Looking Back on the Nov. 18, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Nov. 18, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

AACC singers planned to walk through Old Town Alexandria this week to promote attendance at the holiday shows in December; however, leaders cancelled the meeting due to the bad rainy cold weather 

The chapter’s holiday shows are scheduled for Friday December 12 at 8 pm, and December 13 at 7:30 pm, both at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church, 3846 King Street. Call time for both shows is 5:30 pm for all AACC singers. Uniform for both ensembles for the holiday show will be all black dressy with red and/or green accents. If there is a question, contact Becca Williams. 

Catherine LaValley announced via Slack that there will be a shuttle service for both holiday shows from and to Episcopal High School’s parking lot starting at 5 pm. She suggests everyone alert their friends and family about this plan, since parking at the church is very limited.

Tickets for the shows, “Follow the Season,” are now available via Eventbrite. 

Looking ahead:  On Nov. 25 and Dec. 2 the chapter meetings will be back at AlexRenew. Sunday, Dec. 7 some members will sing holiday music for Blue Star Families in Falls Church. Then the Dec. 9 meeting will be back at Fairlington Presbyterian prior to the shows.

AACC will have their traditional holiday carol sing again in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16. There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be the traditional kickoff session for the 2026 year and also the chapter’s next Put Together Quartet Contest – as the name implies, members are encouraged to “put together” a quartet and enter the fun.  Usually some BHS friends are the judges.  Rules and details to come soon.

In other AACC news, Doug White sent word that he is playing Daddy Warbucks in an area production of “Annie;” and Joe reports that Jackson Byrd is playing Billy Flynn in “Chicago” at Thomas Edison High School. 

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 77^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. 11, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting; Plus Report from Harmony, Inc. Convention

 Looking Back on the Nov. 11, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting; Plus Report from Harmony, Inc. Convention

This week’s meeting was at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church, 3846 King Street in Alexandria. Singers were asked to enter right at 7:30 pm so that an earlier church event would not be interrupted. A crew set up risers in the front of the sanctuary. 

The Harmonizers and Metro Voices continued their hard work in preparation for the chapter’s holiday show weekend, Friday December 12 at 8 pm, and December 13 at 7:30 pm, both also at the church. Call time for both shows is 5:30 pm for all AACC singers. Uniform for both ensembles for the holiday show will be all black dressy with red and/or green accents. If there is a question, contact Becca Williams.

Thanks to Catherine LaValley for her announcement via Slack about a shuttle service for both holiday shows from and to Episcopal High School’s parking lot starting at 5 pm. She suggests everyone alert their friends and family about this plan, since parking at the church is very limited.

Tickets for the shows, “Follow the Season,” are now available via Eventbrite. 

Metro Voices gathered in the sanctuary for warm up and rehearsal with assistant director, Maggie McAlexander, leading their work this week. Part of their evening they also worked in sectionals on their music. 

The Harmonizers met with artistic director, Joe Cerutti, and our coach and arranger, Steve Armstrong (here from Toronto), to learn about the plans for the contest package for the International contest in July.  Joe share lots of details about previous work and research and creativity to tell the story of the Comedian Harmonists whose story of close harmony success in 1935 (they were as popular as the Beatles were in the USA) was the theme of a recent Broadway musical titled, “Harmony.” During World War II, the group was forced to stop performing by the Nazi regime and all their recordings and movies were trashed. 

Joe encouraged members to watch or search for info about the group to learn more.  Alex Chen will be helping the chapter explain the package and why the performance goal is to share this important close harmony success with the large audience of fellow close harmony performers such as Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) singers.

Music is nearly ready to release to members to start learning.  Auditions for members to be the six Harmonists have been held. 

At this point in the evening, both ensembles gathered in the sanctuary to sing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with Joe directing. Chapter executive director, Stan Quick, managed the chapter business meeting that included reminders about the busy end-of-year activities. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, AACC will sing in Old Town to promote attendance at the holiday shows – meet at Market Square at 7 pm. Prepare for the weather.  On Nov. 25 and Dec. 2 the meetings will be back at AlexRenew. Sunday, Dec. 7 some members will sing holiday music for Blue Star Families in Falls Church. Then the Dec. 9 meeting will be back at Fairlington Presbyterian prior to the shows.

