds or Joe. 

 

Here are some calendar updates for the next couple months: there will be a dress rehearsal on Thursday  Dec. 8^th since the show is on Friday night and most members could not make an extra-early call time; the annual pub crawl/caroling-sing in Old Town Alexandria will be Tuesday Dec. 13^th; we will not meet on Dec. 20^th. The chorus will sing on Saturday Dec. 17^th at the Scottish Rite Temple in DC.

 

The holiday show will include background projected videos of warm holiday memory scenes. All members are encouraged to provide photos and memory scenes that could be used. Give to Terry.

 

Then it was time to sing and perform the songs for the show starting with “Gloria.” Work on “Santa Claus is Comin To Town” (with the revised tag) started with only singers who self-assess at level 5. Joe asked the singers to work extra on “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch” for next week. Cy Shuster will do the voice-over for this song.  

 

During the business meeting, secretary David DesPortes presented a 41-year membership renewal to Alan Wile as well as his 40-year lapel pin that was missed last year.

 

Membership director Jacob Broude welcomed  prospective member Stephen Gudauskas who lives now in Maryland. Terry directed the “Harmonizer Welcome Song.”  

 

In other news about the Harmonizer family, Don Harrington’s wife Naida was injured when a car hit her as she was in a cross-walk in a Fairfax shopping center.  She suffered a broken ankle and knee and has been hospitalized for about a week. She is due for an operation to try to repair some of the damage.

 

Back to singing, the chorus spent time on  “J I N G L E Bells,” and “Caroling Caroling” with the ensembles that will sing some of the carols that are part of the medley. The evening ended with work on “Mary Had a Baby.”

 

This week’s afterglow included birthday cake to celebrate Harmonizers who celebrate their birthdays in November: Dale Bird, Mike Fasano, Lance Fisher, Gary Fuller, Terry Jordan, Scott Kahler, Jason Lee, Ken Rub, Dean Rust, Jeff Taylor, Dave Welter, Scott Werner, Alan Wile and Kris Zinkievich.

 

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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the November 11th 2022 Harmonizer Sing at Veterans Day Event

 Looking Back on the November 11^th 2022 Harmonizer Sing at Veterans Day Event

 

An ensemble of the Harmonizer chorus sang on Friday, Nov. 11^th at the Veterans’ Day event in Del Ray area of Alexandria.

 

The event was at the Mount Vernon Rec Center on Commonwealth Ave. and the singers assembled at 12:15 for the 1 pm program.  Singers wore suits and ties; Bob Blair and Craig Kujawa wore their military uniforms.

 

Artistic Director Joe Cerutti directed. Dean Rust coordinated this community service activity for the Harmonizers.  Assistant Director Terry Reynolds and Craig Kujawa handled the announcing duties.  General Manager Susan Fitzpatrick attended and took pictures.  It was a proud moment when all veterans were recognized, and eleven of the sixteen Harmonizers present stood up.

 

The Harmonizers sang the National Anthem as well as “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the “Armed Forces Medley,”  “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and closed with “God Bless America” with event participants joining in.

 

This is an annual event co-sponsored by the Alexandria Recreation Department and the Friends of Rocky Versace.  Rocky Versace was from Alexandria and received the Medal of Honor posthumously for heroism during the Viet Nam war. The “Friends” group established a Memorial outside the Rec Center to honor Versace and 67 other Alexandrians who lost their lives fighting in Viet Nam.  Mayor Justin Wilson attended as did former Mayor and Harmonizer fan Allison Silberberg.  About 100 people were present including a contingent of girl scouts from a local parish who handed out programs and led the Pledge of Alliance.

 

Of special note, there was a 100-year-old WWII veteran in attendance, thanks to the efforts of Carl and Kathy Kauffmann.  Captain Edward L “Ted” Cochran was one of Carl’s at-sea commanders during his service in the Navy.  Captain Cochran – a 1944 graduate of the Naval Academy - retired in 1974 after service dating from WWII to Vietnam. 

