Looking Back on the April 26, 2023 Alexandria Spring2ACTion and Cabaret
The Alexandria Chapter participation in the Alexandria Spring2ACTion was a huge success.
As reported by executive director Randall Eliason, thanks to efforts by chapter members in both the Harmonizer chorus and Metro Voices, we exceeded out $75.000 goal!
There were two matching grants of $25,000. Our ambitious goal was to raise at least an additional $25,000 to trigger those matches and make our grand total $75,000 for our 75th year.
We are pleased to report that as of 8:30 am on April 28 (late donations continue to trickle in) our total is $78,035!
In addition, we won $1,250 in prize money for the day - $500 for the most donors during the Power Hour, $500 for the most money raised during the Power Hour, and $250 for 4th place for greatest number of donors for a medium-sized organization (321 donors). All this means that by the time a final donations roll in, we could be over $80,000 total for the day.
More than 40 members created individual fundraising pages that resulted in donations, which is terrific. Thanks must go out to the great teamwork of chapter development director, Ken Rub; executive director Randall; and chapter general manager, Susan Fitzpatrick, who all worked to get out the messages to members, alumni and patrons of the chapter - many of whom made donations during the event.
Finally, the Cabaret in the evening was a very fun event that showcased a lot of the remarkable talent we have within our organization. It was fun to be together as a “watch party” for the final tally on the donations! While we were there, the donations came in that put us over the $75K mark. It was a great way to round out the successful day. If you missed it, you won't want to miss it next year!
Ken Rub and Will Whittaker were organizers (and bartenders) for the cabaret event at the Bike Club in north Alexandria. The taco bar was great and an easy way to serve a crowd. Drinks were available and seating was available around the stage for the show that featured members from both ensembles in the chapter. Carl Kauffmann helped manage the credit card sales at the bar.
Thanks to Joe Cerutti, Terry Reynolds, Tony Colosimo and Tessa Walker for organizing the show. Tony’s choir friend, Paige Rammelkamp, was accompanist for most of the performers. Alex Chen was emcee for the show. The helpful staff at the venue provided set up, including the stage, lights and sound. Terry coordinated the Facebook Live coverage for the evening which had about 40 viewers during the evening. Randall monitored the donations and announced when we went over the $75,000!
The talented acts for the cabaret included the following:
Maggie McAlexander from Metro Voices sang “Arthur in the Afternoon” made popular by Lisa Minnelli.
Terry Reynolds sang “Popular” from Wicked with Joe Cerutti as his model.
Sophie Clarke from Metro Voices sang “Much More” from The Fantasticks.
Harmonizer intern, Kaj Vaisanen, who sings in a Barbershop in Germany youth chorus, performed “The Devil You Know.”
Joe and Tony sang a duet of “Lily’s Eyes” from The Secret Garden.
Zak Sandler played the piano and sang an original song about his new musical life singing lip trills in the Harmonizer chorus. It was a great comedy piece!
David DesPortes dressed in formal tux with a cane to sing “On the Street Where You Live” from My Fair Lady. He sang a cappella.
Alex Pierce from Metro Voices sang “At Last” made famous by Etta James.
Tessa Walker joined with Julian LeFlore to perform “It Could Totally Happen” from Like You Like It.
Ebb Tide, the acoustic version of the Riptide rock band, played two numbers with band members Kellen Hertz, Doug White, Joel Golden and Chris Huber. They also played before the show started for the arriving crowd.
Maggie and Tony performed “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” from The Fantasticks.
David Breen sang “As Time Goes By” with Joe as his accompanist.
The final act was Matt Ambler and friends (Ben Watsky, Sophie Clarke and David Breen) performing “Nobody’s Side” from Chess.
The event ran from 7-9 pm and the social time moved to the Harmo House to extend the afterglow fun.
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 Chapter. - YeEd)
The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.
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