Looking Back on the October 4th 2022 Harmonizer Hybrid Chapter Meeting
The rainy cold weather this week didn’t seem to keep the Harmonizer singers away and there was good crowd on the risers in the auditorium at Scottish Rite Temple (SRT) at 7 pm.
Things started off with an enthusiastic warm up session conducted by assistant director emeritus Will Cox.
Artistic director Joe Cerutti called for a moment of reflection with the sad news of the unexpected passing of Linda Odell last week. All of the chapter extends sympathy to Craig and the family. Linda was a significant part of the Harmonizer family!
Joe also shared that his Dad, Joe Sr., was just released from the hospital today after surgery.
On a more cheerful note, Joe shared the fun he had on Monday night when he coached the Bryn Mawr, PA, chorus as they prepared for this weekend’s fall M-AD chorus contest in Lancaster. The Mainliners chorus is singing “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” just as the Harmonizers did it when they won gold in 1998. They sing 12th on Saturday in this fall Mid Atlantic District contest and we will all be cheering for them.
That announcement brought up details about the Harmonizer schedule and plans for Lancaster. Many guys have figured a way to get a room, share a room with another member, even some guys rented a B&B. The quartet contest starts at 5:27 pm Friday night. We have two quartets with Harmonizers singing in them in the contest this year. FIRST TAKE sings 17th and includes Alex Courson, Tony Colosimo, Drew Wheaton, and Andrew Havens; and BREAKFAST BLEND singing 19th and includes Mike Geipel, Scott Beach, Jerry Caudrilli and Vinny Capaccio.
As a reminder, the only songs thh chorus will sing are “Never Fully Dressed,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Circle of Life” for the Saturday night show; plus a couple simple songs “Sweet and Lovely” and “Heart of My Heart” for a class for training new directors training; and parts of “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” and Somethings Comin” for the master class in the afternoon.
Call time for the performing chorus is 3 pm (this was the new time announced at the end of the meeting) at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square in the convention space there. Attire for the two classes where we sing will be the black camp shirt, jeans, black shoes and sox. Attire for the Saturday night show (that will immediately follow the finals of the quartet contest) will be the blue suit pants and vest, white shirt, orange tie, black shoes and sox. Plus chorus members should plan to wear the new third place bronze medals they received in Charlotte. We will have our own room to assemble in and change – especially good since many men are not staying at the headquarters hotel.
Finally, Joe shared the latest plans for the sing and social time with Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Choir. It will be on Wed. Oct. 12th at SRT and Joe stressed that if a singer can only make it out one night that 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 asked for a couple volunteers to bring coolers.)
Then Joe invited the chorus to start work on JINGLE BELLS – sectionals for 20 minutes and then sectional duets (lead and bass / bari and tenor) for 20 minutes. When the four sections reconvened on the risers, Joe was astonished at how well the chorus was doing on a totally brand new song.
The business portion of the meeting started with Jason Lee announcing his participation along with Mario Sengco in a musical in DC. It is the US premiere of "The Mould That Changed The World," a musical about Sir Alexander Fleming, the discovery of penicillin, and antibiotic resistance. While the leads are West End actors, the ensemble is made up entirely of scientists and health care professionals. Mario and Jason are performing in shows on Tuesday, 10/18; Thursday, 10/20; and Sunday, 10/23. Tickets and more information can be found at https://www.mouldthatchangedtheworld.com.
Terry Reynolds confirmed that the promised Zoom call to discuss using Facebook Live to share with members who cannot attend rehearsals will be scheduled soon.
Jack Pitzer welcomed guests on behalf of membership director Jacob Broude: Kevin Mendez who has moved to DC from Nashville and is bari in WILDFIRE quartet that earned 17th place in Charlotte; Owen Michael Kelly – Mike’sgrandson; Mary Ann – Dennis Ritchey’s Mom; Henry Chow and Kathleen Chow back for a repeat visit; Jonathan Rojas – son-in-law of Ike Evans; David Jacobs who is president of the Gainesville, FL, Chapter and visiting in DC; and Jim Gammon – former Harmonizer who has been in DC for a few weeks on family business but will be returning to his home.
Chris Huber shared that Doug White has driven his truck to FL, towing his boat, so he can help his father-in-law who is stranded on Sanibel Island.
Jack shared the message that Dave and Mirium Barton are safe and secure after their building sustained some outside damage in Cape Coral during the storm, but that she had fallen recently and is having back pain.
Will Cox directed the “Harmonizer Welcome” song.
Next there was more chorus work on “JINGLE BELLS” and then some work on “Gloria.”
In other news from the chapter: 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 chairman.
Frank Fedarko won the 50/50 this week. Everyone was asked to pitch in to load the risers onto the Harmo Truck so they could be taken to Lancaster. The meeting ended with Kevin Mendes directing “Keep the Whole World Singing” followed by the traditional cheer – “1-2-3 IT’S GREAT TO BE A HARMONIZER.”
Joe explained that there are repairs being done at the Hamro House so this week’s afterglow was moved to Ramparts. A dozen folks gathered for the Taco Night Specials and/or wings.
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 74th year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)
No comments:
Post a Comment