 

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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the November 8th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the November 8^th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

There was a lot of great barbershop singing at the Scottish Rite Temple (SRT) this week! Both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices were in session.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo started off the Harmonizer evening in the auditorium with a great warm up session to prepare them for the evening’s work.  Tessa Walker and Joe Cerutti took turns working with the Metro Voices in the board room.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti was happy to report that the proposed additional holiday show for the chorus at the SRT in DC is a “go” for Dec. 17^th. Watch for more details.

 

The Harmonizers will sing a Veterans Day performance on Fri. Nov. 11^th  - the chorus call is 12:15 pm for the 1 pm program. Dress is coat and tie. Joe reminded everyone to be certain they went to the right location – the Mount Vernon Rec Center at 2701 Commonwealth in the Del Ray area of Alexandria.

 

To prepare for that, Joe had the whole chorus sing through the following songs (he suggested everyone could use the review, even if they did not make it on Nov. 11^th since these songs are often used for special appearances of the chorus): “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “The Star-Spangled Banner,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “God Bless America,” and the “Armed Forces Medley.”

 

Joe took a minute to pull a few quotes from a Harmo Hero form submitted by a member for publishing on the website: this time it was background about assistant director emeritus Will Cox including word that he was once named one of the top 100 dentists in the DC area. 

 

The chapter business session this week was brief.  Admin leader Terry Reynolds read a letter the chapter received from Dean Sherick with brief news from his new location in VA, and with encouragement to the chorus in its preparation for the holiday show.  He also returned his music notebooks from “Harvey Milk” and “Iron and Coal” shows.

 

Then Terry invited small groups of singers to work on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” in rooms around the SRT.  Group leaders were Ben Watsky, Lance Fisher, David Breen, Ryan Mextorf and Jason Lee.  After those work sessions, the chorus returned to the risers in the auditorium. After singing it through a couple times, Joe and Tonycompared notes and, on the spot, shortened the tag.

 

Next, all singers who were performance ready sang “J I N G L E Bells.”  Starting on Nov. 22^nd, all riser singers should be performance ready at level 5 or above.

 

The chorus worked on “Silent Night” and “Gloria” before the rehearsal ended and small listening groups worked.

 

Ike Evans, who appeared last Saturday night with the Virginia Grand Military Band at Schlesinger, won the 50/50 this week. Finally there was a call for pizza orders from those who would be at the Harmo House afterglow.

 

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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the Oct. 25th and Nov. 1st 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meetings

 Looking Back on the Oct. 25^th  and Nov. 1^st 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meetings

 

(Thank you to Jerry Jayjohn for taking notes at both of these chapter meetings while YeEd was on travel to the Midwest!)

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo started the Oct. 25^th meeting with warmups of the body doing body stretches and walking in place for proper alignment, then moving onto vocal warm ups.

 

Then a few announcements before starting singing about plans for next week to work on

 “J I N G L E Bells.”

 

Members interested in singing a solo for the show were encouraged to submit a recording by Sunday.

 

Tony took a good amount of time working on “Mr. Grinch,” then we moved onto “White Christmas.”

 

Then the chorus went into sectionals to work on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” for 25 minutes. Once back on the risers, Tony did more work on selected spots in that song.

 

After that was the business session. There will be a dress rehearsal for the Holiday Show on Thursday, Dec. 8^th. 

 

Executive director Randall Elisaon announced that the chapter is still looking for a Communications Director and a Website Manager. Randall also announced that chapter leadership is looking for someone with a connection to NVCC in Alexandria, as we are looking to collaborate with them.

 

Membership director Jacob Broude introduced this week’s guests including Johan Westberg who was in town; Henry who had been with us before;  and Gary, who’s dad is a barbershopper on the west coast. Gary asked for a quartet to sing for his girlfriend’s birthday on Friday. Some guys volunteered to sing for Gary’s surprise. Terry Reynolds led the chorus in singing  the “Harmonizer Welcome Song.”

 

After the business portion of the meeting, Tony led the chorus through “JINGLE BELLS,” giving points about where each singer should be in character when singing this tune. Then we moved onto “Let It Snow,” and the guys wrapped up the night with “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

 

Here are the notes for the November 1^st hybrid Harmonizer meeting at Scottish Rite Temple:

 

Tony started the evening with a quick physical and vocal warmup.  

 

After warmup, he started chorus work with the caroling medley, working their way backwards, starting with “Caroling Caroling,” then onto “Sleigh Bells Ring,” and continuing backwards to “Let It Snow.”

