Looking Back on the Dec. 17, 2024 AACC Holiday Sing in Old Town Alexandria

 Looking Back on the Dec. 17, 2024 AACC Holiday Sing in Old Town Alexandria

The combined ensembles of the Alexandria A Cappella Collective (AACC) sang holiday songs in the popular King Street area of Old Town Alexandria on Tuesday, Dec. 17.  The good-sized chorus assembled at Market Square to warm up the voices, and pass around the Santa hats to wear as they walked from restaurant to restaurant. Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, welcomed the singers and many family and friends including The Quin-Tones barbershop quartet.  

The quartet was in town to make appearances at six DC Metro high school music departments as an introduction of barbershop harmony to student singers.  It was a busy week for them along with Joe,  and the school music educators were thrilled with the outcome and the enthusiasm the quartet was able to generate with the area students.

Tuesday night’s caroling was also a success and the chorus made stops at a dozen or so popular restaurants along King Street.  Mark Klostermeyer arrived in Old Town about 4 pm that evening to make an advance check in with the managers and got their permission.  Many remembered the chorus having been there last year! Metro Voices entered each restaurant first and started singing their songs while the Harmonizer filed in to be ready to sing.  Then each stop ended with a combined ensemble performance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (with solos by Michael Berkson and Maggie McAlexander; and then all singers exited singing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas!” Joe directed the Harmonizers and Samantha Tramack directed Metro Voices. 

There were lots of folks out and enjoying the evening since the weather was balmy and no rain. The chorus took advantage of the situation and did a longer set of songs at the Torpedo Factory stairway/stage. They ended the fun evening at Chadwick’s for an afterglow again with a good sized AACC crowd on hand for fellowship and relaxation after a busy holiday season.

The next gathering of AACC will be January 14 at the usual 7 pm start time.  The evening will include a kick off for the 2025 season, and to hold another fun “Put Together Quartet Contest” for chapter members.  

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 76^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 Dec. 14 and 15, 2024 AACC Holiday Concerts

 Looking Back on the Dec. 14 and 15, 2024 AACC Holiday Concerts 

The two holiday performances for the Alexandria A Capella Collective were terrific – great singing, good crowds, warm and comfortable venue, fun for the singers and the audiences.

The Harmonizers and Metro Voices ensembles were well prepared with new holiday tunes and several popular songs from past shows.  Ashley Merryman prepared the script that was used by several fellow chorus members to introduce the songs and develop the “Home for the Holidays” – a family celebration of joy theme for the concerts.  Song introductions were made by Randall Eliason, Terry Reynolds, Chad Ross, Ian Trent, Tony Colosimo, Dana Richardson, Ashley Merryman, Samantha Tramack, Joe Cerutti, Cy Shuster and Chuck Miller. On Sunday, Joe recognized Harmonizer director emeritus, Will Cox, who was in the audience and thanked him for his more that forty years of service to the chapter. 

The concerts were at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street, Saturday, Dec. 14 at 6 pm and on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3:30 pm. Featured guests for the show were The Workman Family Singers with dad, mom, 17 year old son, daughter's 15 and 12 and 7 year old son. They sang as a quartet and as a combined family ensemble.  For the concert finale, they were featured with the AACC chorus in “Gloria.” 

The concert did not have an intermission but there was a fun mid-way break when the audience joined the chorus to sing the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Members of the chorus coaxed sections of the audience to sing each of the days with fun and twisted lyrics created by the chorus member. On the “Five Golden Rings’ line, the chorus musical director team (Maggie McAlexander, Samantha Tramack, Tony Colosimo and Joe Cerutti)  stole the show and busted chords with more and more swipes and key changes as the song progressed.  It was all great fun.  

The singers wore black attire with red and green accents pieces. 

On the Sunday afternoon show, the new Capital Force, youth ensemble of the AACC, sang a song as an introduction to the fans of the chapter.  Their outstanding performance was directed by Tessa Walker with assistance from Sheryl Berlin and Julian LaFlore.  

