Looking Back on the Aug. 15, 2023 Alexandria Chapter Meeting and Aug. 9 Park Concert

 Looking Back on the Aug. 15, 2023 Alexandria Chapter Meeting and Aug. 9 Park Concert 

WOW – what a rehearsal!  The risers were full, the singing and performance work was terrific and there were a lot of guests.

 

Early in the evening, Joe thanked all the members of Metro Voices and the Harmonizers for a great show at Franconia Park, Wednesday, August 9.  The outdoor stage in the amphitheater was a great setting.  Besides the large crowd gathered there for the weekly free summer concert series organized by the Fairfax County Park Authority, there were a lot of Harmo family and friends there too.  Luckily there is lots of free parking.

 

Gary Cregan and the riser crew were able to drive the Harmo truck right up to the stage.  

 

County Supervisor for the Franconia District, Rodney Lutz, welcomed the audience and thanked the chapter for appearing as part of his concert series. Terry Reynolds told the audience the song titles and set the stage for the songs.

 

The Harmonizers started the show with “I’m the Music Man;” debuted the choreography for “Something’s Comin,” brought back some popular front row kick line moves for “New York, New York,” debuted “Sit Down You’re Rockin the Boat” with Lance Fisher doing the solo; and finished the concert with “Impossible Dream” using a quartet of Lance, Tony Colosimo, Jason Lee and David Breen to sing the introduction.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti thanked the audience for supporting singing in the community and explained that the chapter is expanding as he introduced Metro Voices. The new ensemble sang three songs directed by Tessa Walker andSamantha Tramck.

 

Then both ensembles sang “Why We Sing” to close the show.

 

The Tuesday night, Aug. 15, meeting started with Maggie McAlexander conducting a warm up session for the combined ensembles on the risers. It included a fun round about an alligator! Dennis Ritchey was the sound guy this week.

 

When Joe assumed the director duties, he expressed his sincere appreciation for the guys who sang at the Celebration of Life event for Brian Miller, a Harmonizer who died as a result of the COVID pandemic.  

 

Joe called out happy birthday for Samantha Tramack and Chris Huber and welcomed Rick Serpico, director of the Bryn Mawr Chorus, who came to visit the chapter. He traveled from PA with Mike Fasano.

 

We did learn that Marty Monson, Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) CEO and executive director, will step away from that position after 11 years as of August 25.  He has often been on hand for major events in the Harmonizer years and a friend of the members in the chapter. He was a motivator and stimulated enthusiasm among the membership.

 

Joe also shared that the chapter has a ‘greenlight’ to launch Capital Force, a seasonal youth chorus that will meet from September through January, for mixed voices 18 and under. There will be a major kickoff event on Sunday, September 10.  Singers from both ensembles will be asked to attend and sing for the youth chorus and their families. 

 

After the September 9 show and the kickoff, there will be no rehearsal on September 12.  However, an extra rehearsal will be held on September 21 as the ensembles prepare for appearances at the Mid Atlantic District (M-AD) convention in York, PA, Sept. 29-30. 

 

Finally, Joe urged all chapter members to get their tickets for the anniversary show afterglow – NOW! There are only 200 seats and when word gets out, they will go fast.  They are just $25 for food and great music at The Garden, 5380 Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, VA 22304. There is free parking.  A cash bar. And of course the guest quartets from the show – MAX Q and RINGMASTERS. For questions about the event or help with tickets, contact Ken Rub who organized the afterglow.

 

The first music work this week was on “Defying Gravity” with directing the combined ensembles and working on energy, meaning and flow of the song.  Five members auditioned recently for the solo on this piece and Samantha Tramack and Tony will be singing it on the fall show.  Matt Ambler, Alex Pierce and Sophie Clarke will sing the solos on subsequent shows.

 

At this point, there was another mixer/game for the chapter members to enjoy and get to know each other more.  It was called “Would You Rather” and you answered the questions from Tessa  by going to stage left or stage right.  Questions were “Would you rather have power to shrink yourself or enlarge yourself?” Then “Would you rather live without a cell phone or without streaming and TV?” Then “Would you rather be able to communicate with animals or be able to speak all languages needed in the world?” Finally, would you rather encounter an alien or a ghost?”  Fun and lots of laughs as people shouted out their reasons. 

 

Chapter communications director, Steve Murane, coordinated the chapter business meeting. He promoted interest in the M-AD seniors all voices chorus that is being organized.  Several Harmonizers have signed up and he encouraged more of our members to respond to the emails from M-AD leadership. 

 

Chris Huber invited chapter members to come hear his band, RIPTIDE, with fellow Harmonizers Joel Golden, Kellen Hertz and Doug White, when they appear at Burke Lake Park on Wed. Aug. 23 as part of the summer concert series there. At 7 pm.

 

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed Vinny Capaccio who lives in Richmond and has not been with us since before COVID.  Mert Tramack is our newest member and Jacob presented him a casual black chorus shirt. 