After singing through the medley, the chorus worked on “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” with a few repetitions of that. Then they moved on to “Mary had a Baby.”

 

During the business session, Randall thanked the guys who sang in a put together quartet for our guest, Gary, from last week. His girlfriend was very pleased and the couple made a $200 donation to the chapter.  

 

Also, it was announced that uniforms for the Holiday Show would be out solid color winter sweatshirt’s to be worn with the white scarf. There is a sign-up sheet for the guys to indicate if they need a sweatshirt.

 

After business, Tony asked that only those who self-assess at 5, 6, or 7 with feedback from either an octet or from the section leader, to sing on the risers for “J-I-N-G-L-E Bells.”  After fixing a few things and repetitions, everyone was invited back onto the risers to run through it.

 

Then, the chorus sang a quick run through of  “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch.” 

 

Finally before closing out there was a review of  “Armed Forces Medley” in preparation for our Veterans Day sing out at 1 pm (chorus call is 12:15) at Mount Vernon Rec Center in Del Ray.  

 

After that the 50/50 was drawn and we were adjourned.

 

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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the October 18th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the October 18^th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

This week’s meeting was a busy one for the chorus as they prepared songs for the Dec. 9^th holiday show – “Comfort and Joy.” Because of the election this week, the meeting was shared via Zoom too.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo started off the Harmonizer evening in the auditorium with a great warm up session and taught the chorus the tag “I’d Give a Million Tomorrows for Just One Yesterday.”

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti was happy about our fellowship and singing event last week with Alfred Street Men and the singers from local area barbershop choruses. He thanked Dean Rust and Clyde Crusenberry for their hard work in making in happen. And he thanked the chorus members for coming out on a second night that week.

 

Joe was also pleased with the number of volunteers who offered to serve  on a restarted repertoire committee.  This week he asked for volunteers to serve on an artistic show group that meets only a few times a year. Interested members should speak to Joe or Terry Reynolds. 

 

He reported that WETA chose our recording of “Joy to the World” to use on their holiday special features.

 

President Noah Van Gilder was presiding officer for the annual chapter meeting to elect officers and a board. Executive director Randall Eliason confirmed that a quorum was present. A. motion to elect was passed and the following member were elected: President: Noah Van Gilder; Treasurer: Terry Reynolds; Secretary: Cy Shuster; Members At Large: Dave Kohls, Turner (TJ) Arndt, John Greene, Devin Gerzof and Carolyn Griffin (who will serve as Vice President of the board).   

Thanks to Dave Kohls and Bruce Roehm for their work in serving on the committee with Stan Quick, nominating committee chair.

The first song to work on this week was “Mary Had a Baby” with Joe directing and Tony coaching. Then the chorus worked on “Joy to the World” before adjourning for sectionals for 25 minutes.

When the singers returned to the risers, they worked on “Grinch,”  “JINGLE BELLS,” and “Gloria.”

Additional business matters this week included an appeal from president Van Gilder for members to strongly consider getting their flu shot. 

Randall announced that holiday show tickets are on sale now on the website - $35 each with some reduced prices for students and youth. This show will be at Schlesinger.

 

He also announced there are two vacancies on the operations team – a webmaster and a communications director for internal and external messages.  Randall stressed that the chapter is interested in anyone who might want to volunteer – a singer, a former singer, a family member or partner, a neighbor and Harmo fan or supporter.

Joe announced that the chorus has been invited to do a holiday show at the DC Scottish Rite Temple on Sat. Dec. 17^th.  Members will be asked about their availability and willingness to do this paid show. 

Dean Rust reminded the chorus of the Veteran’s Day sing on Nov. 11^th in Alexandria.

The chorus resumed with work on the songs in the medley for the show.

Good to see Ken Ives and Terry Jordan in the hall this week. 

In other news, president Noah Van Gilder shared details about a memorial service for former Harmonizer John Adams. It will be held at the University United Methodist Church, 150 E Franklin St., Chapel Hill, NC 27514 on November 12^th 2022 at 11 am. 