The Harmonizers kicked off the concerts singing “J I N G L E Bells” with Steve White using his set of antique sleigh bells as accompaniment. For “Deck The Halls,” a quartet of Lance Fisher, Chad Ross, Ian Trent, and Terry Reynolds sang an interlude.  Joe and Tony took turns directing Harmonizer songs. Samantha and Maggie took turns directing Metro Voices songs. 

The combined ensembles sang twice during the concert. First,  “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with solo spots sung by Maggie and by Michael Berkson. The grand finale of each concert was the combined performance of “Gloria” by the two ensembles and The Workman Family Singers. And each concert ended with a fun farewell, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

There were some other volunteers from the chapter family who helped at the church for the concerts:  Susan Fitzpatrick, AACC general manager, was on hand to handle all aspects of the ticketing process with help from Doug White, Matt Ambler, Masahisa Takahshi, and Barbara Berenhaus.  Catherine LaValley was producer for the event.  Mike Kelly did videography with sound help from Doug White.  Dean Rust and Frank Fedarko led an effort to reach out to local senior living centers. Terry Reynolds coordinated the leaders for the audience sing and kept the members well informed about times and locations for rehearsals. Kathy Kauffmann helped folks get to their seats. 

Great to see several Harmonizer and Metro Voices singers on stage for the first time as a member of the chorus. Also fun to see many members in the audience with their families. After the Sunday show, Joe invited members to the Harmo House for an afterglow and goodies to go with the tag singing and singing with The Workman 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 76^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 Dec. 10, 2024 Alexandria Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Dec. 10, 2024 Alexandria  Chapter Meeting 

This week’s meeting was a final rehearsal for the holiday performances at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street, the show venue. Both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices are musically well prepared for the shows.  Mostly this rehearsal was to block out entrances and exits and chorus positions for the two ensembles using the church for the show.

Maggie McAlexander did the vocal warm ups. Great to hear the antique sleigh bells that Steve White will use for “JINGLE Bells.” Terry Reynolds coordinated the “Twelve Days of Christmas” sing with chorus members as “wranglers” to get audiences groups to sing each day’s verse (or maybe even some fun original responses). 

The members who will announce songs used their copy blurbs from the script written by Ashley Merryman. 

Both Joe Cerutti for the Harmonizers and Samantha Tramack for Metro Voices wrapped up the rehearsal with a briefing with their ensemble.

As a reminder, members are encouraged to sell show tickets for the two holiday performances on Sat. Dec, 14 at 6 pm or on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3:30 pm, both at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street in Alexandria.  Tickets are just $20. Friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family will enjoy these shows; and reminders from chorus members may be the only way those customers will know about the shows.  

During the business part of the meeting, Joe thanked all the Harmonizers who sang for the Blue Star Families recently, and he invited singers to the Harmo House for pizza, cookies and goodies for an afterglow, as usual.

He also asked for good thoughts for Bob Blair who fell today at his home while working on the outside of his home. Steve White shared with YeEd that Dennis Ritchey has been undergoing some serious health issues that included hospital stays – fortunately he is home and recovering. 

The whole AACC chorus will be in Old Town on Dec. 17 to sing holiday music and actually go into restaurants along the way to spread holiday cheer. Singers and friends should meet at City Hall at 7 pm.  Santa hats will be provided.  The afterglow will be at Chadwick’s again in Old Town.

Calendar notes – no meeting on Dec. 24 or Dec. 31, or Jan. 7.  On Jan. 14^th there will be a major meeting with a kick off of plans for 2025 with briefings from musical and administrative leaders. Members should be looking for details about the personal interviews with Joe or Samantha prior to 2025.

Plus there will be a Put Together Quartet contest for AACC members. Tyler Carpenter is chairman of this contest. This event is always lots of fun with several quartets “put together” just for fun or maybe even “put together” by Tylerfor those who want to sing. 

Chapter membership director, Jacob Broude, presented a name tag to newest member, Alex Edwards, and welcomed guests Edwin Alveno, and several family friends in town. Plus Jeff Burkey,  too, who we have not seen in a while. Terry directed the “Welcome Song.”

