Looking Back on the Aug. 6, 2024 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting
(Many thanks to EJ Herold for taking notes this week! – YeEd.)
The Alexandria A Capella Collective met on Tuesday, August 6 at our AlexRenew rehearsal space with a large gathering of members and an encouraging number of guests. The evening began with Jason Lee conducting the warm-up and capturing the attention of all with his unique directing style and good humor.
Artistic Director Joe Cerruti, freshly returned from his duties at Harmony University (HU) in Denver, began the evening with a discussion of that experience and the many encounters throughout the week with barbershoppers animatedly complimenting the chorus performance in Cleveland! Video of the performance of the Harmonizer set was reportedly referenced in several classes throughout the week leading Joe and Tessa Walker to receive continuous praise for its artistry and creativity all week long.
For background information: Joe was the BHS staffer at HU and he and Tessa were faculty for sessions during the weeklong barbershop school. Lance Fisher and Sofie Clarke also attended as students. Prior to the start of HU, there was a candidate school for BHS members starting on their three-year trek to become certified judges. Tyler Carpenter and Terry Reynolds attended as candidates to become admin judges and Maggie McAlexander attended as a candidate in the musicality category.
Related to the HU experience, there was a Mid Atlantic District (MAD) Harmony College-East (HCE) in June at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. Deans for that school were AACC members, Bill Colosimo and Sheryl Berlin. Several other members were faculty and several of our quartets were there for coaching help prior to going to Cleveland. The quartets also were part of the great shows each evening of the school. Any members can attend HCE so mark the calendar for June 12-15, 2025, for a terrific opportunity for coaching, classes and barbershop harmony experiences.
Continuing on the chapter meeting report: Joe discussed the fall show (Sep. 2021, at Bishop Ireton High School, 201 Cambridge Rd, Alexandria). The repertoire for the choruses will feature current music with the addition of five international-qualifying quartets. These quartets (in no particular order) include BETTER TOGETHER (Tony Colossimo, Andrew Haven and their wives); PRAXIS (Lance Fisher and David Breen); SWEET AND SOUR (Samantha and Mert Tramack); MIXTAPE (Cy Wood); and local Baltimore quartet PRATT STREET POWER.
Joe also mentioned that the holiday show will be performed twice (December 14 & 15) in late afternoon performances at Fairlington United Methodist Church (last December’s venue). The earlier time allows for a holiday afterglow for the choruses.
Rehearsals for August include Aug. 13 at AlexRenew, Aug. 20 at Beth El, and Aug. 27 at Beth El – which is also Guest Night for AACC. All members should invite a prospective singer – maybe even bring them to the venue.
Following Joe’s announcements, the two ensembles rehearsed their music until time for business.
First announcement from membership chair, Jacob Broude, was the creation of specified Slack channels for the sharing of common interests and building community. Becca Williams led an icebreaker where all members mimed their interests to locate their Slack-channel soul mates to predictably comedic effect.
Jacob then announced the approved AACC (Harmonizer, Metro Voices, Capital Force and Vintage Blend) logos and branding color palette. These will be the AACC official identification going forward. although the Alexandria Harmonizer crest (and the 76-year historical record) remains active and the basis upon which we build going forward.
Jacob introduced five returning guests (Brenden White, Adele Jones, Daniel Huitt, Ben Raja, and Josh Berenhaus); and welcomed eight first timers (Scott Dano, Ian Trent, Mallory Waters, Kathryn Martucci, Kyle Shutt, Neal Connors, Suranjan Sen, Shristi Nadkrni, and Spoorthi Nadkarni)! The members enthusiastically rang out the chapter’s “Welcome Song” with Maggie McAlexander’s able direction.
After business, the ensembles returned to rehearsal and the Harmonizers watched the video recording of the set from Cleveland. For many it was the first real appreciation for the visual impact of the treble trio and an opportunity to see the performance from the audience perspective.
Joe commented on the shared pride of all the coaches who helped prepare the Harmonizers, to include: Dave Wright, Kevin Keller, Steve Tramack, Cy Wood and Dave McEachern, whose 11th hour visit in Cleveland put the performers in peak preparation. Another honorable mention, enthusiastically seconded by Cleveland participants, went to Jason Lee for his inspiring warm-ups that really helped mentally prepare the chorus for competition.
He also noted that the AACC is now fully recovered from the COVID period and back to anticipation of future activities to include having already chosen (but not announcing) the competition set for BHS International 2026. In all, an exciting evening of news and anticipation.
Following run through of the Cleveland competition set by the Harmonizers, particularly to familiarize those who did not perform in Cleveland, the ensembles rejoined for 50-50 and closed the evening with “Keep the Whole World Singing” led by Kevin Mendez.
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 76th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)
The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.
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