 

On Wed. Oct. 19^th, a kick-off planning meeting with about a dozen folks was held at the Harmo House to launch plans for our 75^th anniversary celebration, show, gala and other events or projects. Steve White was tapped to assemble this working crew. 

 

Finally, there will be no Looking Back reports published immediately after the meetings on Oct. 25^th and Nov. 1^st.  Reports will be published later for those meetings.  YeEd will be making his usual trip to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

 

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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the October 12th 2022 Men’s Fellowship with Alfred Street Men

 Looking Back on the October 12^th 2022 Men’s Fellowship with Alfred Street Men

 

There were over 100 guests in the auditorium at Scottish Rite Temple (SRT) for this year’s singing fellowship event with Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Chorus and the Alexandria Harmonizers.   The event had been cancelled for a couple years during the COVID era so leaders of both groups were eager to “get together to sing” again. Everyone did wear masks while seated in the auditorium.

 

Both groups invited other singers to join in the fellowship and singing. Alfred Street, directed by Melvin Bryant, had asked the combined choirs of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Largo, MD, directed by Brandon Felder, and the men from Woodstream Church in Mitchellville, MD, directed by Nat Thomas, to sing.  They also brought the Theodore Thorpe. III Quartet that sang during the evening.

 

The Harmonizers, directed by Joe Cerutti, invited  barbershop harmony singers from seven other chapters in the DC Metro area including Bull Run Troubadours from Manassas, VA; Harmony Heritage Singers from Mount Vernon, VA; Arlingtones from Arlington, VA; Old Dominion Chorus from Loudon County, VA; Singing Capital Chorus from Washington, DC; Harmony Express from Germantown, MD; and Hometowne USA from Montgomery County, MD.

 

To kick off the night’s program (after lots of greeting and welcoming each other again). Joe introduced our friend and part of the driving force for this annual event, Dr. Joyce Garrett, who is director of the Alfred Street Baptist Church Music and Worship Arts Ministry. 

 

The barbershop singers present were combined and sang a couple barbershop classics with Joe as director.  Thanks to Dean Rust who did so much work to organize this event including contacting our fellow barbershop singers and to prepare and print the program handout for the night.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo taught the entire audience tags a couple times during the night including “You Gotta Have Heart” as the finale.

 

The Harmonizers sang “Help from My Friends” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and earned an enthusiastic standing ovation from the singers present.

 

The social time in the cafeteria at SRT was an enjoyable time for all guests.  Many thanks to Clyde Crusenberry for all of his work to organize, purchase and move into place, plus to set up ,the yummy refreshments and drinks for the night.  He did garner some volunteers to bring coolers and help. Thanks to all who pitched in. As well, thanks to chapter operations chairman Gary Cregan and those men who helped with riser work, plus Dennis Ritchey for sound tech support. 

 

Looking ahead to next year, Joe challenged the Alfred Street Men to be ready to sing three songs next 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 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 

Looking Back on the October 11th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the October 11^th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

There was a lot of barbershop harmony at the Scottish Rite Temple (SRT) again this week. Membership director Jacob Broude was busy welcoming the singers attending the second meeting of Metro Voices this week, along with welcoming Harmonizers. Members welcomed Craig Odell back this week.  

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo started off the Harmonizer evening in the auditorium with a great warm up session.

 

He thanked the chorus for their good work and cooperation at the M-AD contest weekend in Lancaster, PA.  There were congratulations for quartets and guys who sang and guys who worked at the convention. (See the Looking Back report from the weekend.)  

 

Tony worked with the riser singers while artistic director Joe Cerutti worked with the Metro Voices. The chorus worked on “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch;” “Let It Snow” and “Winter Wonderland” that are part of the “Caroling Caroling Medley;” plus “Mary Had a Baby,” and “Silent Night.”

 

Then the chorus formed small learning groups in four other spots within SRT. Small group leaders were Ryan Mextorf, Lance Fisher, David Breen, and Turner Arndt. Those sessions worked on “JINGLE BELLS.”  When those groups returned to the risers, the whole chorus worked on that song to apply lessons learned.

 

Next week singers will have the opportunity to sing in an octet to exhibit their readiness for performance.  It was stressed that singers should do the octet only when they are ready, not as a test to see how it goes.