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 76^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 Dec. 3, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Dec. 3, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

It was a crazy Tuesday night for the chapter – cold winter weather hit, traffic was awful, both ensembles sang outside for the tree lighting at Goodwin House – Alexandria about 5:30 pm , and then Metro Voices adjourned to AlexRenew for rehearsal and the Harmonizers adjourned to Market Square before heading out to sing holiday music in Old Town (and to pass out show flyers). 

It was also Giving Tuesday and development director, Ken Rub, successfully led the charge for a significant contribution effort that included a matching gift from a chorus friend that boosted the totals to over $11,000! The members did a good job of reaching out to friends and patrons and family and co-workers to get a Giving Tuesday donation to help the chapter with its efforts to spread musical good wishes, and to promote singing for youth. 

At Goodwin House, each ensemble sang one song around the tree and they sang one song together.  It was a pleasure to sing for David Hillinick’s 90-year-old mother who is a resident there. Chapter leadership made sure the Santa hats were on hand for all events this evening.

In Old Town, the Harmonizers made a couple stops on King Street and did a mini show at the entrance to the Torpedo Factory.  There were some folks out and about in Old Town to enjoy the chorus songs.  After they sang, the chorus adjourned to the afterglow at Chadwicks. 

Despite the cold temps and wind, there was a good sized chorus to sing on the streets in Old Town. Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, and associate director, Tony Colosimo, directed five songs at the stops in Old Town. They added a few more songs at the Torpedo Factory stop which was under cover and less wind!! 

The whole AACC chorus will be back in Old Town on Dec. 17 to sing holiday music and actually go into restaurants and bars along the way to spread holiday cheer. 

On Dec. 8, the Harmonizers will sing for the Blue Star group in Falls Church – call time is 11:30 am. The chapter meeting on Dec. 10 will be at Fairlington United Methodist Church (which is where the holiday show will be held) – a final show rehearsal.

As a reminder, members are encouraged to sell show tickets for the two holiday performances on Sat. Dec, 14 at 6 pm or on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3:30 pm, both at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street in Alexandria.  Tickets are just $20. Friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family will enjoy these shows; and reminders from chorus members may be the only way those customers will know about the shows.  

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 76^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 Nov. 26, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Nov. 26, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

There was pretty good attendance at the Nov. 26 rehearsal even though it was so close to Thanksgiving and days of travel or vacation for many members.  We met at AlexRenew. Both ensembles of AACC gathered for warm ups with Tony Colosimo. He used a new tag this week – “I will dream of you until I die.” He also stressed body alignment during the exercises.

Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, reported that Jason Lee and his wife are new parents welcoming Christopher to their family. 

Next week the chapter will be in Old Town Alexandria after singing at Goodwin House for their tree lighting at 5 pm. Then singers will gather at Market Square and walk around town singing holiday songs and passing out fliers for the chapter’s holiday shows. Singers will be issued Santa hats at the sing-out and for the caroling in town, but could dress with holiday sweaters for color and to be warm.

On Dec. 8, the Harmonizers will sing for the Blue Star group in Falls Church – call time is 11:30 am. The chapter meeting on Dec. 10 will be at Fairlington United Methodist Church (which is where the holiday show will be held) – a final show rehearsal.

On Dec. 17, the AACC chorus will go to Old Town again – stay tuned for afterglow plans.

The sing-out for First Night in Old Town was still pending as of Tuesday night – final details due out to members on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

There was a reminder announcement about what to wear for the holiday shows Dec. 14 and 15 – all black with green and/or red accents. 

Terry Reynolds was busy at the meeting recruiting “wranglers” who will work with various rows of the holiday show audience to get them to sing the various days of “Twelve Days of Christmas.”

Chorus call time for the Sat. Dec. 14 show is 3 pm at the church, and for the Sun. Dec. 15 show it will be 1 pm. 

Chapter executive director, Stan Quick, hosted the chapter business session and invited in-coming president, Craig Kajawa, to speak more about a successful fund raising effort the chapter manages. 