AACC will have their traditional holiday carol sing again in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16. There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be the traditional kickoff session for the 2026 year and also the chapter’s next Put Together Quartet Contest – as the name implies, members are encouraged to “put together” a quartet and enter the fun.  Usually some BHS friends are the judges.  Rules and details to come soon.

Joe spoke to all about Giving Tuesday on Dec. 2 (a national day for donations to not-for-profits).  He suggests that members might consider making small donations (like under $25) themselves and encourage friends and families to make small donations too. Then chapter community board member, Carolyn Griffin, spoke to the chapter. She was a recipient of the Chapter’s Award of Harmony several years ago and has served on the chapter board since.  She is artistic director of Metro Stage. She shared her thoughts with members about making significant donations for the end-of-year campaign for AACC. She explained the philosophy that since the chapter does not charge membership dues, it was felt members might find it possible to make donations to the campaign that would equal dues and more. She also suggested members consider the value of the vocal training they receive and the relaxation and enjoyment from singing in the chorus when considering how they might step up to the challenge of the campaign. 

Chapter secretary, Cy Shuster, presented membership renewal cards for two AACC members: Antony Takahashi for 23 years, and Bob Blair for 25 years who also received his 25-year pin. 

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed two new chapter members this week – Susan Friel and Cooper Schwartz. He welcomed five returning guests: Billy Ermlick, Logan Glauser, Devante Lucas, Jerry Condrilli III, and Todd Minners.  Three first-time guests were Jordyn Best,  Tameria Macari and Illaina Macari.   Some former active Harmonizers were on hand this week – Adam Afifi, Stephen Gudauskas, Jim Kirkland, and Troy Hillier.  The chapter welcome song was directed by Jason Lee, assistant director of the Harmonizers.

During the separate rehearsal period for Metro Voices, they bid farewell to Callie Cirillo, who is moving from the Metro Area. 

Associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo, led their work session on their holiday music. They met on the risers in the sanctuary. 

The two ensembles gathered for the close of the evening’s activities and for AACC to sing the chapter’s signature tag, “A Lifetime’s Not Too Long to Live as Friends” for Callie.  Then Steve Armstrong directed “Keep the Whole World Singing” before the riser crew took things down and folks adjourned to the afterglow.

The afterglows continue each Tuesday night at Joe’s home, 3916 Stevens St, Alexandria 22311, right after the chapter meeting. It’s fun and there is a space for tag singing, and goodies like pizza and chips and drinks. All AACC members are welcome. There is plenty of street parking too. 

In other AACC news, reports from the leadership crew of Capital Force – all is good, attendance still strong, and much progress is being made on their songs.

Also, many thanks to Carey Fagerstrom for her thorough report from the Harmony, Inc. contest and convention in Hershey, PA, Nov. 5-8.  Great to learn about all of the AACC members and chapter friends and coaches who were part of that event.

AACC at Harmony Incorporated's (HI) 2025 International Contest and Convention (IC&C) Report

 

Wednesday November 5^th

At the opening ceremony for the convention, Tessa Walker Sifuentes was acknowledged for her work as the HI Youth Programs Coordinator.  She also made two presentations in that role: the first for the renaming of the HI Youth Program to HYPE or Harmony for Youth Performance and Engagement;  the second for the presentation of the HI Youth Member of the Year.  Both Parkside Harmony and Parkside Melody were special performing guests at the ceremony and the two ensembles also performed together with a surprise appearance of Samantha Tramack featured in the opening and closing quartet of their last song “Parting Glass.”  And finally, Chris Buechler was recognized for his many contributions to the HI Judging program and was gifted lifetime affiliate membership to HI.

 

After the opening ceremony, Tessa was seen organizing and signing up people to ‘Sing With The Queens,’ an event that raises money for the youth programs of HI.