 

There were several returning guests – Ashley Merryman, Norm Barth, Ellen Dellert, Jonah Phillipp, Marsha Ansel, EJ Harold, Dana Richardson and Leah Musico.  There were two new guests – Thomas Keeping, a barbershopper from Syracuse, NY, who has moved to the area, and Rick Serpico.  Both were ceremoniously presented their “I Sang with the Harmonizers” button! Emeritus assistant director, Will Cox, directed the chapter welcome song.

 

After a short break for the members to get off the risers, Metro Voices worked on their songs and the Harmonizers worked on their songs after confirming new riser positions.  Joe directed “Calling Dreams” and Tony coached the singing and interpretation. For “Something’s Coming,” Joe directed and Turner Arndt coached the visual plan. For “Wee Small Hours” the front row added some of their visual interpretation that they will be using for that song.

 

The two ensembles regrouped and did the 50/50 which Bob Blair won – and he donated it back to the chapter! Thanks Bob. 

 

Rick Serpico directed “Keep the Whole World Singing” and Joe invited members and guests to the Harmo House for the afterglow. There was pizza and lots of visiting with a big crowd including several of the new guests who made it to the 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 75^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.

 

 

 

 

Looking Back on the August 13, 2023, Celebration of Life for Brian Miller

 Looking Back on the August 13, 2023, Celebration of Life for Brian Miller 

(Thanks to Gary Cregan with input from Michael Schwartz and Dean Rust for this report. YeEd.)

 

More than a dozen Harmonizers met at the Dubliner Pub on Sunday, August 13, 2023, along with a few dozen other friends of Brian Miller’s to celebrate Brian’s life. Brian was a longtime barbershopper, and had been singing in the Harmonizers for many years before his untimely death from complications related to COVID-19 in April 2020. Brian’s good friends August “Augie” Martin and Christine Faltz Grassman organized this event, and chose this day because it was Brian’s birthday. The event was also live-streamed on Facebook, and now available on YouTube (https://youtu.be/Mv7713CkPhg).

 

The event started at 2 pm, with Christine and Augie giving some info about how the event would flow and housekeeping information. Augie introduced a recorded video message from Richard and Helen Miller, Brian’s father and step-mother. Athena Schritz, another great friend of Brian’s, was kind enough to describe the video for those in attendance with low vision. They then played a recording of Brian singing “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.” The Harmonizers in attendance recognized it as one of Brian’s recordings for feedback in early 2020.

 

The hosts then paused for a time to allow everyone to get some food from the buffet. All of the food was well received - there was very little left at the end of the celebration.

 

After everyone got settled back into their seats, the festivities continued, beginning with a video recording from Jane McGinnis, Brian’s mother, who read the journal entry from his last birthday in August 2019, from Edinburgh, Scotland. Athena did a great job once again of describing the many photos from the video for the audience. This trip was in conjunction with the Harmonizer’s trip to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Brian’s mother concluded her remarks with a poem from “Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim” by Edward Hayes.

 

Next on the program was a poem Christine wrote shortly after Brian had passed away. Her moving tribute to Brian left the room without a dry eye.

 

The Harmonizers VLQ was the next feature in the program. Representatives from the Harmonizers included Mike Schwartz (a friend of Brian’s since college), Troy Hillier, Dean Rust, Brian Ammerman, Aaron Simoneau, Frank Fedarko, Steve White, Calvin Schnure, Kellen Hertz, David Breen, Ken Rub, Craig Kujawa, and Gary Cregan. The songs planned originally were "Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “I’ll Be Seeing You.” However, after hearing Brian perform Never Fully Dressed, the group decided to also perform that song first. With introductions from Mike, the VLQ did a superb job sans director on each song, and the audience was clearly moved.

 

After the Harmonizers concluded, Athena Schritz delivered a eulogy for Brian. Her moving tribute to Brian was superb. After the eulogy, Augie kicked off a series of Brian Miller trivia questions. There were about a dozen questions in total, and the winner got a drink on Augie. After a few questions, Augie played a video of Brian singing Danny Boy. This beautiful performance was from the funeral for Brian’s grandmother.

 

The official program finished with more trivia questions, which turned into a runaway victory for Nikki, one of Brian’s coworkers.

 

Finally, Augie turned the afternoon over to the guests to tell their own stories and memories of Brian. Many people gave interesting and funny stories of their adventures with Brian, including Harmonizers Calvin, Mike, and Dean.

 

The celebration concluded at around 4pm, and everyone left with great memories of Brian, and feeling richer for having participated in this event, for getting to meet other Brian Miller fans, and most of all, for having had the honor of knowing Brian.

 

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 75^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.

 

 

 

Looking Back on the August 8, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the August 8, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

The singers came prepared to work on their music and choreography this week with an outdoor show on Wednesday night this week and the 75^th anniversary show coming soon on Sept. 9^th. Front row Harmonizers met early to work on their kick line for “New York, New York.”