Current president, Noah Van Gilder, spoke about a revised chapter award program recently completed by a task force of Jack Pitzer, Frank Fedarko, Terry Reynolds, Sheryl Berlin, Mary Cooper plus Noah and Joe.  The award plan updates the awards that had traditionally been made to Harmonizers so that now they recognizer all members of AACC. It has been approved by the chapter board and will be implemented by a task force. Members interested in helping with that task force should email Noah at president@harmonizers.org. 

Ken Rub spoke about Giving Tuesday plans for AACC – the goal is to raise $5000.

Secretary Heidi Krukowski recognized Mary Cooper who has renewed her membership for a second year. 

As a reminder, members are encouraged to sell show tickets for the two holiday performances on Sat. Dec, 14 at 6 pm or on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3:30 pm, both at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street in Alexandria.  Tickets are just $20. Friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family will enjoy these shows; and reminders from chorus members may be the only way those customers will know about the shows.  

Mary Cooper filled in for the membership chairman and welcomed two returning Harmonizer guests this week –Alex Edwards and Tanner Perdue. They both auditioned and passed to become members.  Maggie McAlexander’s Mom,Ann, was visiting from Chicago and came to the rehearsal; and Jonathan Johnson from the Nashville BHS chapter was visiting relatives in town and attended the meeting as well. Terry directed the “Welcome Song.” 

The two ensembles worked on their combined songs for the shows, and then for the rest of the evening, both worked on the remaining holiday show songs. 

Joe had the combined chorus sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as a closing song again this week.

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 76^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 Nov. 19, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Nov. 19, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

The November 19 meeting was back at Beth El Synagogue. Both ensembles of AACC met in the sanctuary for warm ups with Tony Colosimo. Her used the tag he taught last week to wrap up the session – “lonely, so lonely, for you am I – lonely for you am I.”

Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, reported that chapter leaders plan to collect sign-ups for three gigs this holiday season in the Alexandria community: First: New Year’s Eve at Alexandria’s Old Town First Night Event, sing from 6-7 pm; second: Giving Tuesday. A tree lighting at Goodwin House Alexandria, Tuesday Dec. 3, before chapter meeting – from 5-6 pm; third: Sunday, Dec. 8, sing from 1-3 pm for Military Blue Star group in Falls Church. 

Meeting location for next week, Nov. 25, is back at AlexRenew. Then on Dec. 10, the chapter will meet at Fairlington United Methodist Church (which is where the holiday show will be held). Dec. 17 will be the annual Caroling in Old Town – stay tuned for details as to a holiday afterglow too.

Joe and Tony took time to prompt singers for the holiday show to prepare a uniform - particularly the Harmonizers should plan an all- black outfit with green or red accents. Be certain it fits well and looks good.  Metro Voices have a plan to wear what they wore last year.

Chorus call time for Sat. Dec. 14 show is 3 pm at the church, and for the Sun. Dec. 15 show it will be 1 pm. 

Joe shared a little about the holiday show guest performers – The Workman Family Singers – who will be included in the finale of the show.  The group has been on a Harmonizer show in the past and was a big hit.

Chapter executive director, Stan Quick, hosted the chapter business session and invited in-coming president, Craig Kajawa, to speak about a successful fund raising effort the chapter manages. Craig has coordinated the project for a number of years and reports that the top five members to raise monies for the chapter were Don Harrington, Ken Ives,Dave Welter, Dean Rust and Randall Eliason.  Randal’s efforts raised $692 for the chapter in one year.  New members should chat with Craig to get the scoop on how to make it happen.  It does not mean you spend any money you wouldn’t already be spending, but a member can earn money for the chapter based on credit cards they use if he or she is enrolled. The chapter’s goal for 2025 is $5000.

Current president, Noah Van Gilder, spoke about chapter finances and the need for all members to develop a plan of donating to the chapter to include both cash and service.  

Catherine LaValley repeated her plea to members to sell show tickets for the two holiday performances on Sat. Dec, 14 at 6 pm or on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3:30 pm, both at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street in Alexandria.  Tickets are just $20. Friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family will enjoy these shows; and reminders from chorus members may be the only way those customers will know about the shows.  