 

Thursday November 6^th

The day started with education classes which featured two led by AACC members and coaches: Steve Armstrong with a class on ‘Looking Inside the Music: Brother Can You Spare a Dime,’ and Samantha with a class on ‘Musicianship Gamified.’

 

The judging panel for the contests this week included Steve Armstrong (Musicality), Jay Butterfield (Singing), Alan Lamson (Admin), and Chris Buechler (Admin/Panel Chair).  Seen volunteering backstage for the contests was John Sifuentes.

 

There was a new event this year: a tag contest.  Seen performing was a quartet that included Tessa (tenor), Diane Reynolds (lead), Cathy DeCoste (baritone) [Both the lead and baritone are members of New England Voices in Harmony], and John (bass) singing “Sunshine is Bidding the Day Goodbye.”

 

Friday November 7^th

The day started with the chorus contest and saw Tessa performing with the mic tester chorus, Northern Blend (2024 Chorus Champions).  Singing 2^nd in the contest was Diane Morrical in Bella Nova Chorus under the direction of Richard Lewellen.  Singing 8^th in the contest was Samantha and Carey Fagerstrom in New England Voices in Harmony under the direction of Renee Tramack.  Bella Nova and Diane won fourth place medals while New England Voices In Harmony, Carey and Samantha, won second place medals.

 

In the evening was the Parade of Champions, which was produced this year by Tessa and Samantha.  Seen performing in this show were Tessa, Samantha and Maggie McAlexander with the Association of Harmony Queens Chorus.  Tessa also performed with outgoing chorus champions Northern Blend.  Maggie performed with her quartet SPOT ON (2013 Quartet Champions), while Samantha performed with SHOWCASE (2009 Quartet Champions) and her quartet TAKEN 4 GRANITE (2016 Quartet Champions).  ROULETTE (2024 Quartet Champions) had a shout out to Maggiebefore performing her arrangement of “I'm Coming Back As A Man.”  Spotted in the crowd were Patricia Chow andDavid Breen.

 

Saturday November 8^th

Like Thursday. this day also started with education classes.  Bill Colosimo talked about ‘The Joy of Mixed Barbershop Singing,’ while BROUHAHA taught a master class with a special appearance by LAZY SUSAN quartet: Kim Newcombe (tenor), Ali Hauger (lead), Melody Hine (baritone), Samantha (bass).

 

After the quartet finals contest, Tessa was seen directing Northern Blend chorus during ROULETTE’S swan song set; the first song was an eight part arrangement featuring the quartet.  During the song the chorus was joined on stage by many of the coaches and friends of ROULETTE including Richard Lewellen, John, Samantha, Renee, Steve Tramack, and David Wright. After the song Tessa returned to the stage to present ROULETTE's tenor, Morgan LaCroix, her permanent crown.

 

After the presentation of awards and medals, and the medalist fanfare, Tessa, Samantha and Maggie were part of the Association of Harmony Queens who welcomed the new HI Queens, SYNERGY, into the group.

 

In the evening there was the Showcase of Champions.  Tessa was the emcee for the show. Diane performed with Bella Nova as the fourth place chorus, while Samantha and Carey performed with New England Voices in Harmony as the second place chorus.  During the performance by the new HI Queens, SYNERGY, Joe Cerutti was thanked as one of their coaches this year.

 

Following the showcase there was an afterglow that spanned multiple rooms and hallways with lots of singing including performances by LAZY SUSAN.  Julian LaFlore was spotted teaching and singing tags in one such hallway.

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 77^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. 4, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Nov. 4, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting 

This week’s meeting was at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church, 3846 King Street in Alexandria. The chapter was allowed to enter right at 7:30 pm so that an earlier church event would not be interrupted. The Harmonizers and Metro Voices continued their hard work in preparation for the chapter’s holiday show weekend, Friday and Saturday evenings, December 12 and 13, also at the church. 

Parking was a bit of a challenge and Catherine LaValley worked in the parking lot of the church to help some members find the handicapped spaces. 

