Looking Back on the Oct. 24, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting
This week’s meeting was a trial visit to a possible new meeting location for the organization. We met at AlexRenew – a water renewal plant in a beautiful new high rise at 1800 Limerick, in Alexandria. The sixth floor is designed to be used by community groups and includes a large meeting room, a big board room, several smaller committee rooms that can be used for sectionals, and a warming kitchen. The whole place is carpeted and equipped with new chairs, tables and such. The building is about a 15-minute walk from the Eisenhower Metro Station.
Our operations director, Gary Cregan, arrived early to help members find the entrance to parking and to the lobby of the building. He helped Terry Reynolds and Dennis Ritchey to bring in the supplies needed to host a chapter meeting – sound equipment, a music-stand for the director, guest books, and name tags.
Thanks to community board member David Kohls and Liz Birnbaum, former community board member, for helping the chapter discover this community-friendly space. (Most members know that the current meeting space rental fees have been raised to unrealistic levels and thus the leadership determined we needed to find a new space. This week was a test for how it might work.)
The Harmonizers met in the large room and Metro Voices met in the board room space. Both ensembles had sectionals in the adjoining rooms and there did not seem to be sound bleed to interfere.
NOTE that all of the chapter meetings in November will still be at Scottish Rite Temple as per our current contract there.
Associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo, conducted a warm up session for the combined ensembles who were standing, or sometimes seated, in the hall. Risers were not set up this time. (There is some concern that the ceiling is too low for using the fifth row of the risers.)
Artistic director of the organization, Joe Cerutti, welcomed a large crowd of member singers and also a large number of guests and visitors.
Joe reminded members of both ensembles about the appearance at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) midwinter convention in New York City on January 11. Members can decide to register for the whole convention or just attend that day and sing. Joe took a straw poll to learn about member interest in a bus to the convention.=
Members should note that the chapter will meet in Old Town on Oct. 31 (Halloween night) to sing and have fun - gathering at city hall at Market Square. This also helps members who are parents with family celebrations. Both ensembles are welcome to join in the evening which will likely end with a social time in Old Town. There is no dress code but costumes are fine, as are barbershop logo-items. Of course, dress for the weather too. The two ensembles will sing “Why We Sing” and then each do another song or two around the Old Town area.
Members can also mark their calendars with these plans: the Dec. 5 meeting will be back at AlexRenew; the Dec. 12 rehearsal will be at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street. This will also be the location of the holiday show on Sunday, Dec. 17.
Joe recognized Samantha Tramack, director of Metro Voices. She called on everyone to help thank and honor Tessa Walker who was organizational director to get Metro Voices up and going! All singers joined in the cheers and standing ovation. Tessa was given flowers and a gift from the treble chorus singers (later they treated her to cake (baked by Jeanne Hillinck) and goodies to thank her for dedication and leadership).
At this point the two ensembles began to work on their songs for the holiday show.
After about a half-hour, the two ensembles met together for a business session. President Noah Van Gilder reported board action to choose a new name for the organization. It will be Alexandria A Cappella Collective. Much of the branding is on-going. Logos for both ensembles have been chosen too. This enables chapter leaders to order office name tags for Metro Voices.
Zak Sandler invited members to his one-man musical “Inside My Head” on Nov. 5 from 5-8 pm, at Crazy Aunt Helen’s, 713 8th Street, Washington DC 20003. Links for tickets for the show are on Slack. The show is about Zak’sexperience with bipolar and the power that comes with not only accepting one’s mental health condition, but embracing it. He promises you will laugh, will cry, and hopefully you will learn.
Jason Lee organized a couple ice breakers for everyone. First, everyone had to get in a line by height – shortest to tallest but no talking. Then they had to get into line based on longest distance to come to the meeting place. It was fun.
There were many guests present and new board member, Mary Cooper, filled in for membership director, Jacob Broude, to introduce all of them. Several visitors were in town as tourists from other barbershop chapters in our district and from Canada.
The two ensembles came together as a combined chorus to work on the eight-part arrangement of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
Joe recognized the Oct. birthdays in the chapter and invited folks to the afterglow at the Harmo House for birthday cake.
Russell Sketchley (a barbershopper friend of Joe’s from Nova Scotia who was visiting in DC with family members), directed “Keep the Whole World Singing” to end the evening.
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 75th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)
The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.