She filmed the chorus as they were rehearsing so the marketing team could promote the shows; and she asked for any new members, family members or partners  to sign up as volunteers for the shows to help with ticket sales and other duties that day at the venue.  Names should go to Susan Fitzpatrick, gm@harmonizers.org.   

Jacob Broude welcomed two returning Harmonizer guests this week –Alex Edwards and Tanner Perdue. Maggie McAlexander directed the “Welcome Song.” 

The two ensembles worked on their combined songs for the shows, and then for the rest of the evening, both worked on the remaining holiday show songs. 

Joe had the combined chorus sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as a closing song again this week. Craig Kujawa took home the 50/50 winnings that included two weeks of winnings since no one claimed the prize last week!

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 76^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 Nov. 12, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Nov. 12, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

The November 12 meeting was at Beth El Synagogue. Both ensembles of AACC met in the sanctuary for warm ups – first with Maggie McAlexander and then with Tony Colosimo. He taught a great tag for all to enjoy – “lonely, so lonely, for you am I – lonely for you am I.”

Membership director Jacob Broude met with 13 AACC members who have joined since April for a new-member orientation session.

Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, had several important messages for the chapter. One of them was to report on the Harmony Inc. convention that was held recently – several of our Metro Voices leaders competed in other choruses and earned medals. Congrats to all. 

Meeting location for next week is back at Beth El.  Then for two weeks at AlexRenew. Then on Dec. 10, the chapter will meet at Fairlington United Methodist (which is where the holiday show will be held). Dec. 17 will be the annual Caroling in Old Town – stay tuned for details as to a holiday afterglow too.

Joe and Tony took time to prompt singers for the holiday show to prepare a uniform - particularly the Harmonizers should plan a black outfit with green or red accents. Be certain it fits well and looks good.  Metro Voices have a plan to wear what they wore last year.

Joe announced three exciting performance opportunities – stay tuned for sign up details. First: New Year’s Eve at Alexandria’s Old Town First Night Event, sing from 6-7 pm; second: Giving Tuesday at Goodwin House Alexandria, Tuesday Dec. 3, before chapter meeting – from 5-6 pm; third: Sunday, Dec. 8, sing from 1-3 pm for Military Blue Star group in Falls Church. 

Finally, Joe took a few extra minutes to review the great tally of highlights for AACC for 2024 such as singing at BHS midwinter, at Wolf Trap, at Lake George for the BHS Northeast District, in competition in Cleveland for BHS chorus contest; plus quartet success from our chapter, and formation of Capital Force.  Other presenters will share other highlights at upcoming meetings. 

Catherine LaValley repeated her plea to members to sell show tickets for the two holiday performances on Sat. Dec, 14 at 6 pm or on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3:30 pm, both at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street in Alexandria.  Tickets are just $20. Friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family will enjoy these shows; and reminders from chorus members are likely the only way those customers will know about the shows.  

She also asked members to wear holiday sweaters next Tuesday for a photo session to use in show promotion.

Jacob Broude welcomed two guests this week – Nerissa Yiu for Metro Voices, and Alex Edwards who has moved here for work, having sung with the Vocal Majority, for the Harmonizers. Terry Reynolds directed the “Welcome Song.” 

For the rest of the evening, both ensembles worked on the holiday show songs. It is going to be a terrific show!

Joe had the combined chorus sing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” as a closing song this week. 

 

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 76^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 Nov. 5, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

Looking Back on the Nov. 5, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

The Alexandria A Capella Collective meeting on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 5, was at Heritage Presbyterian Church near Mount Vernon. Thanks to chapter general manager, Susan Fitzpatrick, for finding a meeting space was not being used as a voting place. Meetings the next two weeks will be at Beth El Synagogue. 

The singers started the meeting in the sanctuary with Tony Colosimo leading the warm up session for this week, then he passed the mic to AACC artistic director, Joe Cerutti, who thanked all those who had taken a break from the news broadcasts and had come to sing for a couple hours. 