 

Joe joined the chorus in the auditorium for the last part of the night and first off thanked the singers who made the effort to go to Lancaster, to be the test chorus for a training session for chorus directors, for perfectly responding to his cues during the master class, and for helping cheer our fellow members who were in the contest. Dennis Ritchey also thanked the chapter, on behalf of M-AD,  for all they did in Lancaster.  

 

Major points in this week’s business session included the request for help moving risers and materials after the meeting from operations director Gary Cregan; Terry Reynolds says quartets that want to sing a song or part of one on the holiday show should let him know immediately; Joe invited any members interested in serving on a restarted repertoire committee to speak to him; and finally members should mark their calendar for the 1 pm sing-out on Friday, Nov. 11^thfor Veterans’ Day.

 

 

Joe shared the plans for the sing and social time with Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Choir.  It will be Wed. Oct. 12^th at SRT at 7 pm. He stressed that if a singer can only make it out one night this week, he should come to the sing with Alfred Street.   Their choir has invited another chorus and we will be inviting some other area barbershop chapters to join us.  Dean Rust is organizing this effort and Clyde Crusenberry is organizing the refreshments part of the night (he was busy before the meeting collecting coolers that guys brought in.) He would welcome any early arrivals on Wed. night to come down to the cafeteria to see how they could help.  Masks will be worn when not singing.  Chorus will wear the black camp shirt, jeans, with blacks shoes and socks.

 

The chapter bid safe travels to Jonathan Rojas, son-in-law of Ike Evans, who has been a frequent guest on Tuesday nights.  He is relocating to Spain. And they offered three cheers to have Ben Watsky back on the risers after his recent wedding. 

Next  week the chapter will hold it’s annual election.   The 2023 Nominating Committee has completed its work in finding candidates to serve on the Harmonizers' chapter board for the coming year.  The nominees are: President: Noah Van Gilder; Treasurer: Terry Reynolds; Secretary: Cy Shuster; Members At Large: Dave Kohls, Joshua Baumgardner, Turner (TJ) Arndt, John Greene, Devin Gerzof and Carolyn Griffin (who will serve as Vice President of the board)

Here are the bios of the candidates:

Noah Van Gilder (President) will serve his second term as president. His previous leadership roles for the Harmonizers include one term as vice president for marketing and public relations and three terms as board member at large. In his professional life, Noah is a policy analyst for the federal government. He graduated as a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University in 2006 and as a Master of Public Administration from the George Washington University in 2012.

 

Terry Reynolds (Treasurer) has been a member of the Alexandria Harmonizers since 1992 and has served in numerous musical and leadership positions including Executive Director, President, Treasurer, Music & Performance VP, and Front Row Captain. He has been Associate or Assistant Director for over 20 years. He currently manages the activities and operations of the Music Team for Artistic Director Joe Cerutti. Terry has held numerous positions with the Barbershop Harmony Society serving on the Leadership Operations Project Team (LOPT), Chorus Director Development Committee, as a Certified Trainer for Chorus Director Workshop Intensive (CDWI), and on the Leadership Academy Training Faculty for President and for Music and Performance. Terry is an IT Specialist and Data Analyst for the consulting company Deloitte, supporting US Government clients. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

 

Cy Shuster(Secretary) joined the Harmonizers last fall, moving here from New Mexico to be closer to family. In Albuquerque, he competed under the direction of Farris Collins and Tony Sparks in Duke City Sound. He is in the twentieth year of operating his business as an independent piano tuner/technician, and got into barbershop a decade ago by singing in a pickup chorus with Scott Kitzmiller (father to Kyle and Kohl) at the annual piano technician conventions, where he now teaches. He has served on the boards of several nonprofits. He grew up in the mountains of southern New Mexico, and then lived in California for 25 years, both north and south. In his prior career, he designed and developed software for more than thirty years for companies such as Lotus, Borland, Ashton-Tate, Hughes, Citicorp, and Autodesk, going all the way back to the days of punched cards. 

 

Dave Kohls (Member-at-Large) has been associated with the Harmonizers since 2011 and has served on the Alexandria Harmonizers, Inc. board as a community board member since 2020. Dave is a psychologist with a private practice in Alexandria, VA, providing both clinical services to individuals and consulting services to industry and government. Dave holds a bachelor’s degree in physics, a master’s degree in electrical engineering, and a doctorate in clinical psychology. Although Dave no longer sings in public, he is passionate about the power of music to enrich lives and improve our communities.