The AACC singers gathered in the sanctuary for warm up led by assistant director of the Harmonizers, Jason Lee. Then both ensembles combined to work on AACC chorus songs with artistic director, Joe Cerutti after working out a line up in the front of the sanctuary based on height. Next Tuesday when AACC meets at the church again, a riser crew will set up risers early so the chorus can decide if risers or no risers works best.  

The chapter business meeting included reminders about the busy end-if-year activities: The Tuesday Nov. 11 meeting will be at the Presbyterian church again from 7:30 – 10 pm – don’t arrive until 7:25 pm – riser crews watch for report time. Also on Nov. 11, the Harmonizers will work with Steve Armstrong, coach and arranger, to learn about their dynamic new contest package. Joe asked members to reach out and invite any previous or new singers to attend that night to consider participation in this major musical experience for the Harmonizers. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, AACC will sing in Old Town to promote attendance at the holiday show which will be Fri. Dec. 12 and Sat. Dec. 13 at Fairlington Presbyterian.  Terry Reynolds announced times for the shows – 8 pm on Friday with a call time of 5:30 pm; 7:30 pm on Saturday with a 5:30 pm call time.  Tickets will go on sale soon for the show themed  ‘Follow the Season.” Details about dress code for the holiday show will be announced soon. 

On Nov. 25 the meeting will be back at AlexRenew. AACC will have their traditional holiday carol sing again in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16. There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be the traditional kickoff session for the 2026 year and also the chapter’s next Put Together Quartet Contest – as the name implies, members are encouraged to “put together” a quartet and enter the fun.  Usually some BHS friends are the judges.  Rules and details to come soon.

There is a call for another sing – Sunday, Dec. 7 for Blue Star Families in Falls Church, call time is 11:45 am. The group will sing songs from the holiday show repertoire in the lobby as guests arrive. Sign up was done by Groupanizer.

Chapter secretary, Cy Shuster, presented membership renewal cards for two AACC members: 10 years for Michael Berkson; and 40 years for Chris Buechler.

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed four returning guests: Billy Ermlick, Cooper Schwartz, Devante Lucas, Susan Friel, and Catalina Buitrago Torres.  Two first-time guests for Metro Voices were Sam Rosky andSami Smalling. Two long-distance guests included coach and arranger, Steve Tramack; and Norbert Hammas, director of the Heavy Medal Chorus from Barbershop in Germany (BinG!).

During the separate rehearsal period for Metro Voices, they presented Steve Tramack a framed photo of him and all of Metro Voices at a previous coaching session – proud with director/daughter, Samantha, at his side. He will work with Metro Voices again on Dec. 2 to help the ensemble with voice placements. He was coach for the rest of this week’s meeting time on their holiday music. 

Associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo, led their work session on some new holiday music after sectionals. 

Thanks to Frank Fedarko for reporting on the recent Honor Flight sing: – on Saturday,  November  1, a group of  20 AACC members gathered at Reagan-National Airport to welcome the Southeast Honor Flight of American veterans arriving from Florida to have their service and sacrifices recognized during a day of activities in DC.  Jason Lee was the director for this event.  Terry Reynolds and Frank Fedarko coordinated attendance in the absence of E. J. Herold, who was on business in Europe.  Terry also brought the folders of sheet music for the five songs sung in the round for these survivors of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.  The singers sang joyfully, inspired by the great morning for singing. The weather was cool, but bright. Of note that morning was the eldest of the arriving vets who survived WWII and reached the age of 101.  He was very emotional when his handler parked his wheelchair before the chorus as a one-man audience.  As the singers closed the event, they received many thanks from veterans, organizers, and the listening audience.  All in all, another great day to be in AACC!

In other chapter news, congratulations to Heidi Suckow and Norm Barth who were married in Old Town Alexandria on Sunday, November 2.  Members of AACC were on hand for the event and participated in the ceremony and celebration.   

The two ensembles gathered for the close of the evening’s activities to sing “Keep the Whole World Singing” directed by Norbert, our guest from Germany.

The afterglows continue each Tuesday night at Joe’s home, 3916 Stevens St, Alexandria 22311, right after the chapter meeting. It’s fun and there is a space for tag singing, and goodies like pizza and chips and drinks. All AACC members are welcome.