Catherine LaValley made an important plea to members to sell show tickets for the two holiday performances on Sat. Dec, 14 at 6 pm or on Sunday, Dec. 15 at 3:30 pm, both at Fairlington United Methodist Church, 3900 King Street in Alexandria.  Tickets are just $20. Friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family will enjoy these shows; and reminders from chorus members are likely the only way those customers will know about the shows. 

 

Cy Shuster will collect orders for raffle tickets for the Alfred Street campaign to raise youth scholarship monies. 

Mark Klostermeyer introduced guest Tanner Perdue who has moved to the area and formerly sang with the Heralds of Harmony in FL.  It had been great to have Johan Westburg singing with us recently while he was in town. Terry Reynolds directed the “Welcome Song.” 

For the rest of the evening, both ensembles worked on the holiday show songs. 

Alan Wile reports that Walt Page is making progress in his recovery from health issues and might be back next week.  Joe won the 50/50 for the second week in a row! The afterglow was at 815 Southside on Washington Street this week.  Samantha Tramack 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 76^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 Oct. 29, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 29, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

The Alexandria A Capella Collective meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 29 was back at AlexRenew.   Again there were a couple other events this past week to report including a paid show on Sunday, Oct. 27; and a fun tag singing event on Saturday, Oct. 26.

About 50 members of the AACC traveled individually to Gaithersburg, MD, to perform at Asbury Methodist Village, a large gated retirement community that the Harmonizers had visited before (most recently 2017 or 2018). The performance was part of a series of arts performances organized as a fundraiser (via ticket sales and other donations) by the Asbury Methodist Foundation. One of many stated goals by the Foundation’s representatives and literature was to provide ‘benevolent care’ for long-time members of the community who have lived longer than their resources (and ability to afford the costs associated with living there). At the end, the organizers announced that $85,000 had been raised.

 

About a dozen members of Metro Voices and 35 Harmonizers combined to sing “Hey Jude,” “Defying Gravity,” and “I’m Still Standing,” in addition to 3-5 songs each from their respective repertoires.  Director Joe Cerutti (pronounced keh-RUT-ee by the MC) said the Harmonizers sounded fantastic and that he would take this group to any show/contest. In addition, BETTER TOGETHER (Tony and Elizabeth Colosimo, Andrew and Heather Havens) performed a 25-minute set before the intermission that was very well received by the audience of about 300, many of whom offered a standing ovation and raved about the show as performers mingled with them in the audience afterward.

 

Former Harmonizer, Hal Gaut, is a resident of the community and attended in a Harmonizer red and black polo shirt of years past and reminisced with old and new members of the chorus following the performance. His son, Biff, also a former Harmonizer, was there to mix with chapter friends.

 

Tony Colosimo  and Matt Ambler did solos for the show.  Doug White produced the show and the Harmo-truck was driven by Scott Beach.  (Thanks to Craig Kujawa for preparing the report for this show.) 

The first-ever MAD Tags event was held Saturday, October 26  at Honey’s Harvest Farm in Lothian, MD.  It was hosted by Harmonizers Bob Bates and David Wilt with help from coordinators Joe Cerutti, Elizabeth Colosimo, and Steve White.  

There were 10 skilled TagMasters on hand to teach including our own David Breen, Lance Fisher, Tony Colosimo, and Chuck Hunter.  Over 45 enthusiastic men and women taggers from Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New York attended this very fun event plus some wives and numerous children.  Some TagMasters even came from as far as Florida and North Carolina.  

A food truck was onsite and served delicious Mexican-style food.  There were lots of places to sing inside the beautifully renovated farmhouse and activities barn, and outside on the porch, lawn, and by the toasty firepit. 

 

The event ran from 3:00 in the afternoon until very late into the early morning hours.  Some stayed over and others headed home.  It was great to see some long-distance guys including Will Cox, Craig Odell, Mike Geipel, and Mikee Fasano along with many other Harmonizers and former members including Biff Gaut.  Unfortunately, David Wilt could not make it up from Florida due to some hurricane damage to his home.  A second annual MAD Tags is planned for next year in the same location in October.  There is room for 100 people so plan to join us. (Thanks to Steve White for this report of the fun tag event.)