 

Devin Gerzof (Member-at-Large) has been a member of the Alexandria Harmonizers since the fall of 2019. He began his tenure on the BHS board in 2021. Devin works on Capitol Hill for the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. While at Georgetown, Devin sang with the Georgetown Chimes, the campus' only all-male acapella group. Devin developed his barbershop roots with the Chimes and is excited to continue his post-college involvement in barbershop harmony with the Harmonizers. He attended Georgetown University for his bachelor’s degree in Government and Psychology.

 

Joshua Baumgardner (Member-at-Large) will continue as a community member on our board.  He enjoyed a diverse career, performing both operatic, concert, and choral works across the United States and briefly in Germany. Joshua had the distinct pleasure of being a young artist with Opera North, the Mittelsächsiches Theatre, and the American Wagner Society as well as a regional finalist for the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Joshua also enjoyed a career teaching voice alongside his career singing. He now enjoys a career as a full-time realtor with TTR Sotheby's International Realty, and still performs as a soloist on occasion at the request of conductors with whom he has worked previously. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in voice performance from James Madison University and his M.M. from Florida State University, where he was awarded the HannahBeaulieu prize for vocal excellence.

 

John Greene (Member-at-Large) is not new to the Harmonizers, having been a member for 8 years, and will serve a second term as a community board member. He is retired after a 34-year career with the United States Copyright Office (Library of Congress) during which time he studied business administration at Central Michigan University. He has sung and performed (vocal and instrumental) most of his life. He is a current parishioner of The Alfred Street Baptist Church where he serves as president and member of the Handbell Choir and two vocal choirs. He went to Howard University where he received his Bachelor of Music Education degree.

 

Carolyn Griffin (Member-at-Large) will also continue as a community member for our board.  She is the Producing Artistic Director of MetroStage where she has been since its founding in 1984. During that time, she has produced over one hundred main stage productions, including seventeen plays and musicals. She has chaired both the Alexandria Arts Forum, which she co-founded, and the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, served on regional panels for both the Virginia Commission for the Arts and Kentucky Arts Council and various other arts boards. She has received numerous awards including the Actors Center Award of Distinction, the Award of Harmony from the Alexandria Harmonizers, the Helen’s Star from theater Washington, and was named a “Living Legend” by the Alexandria Gazette Packet and Alexandria Rotary Club. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the George Washington University, a Master’s degree in Psychology from Catholic University and an MBA from Georgetown University.

 

Turner Arndt (Member-at-Large) has been a Harmonizer since February 2019 and a BHS member for 8 years. He is currently on the chorus music team, serving as visual leader for the chorus. Turner is a Civil Engineer working for a specialty subcontractor in Manassas, VA and has a Bachelor's Degree in Construction Engineering and a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Alabama. In addition to his time spent at work and with the chorus, Turner coaches for a high school rowing program in Fairfax County and is passionate about staying physically active and getting outdoors.

The chapter election will be held during the business meeting at our rehearsal Tuesday, October 18.  Please try to attend so that we can reach a quorum.

Thanks to Dave Kohls and Bruce Roehm for their work in serving on the committee - Stan Quick, nominating committee chair.

The chapter celebrated September and October birthdays this week – Tony announced them at the meeting and each member earned one clap. At the afterglow, there was cake and we sang the song. September birthdays are Carl Kauffmann, Michael Berkson, Lew Klinge, Tom Frederick, Father Joe Witmer, Mario Sengco, Stan Quick, Bob Wilson, Don Thompson and Randy Lazear.

 

October birthdays are Phil Ashford, Tom Berkey, Chris Buechler, Bill Colosimo, Devin Gerzof, Paul Grimes, Craig Kujawa, Michael Pinto, Jack Pitzer, Mike Schwartz, Cy Shuster, and John Smith.

 

In other news, president Noah Van Gilder shared news that Connie Lauther, wife of former Harmonizer Bruce, died recently. Services will be Oct. 18^th, 10 am, at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home.  Our hearts go out to Bruce and the 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 for the great things going on each week during the 74^th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)