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 77^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. 28, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting and Launch of Capital Force Youth Ensemble

 Looking Back on the Oct. 28, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting and Launch of Capital Force Youth Ensemble

Congratulations and celebrations for the launch on Sunday, Oct. 26, of the 2025-2026 Capital Force youth ensemble as part of AACC! Male and female singers in 7^th to 12^th grades were invite to join. The 17 singers made great progress and worked on their first song for this season – “I Will Go Sailing No More.”  Director Tessa Walker welcomed the new class and shared that there are other singers who will join but couldn’t make it this week.  There were several singers from last season’s ensemble back again. 

Assistant director Julian LeFlore helped teach tags during the 2-4 pm gathering at Fairlington Presbyterian Church in Alexandria.  There were a number of parents on hand to observe after providing transportation. A number of AACC members were there to help – section leader duties were staffed by Maggie McAlexander, tenors; Samantha Tramack, leads; Tony Colosimo, baritones; and David Breen, basses. Maggie, Samantha, Julian and David also sang a quartet song for the students.  All of the AACC members helped the new singers determine which part they should sing after some voice placement exercises. 

The ensemble will meet on subsequent Sundays with a goal to sing on the Dec. 13 AACC holiday show; sing with AACC members in Old Town on Tuesday, Dec. 16; participate in Youth Harmony Day on Sun., Nov. 1; and perform a final end-of-season show on March 22.

Tuesday, Oct. 28, the Harmonizers and Metro Voices continued their hard work in preparation for the chapter’s holiday show weekend, Friday and Saturday evenings, December 12 and 13 at Fairlington Presbyterian Church. 

The meeting was at AlexRenew and Maggie led the warm up session for AACC and taught a fun exercise with Halloween-appropriate words – ‘break me off a piece of that KitKat bar.” After warm up sessions, both ensembles combined to work on AACC chorus songs “Welcome Christmas” and “Gloria” led by artistic director, Joe Cerutti. Then the ensembles separated to worked on their holiday repertoire for the show.

The chapter business meeting included an important NOTE that the meetings on Nov. 4 and Nov. 11 will start at 7:30 pm and end at 10 pm, at Fairlington Presbyterian Church, 3846 King Street in Alexandria. Chapter leaders ask all members NOT to enter the church until right at 7:30 pm those nights so that a church event will not be interrupted. Early arrivals should wait in their cars. 

Looking ahead: November 1 is  another Honor Flight sing – organized by E.J. Herold.  Singers available for the 8 am call time at North Security Checkpoint in DCA, had to sign up by the end of this week’s rehearsal.  Honor Flight singers will wear AACC t-shirts and sing an assortment of military-tribute and patriotic songs. 

Tuesday meetings on Nov. 4 and 11 will be at Fairlington Presbyterian from 7:30 – 10 pm. On Nov. 11, the Harmonizers will work with Steve Armstrong, coach and arranger, to learn about their dynamic new contest package. Joe asked members to reach out and invite any previous or new singers to attend that night to consider participation in this major musical experience for the Harmonizers. 

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, AACC will sing in Old Town to promote attendance at the holiday show which will be Fri. Dec. 12 and Sat. Dec. 13 at Fairlington Presbyterian.   On Nov. 25 the meeting will be back at AlexRenew. AACC will have their traditional holiday carol sing again in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16. There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be the traditional kickoff session for the 2026 year and also the next chapter Put Together Quartet Contest – as the name implies, 

members are encouraged to “put together” a quartet and enter the fun.  Usually some BHS friends are the judges.  Rules and details to come soon.

The chapter sang “Happy Birthday” to Craig Kujawa, Mireille Kouagou. and Robert Santine.  

Chapter leaders ask AACC singers to be alert for another possible holiday sing on Dec. 7  - caroling for Blue Star Families.