At the Tuesday, Oct. 29, meeting, Tony Colosimo did the warm up session for this week then passed the mic to AACCartistic director, Joe Cerutti, who thanked all those who sang for the Asbury  MD show and for all those who organized and attended the MAD TAG sing. Both events were a great success. 

Next week’s meeting (on election night) will be at Heritage Presbyterian Church near Mount Vernon, 8503 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria 22308. Thanks to chapter general manager, Susan Fitzpatrick, for finding a meeting space that will be open and not being used as a voting place. Meetings the next two weeks will be at Beth El Synagogue. 

Cy Shuster will collect orders for raffle tickets for the Alfred Street campaign to raise youth scholarship monies. 

Executive director, Stan Quick, hosted the chapter meeting.  Mark Klostermeyer introduced guest Tanner Perduewho has moved to the area and formerly sang with the Heralds of Harmony in FL.  Tony Colosimo directed the “Welcome Song.” 

For the rest of the evening, both ensembles worked on the holiday show songs. 

Samantha Tramack directed “Keep the Whole World Singing” to end the evening. 

In other news, YeEd heard from chapter member, Bob Wilson, who lives in the Richmond area. reporting that a group of singers from the Virginians also sang for an Honor Flight sendoff recently.  

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 76^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 Oct. 22, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 22, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

The Alexandria A Capella Collective meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22  was back at AlexRenew.   There were also three special chapter events this past week – all reported here: men’s fellowship with Alfred Street Baptist Men’s choir, sing for an Honor Flight of Veterans at National Airport; and a second Capital Force meeting.

Artistic director of AACC, Joe Cerutti, was pleased with the turn out and good singing at the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Choir fellowship event on Wed. Oct. 16.  Traffic was a bear that night but a good representation made it in time to sing. Alfred Street Men’s Gospel choir of about 30 men sang first, directed by Melvin Bryandt, Jr. He has been a part of this event since it was begun years ago. The Alfred Street folks invited another great men’s gospel choir to join in the fellowship this year from First Baptist in Glenarden, MD. They brought about 40 singers and were directed by Mike McCoy. Both Melvin and Mike accompanied their choirs on piano.

The directors had a lot of fun teasing each other during the evening and dubbed Joe – Awesome Joe Cerutti. He shared how the sing-together got started. Over 40 Harmonizers made it to downtown Alexandria to sing.

Each ensemble sang two songs and then taught all the others a third song.  The Harmonizers sang “Sit Down You’re Rockin the Boat” with Tony Colosimo doing the solo spot, and “Calling Dreams.” Joe taught the group “Keep The Whole World Singing” in the spirit of this kind of fellowship.

After the great singing, the Alfred Street folks invited everyone to their fellowship hall for a great spread of fried chicken, meat balls, desserts and veggies. Great to see all the singers visiting and talking with guys from the other groups.  Each choir wore a different shirt (our guys wore their AACC t-shirt) so it was easy to spot the fellowship in action!

On Saturday, October 19, a group of Alexandria Harmonizers (28 strong!) made their way to Gate 38 at Reagan National Airport to welcome American veterans from Newburgh, NY, to our nation’s capital. Minor challenges with parking, metro, and authorization lists meant that the Harmonizers exercised “just in time” singing, arriving in time to meet the first to deplane. (Thanks to the use of SLACK, many members got tips how to get there on time even with traffic and parking issues.)

 The Honor Flight organization brings veterans to Washington to tour the monuments to their service and receive recognition for their uniformed service from a grateful nation. The veterans are invited by their local organizations and provided a day in Washington to be recognized and saluted. The day begins with a chartered American Airlines flight (a co-production of American Airlines and travelers who donate their frequent flyer miles to make the flights possible) from their home location directly to Reagan National. The flights are met by musicians (e.g. the Harmonizers), local business, families, and other groups. An announcement is made in the terminal inviting those travelers nearby to come to the gate and cheer the arrival of these veterans from WWII, Korea and Vietnam as they deplane for their day in DC.