There was a revised riser chart for the Harmonizer ensemble.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo did a warm up exercise for the combined singers from the Metro Voices and the Harmonizers with some emphasis on body alignments.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti reminded singers of the 6:30 pm call time for Wednesday night’s performance at Franconia District Park (formerly Lee District Park) at 6601 Telegraph Rd., Alexandria.  When you turn off Telegraph, you will take the first right turn and park in that area of the large lot.  The stage is outside in an amphitheater.  There are picnic tables for those who might come early with family and friends. There are benches facing the stage, but your own camp chairs would be a good idea.  Maybe some bug control if you wish. This concert is part of the weekly summer concert series in the Franconia District of Fairfax County hosted by County Supervisor Rodney Lusk. The concert starts at 7:30 pm. A riser crew is needed at 6 pm. 

 

Attire is black camp shirt and jeans for the Harmonizers, and black tops and jeans for Metro Voices. 

 

Joe invited singers to audition for the solo in “Defying Gravity.”  Anyone interested should  communicate with Joe orTony before this weekend.

 

At this point in the evening, Metro Voices moved into sectionals and the Harmonizers stayed on the risers and worked with Joe on “San Francisco.”  He also outlined steps Harmonizers needed to take to be riser ready for several new songs.

 

The Harmonizers then formed three smaller groups that would rotate to different locations to work with different teachers:  Tony worked on a major section of “Calling Dreams;” Dean Rust and Jason Lee worked on choreo for “Sit Down You’re Rockin the Boat;” and Joe worked on performance for “Somethin’s Comin.” The three rotating groups were leads and tenors; baritones; and basses plus front row.  

 

After those work sessions, Joe worked with the whole ensemble on “Calling Dreams.”

 

Music team administrator Terry Reynolds conducted the chapter business meeting when Metro Voices returned to the auditorium with the Harmonizers. President Noah Van Gilder reported the new that former member Bob Caldwelldied Aug. 2.  Bob sang with the Richmond Chorus and with the Harmonizers as well.  He was always a quartet man and three quartets of note were TREASURER CHEST, CITY SLICKERS and ENCORE. CITY SLICKERS was fourth place bronze medalist International Seniors quartet in 2003. A celebration of life will be held in the near future.

 

Noah also reported that former Harmonizer Joe Eckert died recently as well.  He was a Harmonizer from 2003-05 and sang bass in NEW RELEASE quartet when it won the Mid Atlantic District quartet contest in 2008.

 

Joe reminded members that the celebration of life event for Brian Miller will be Sunday, Aug. 13, at the Dubliner in DC at 2 pm.  No formal plans for a chorus appearance will be announced, but if there are enough singers present, they might sing a song. 

 

 Chapter development coordinator, Ken Rub, prompted all members of both ensembles to sell show tickets for Sept. 9.  He also announced the plans for the afterglow for that show to be held at The Garden near Van Dorn Metro Station.  There are 200 seats and the chapter members will have first-take on those tickets – so members should take Ken’sadvice and get their afterglow tickets as soon as possible.  At some point, tickets will be made available to anyone. The afterglow tickets are $25 and include a buffet and of course the guest quartets from the show (and any other quartets that might want to appear). There will be a bar as well.

 

Joe announced a couple changes for the chapter as we grow with multi-ensembles.  The “Chapter Welcome Song” will now end with the words “in the barbershopper way – barbershopper way” instead of “Harmonizer way.”  Also the cheer after “Keep the Whole World Singing” will become “ It’s Great to Be a Barbershopper.” 

 

Operations director, Gary Cregan, is eager to hear from any Harmonizer who will not be singing on the anniversary show in order to possibly borrow their uniform for new singers.

 

Membership director Jacob Broude welcomed several returning guests (Marsha Ansel, Dana Richardson, Ashley Merryman, Mireille Kouagan, EJ Herold, James McCament, Mert Tramack) and a first-time guest, Jonah Phillipp, who is in the DC area for graduate school.  Terry Reynolds, directed the “Chapter Welcome Song.”  

 

There was a brief break and then there was a group game/mixer called Four Corners managed by Jason Lee, Tessa Walker and Samantha Tramack.  The chorus members went to one of the four corners of the room to answer the questions such as “What is your favorite vacation – the beach, the mountains, a city or stay home;” or “what is your favorite season of the year – spring, summer, winter or fall.”  The members got a chance to learn somethings about each other as we grow and add ensembles. 

 

Then everyone was back on the risers to work on “Defying Gravity.” 

 

Metro Voices adjourned at 9:30 and got a head start to the afterglow.  The Harmonizers worked until 10 pm on show songs with choreo.  Reed Livergood directed “Keep the Whole World Singing.” 

 

There was pizza and lots of visiting with the good crowd who made it to the Harmo House for the 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 75^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.