The Harmonizers entertained the deplaning veterans with the “Armed Forces Medley” and “God Bless America.” Many veterans were seen singing along as they recognized their service songs. A few of the Harmonizers choked up as they recognized the vets from conflicts where their own family members had served.

Taken by bus to the Mall, the veterans visited many of the memorials and other locations before they came back to the airport for return flights at the end of the day. Upon arrival at their home airport, they also received cheering crowds to welcome them back home.

It has been some time since the Harmonizers have sung for an Honor Flight, so this was a heart-warming return to service to this community. (Years ago, we sang a similar gig when Bob Wachter was coordinator and we welcomed his barbershop friend and BHS icon, Jim Miller, long-time director of the Louisville Thoroughbreds Chorus.) 

With Terry Reynolds providing adept direction, the current singers were repeatedly applauded by veterans and passers-by for the quality of our music. Now that the Harmonizers have renewed their acquaintance with this important local observance, we can look forward to additional opportunities to perform for these arrivals in spring 2025. (Thanks to E J Herold for this report about the Honor Flight.)

The second meeting of Capital Force youth chorus was held on Sunday, Oct. 20, at Fairview Presbyterian Church from 2:30-4:30 pm. There were a dozen youth singers present and a few parents. AACC team members on hand to coordinate and lead the singing were Sheryl Berlin, Elisabeth Cosh, and Tessa Walker.  The youth chorus has almost completely learned one song and the energy is great as the group builds for their first season.

The AACC weekly meeting on Oct. 22 was a busy one with both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices working on songs for the holiday show coming up in December. Tony Colosimo did the warm up session for the combined ensembles.  He taught them a fun new round exercise.

Artistic director, Joe Cerutti, thanked everyone for supporting the special events and invited comments from members. He asked for more guys to sign up for the Asbury Methodist Village show, Sunday, Oct. 27, 201 Russell Ave. in Gaithersburg. He particularly invited new members to come sing as many songs as they know. Riser crew is due at 11 am. Harmonizers call time is 12 noon.  Metro Voices call time is 12:40 pm.  Show is at 3 pm and ends at 4:50 pm

He also encouraged participation in the chapter’s MAD TAGS event set for Saturday, Oct. 26, starting at 3 pm and ending when the tag singers fade! It will be at Honey’s Harvest Farm in Lothian MD. There will be a food truck.  Cost is $35 per person. Organizers of this fun singing event include Bob Bates, David Wilt, David Breen, Steve White, andTony and Elizabeth Colosimo. It is also possible to get a room at the event. 

Next week’s meeting will be at AlexRenew. Note a new location for the Tues., Nov. 5 meeting (election night) – the meeting will be at Heritage Presbyterian Church near Mount Vernon, 8503 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria 22308.

Singing started after all these announcements with work on “Gloria.” 

Executive director, Stan Quick, hosted the chapter meeting.  Membership director, Jacob Broude, announced that Davie Breen’s mom is in the hospital in Ohio.   Jacob gave name tags to the two newest members Josh Berenhaus and Rob Santine. Doug White was back with us this week too. Maggie McAlexander directed the “Welcome Song.” 

For the rest of the evening, both ensembles worked on the holiday show songs. 

Chapter president, Noah Van Gilder, conducted the Alexandria BHS Chapter’s annual meeting with  one item on the agenda: to elect the 2025 Chapter Board of Directors. The slate, as selected by the nominating committee, was elected by unanimous vote. The new board members are

• President: Craig Kujawa
• Vice President: Ashley Merryman
• Secretary: Cy Shuster
• Treasurer: Terry Reynolds
• Member at large: Carolyn Griffin
• Member at large: Mary Cooper
• Member at large: Michael Berkson
• Member at large: Betsy Mullins
• Member at large: Cody Leihgeber-Carpenter
• 
  

Noah was thanked for his terms of service and appreciation was expressed for those members leaving the board – Dave Kohls and Charlyne Miller. The nominating committee chair was Bruce Roehm with Charley Rothermel, Sheryl Berlin, Ashley Merryman, and Terry Reynolds. 

Reed Livergood 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 76^th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)

 

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