President Craig Kujawa reported on the success of the campaign to get member donations from buying Scrip cards during the just-ended fiscal year.  The chapter came close to making the goal of $5000 – actual was $4555.49. The top 12 donors from the chapter were Charley Rothermel, Bruce Roehm, Ashley Merryman, Craig Kujawa, Cy Shuster, Heidi Suckow, Ken Ives, Antony Takahashi, Dean Rust, Steve White, Dave Welter and Randall Eliason. All brought in over $100 or more. A total of 38 members made donations. 

Chapter secretary, Cy Shuster, presented membership renewal cards for four AACC members: for 2 years, Brenden White; for 3 years, Adele Jones; for 3 years, Lenna Jawdat; and for 4 years, David Hillinck.

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed four returning guests: Billy Ermlick, Cooper Schwartz, Devante Lucas, and Catalina Buitrago Torres.  There was a 10-minute break and then it was back to rehearsal with Joedirecting the Harmonizers and Samantha directing Metro Voices. 

 

In other news, local station WETA chose a Harmonizer recording of “O Come O Come Emanuel” for their Sound of the Season series in December. 

Adele Jones was recognized for earning a fourth place chorus medal at the recent Sweet Adeline International convention.  She sang with Harbor City Music Company. 

The two ensembles worked the rest of the meeting on their music, then gathered for the close of the evening’s activities to sing “Keep the Whole World Singing” directed by Samantha Tramack. 

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 77^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. 21, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 21, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

This was another busy chapter meeting for Alexandria A Cappella Collective (AACC) with the need to be ready to sing on the fast approaching holiday show.  As it has always been, this is a crazy time of year to refresh lots of songs plus learn some new ones for the holiday shows - this year on Friday and Saturday evenings, December 12 and 13 at Fairlington Presbyterian Church in Alexandria. It is especially crazy for all of our new members, and for sure the members of Metro Voices, to learn so much new music.

The meeting was at Beth El Synagogue, 3830 Seminary Rd., and both ensembles were able to find space to have sectional rehearsals on some of the new songs in the repertoire. After warm up sessions, each ensemble started their work sessions.  

Both ensembles combined to work on “Welcome Christmas” led by artistic director, Joe Cerutti. 

The chapter business meeting included a thank you to E.J. Herold for his leadership to organize an AACC appearance at the Danish Embassy, as part of the chapter’s outreach to the military community. 

On Monday, Oct. 20,  2025, twenty-seven AACC members (15 Harmonizers and 12 Metro Voices) represented the chapter to sing at the invitation of the Danish Ambassador, Jesper Møller Sørensen, for the farewell to Danish Defense Attaché and outgoing Dean of the Defense Attachés, Rear Admiral Jakob Rousøe. This VLQ [Very Large Quartet] was chosen from available singers who knew the fall show music. Tony Colosimo directed the Harmonizers (“Africa” and “What a Wonderful World”), Samantha Tramack directed Metro Voices (“How Far I'll Go” and “Maggie's Medley”) and Maggie McAlexander conducted the AACC for “Defying Gravity.”

 The group performed for the Danish Ambassador Prince Joachim of Denmark, assorted senior US military officers and a large contingent of Defense Attachés from the Washington diplomatic community. Former US Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, was also in attendance. The crowd, many accompanied by their spouses, numbered nearly 250. AACC performed on the balcony of the Ambassador’s residence on a pleasant evening. The entire set, which lasted about 20 minutes, finished to raucous applause from an appreciative audience following the performance of “Defying Gravity” with a solo by Samantha Tramack. RADM Rousøe was surprised by the performance arranged in secrecy by his staff, but he thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Thanks from the audience, the Ambassador and the Embassy staff left no doubt that they enjoyed the performance.

Looking ahead: The Oct. 28 meeting will be at AlexRenew. November 1 is  another Honor Flight sing – organized by E.J. Herold.  Details for the Honor Flight activity will be fully announced on Oct. 28.

On Tuesday, November 11, the Harmonizers will work with Steve Armstrong and discover their new contest package. On Tuesday, Nov. 18, AACC will sing in Old Town to promote attendance at the holiday show.  AACC will have their traditional holiday carol sing again in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16.

 There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be the traditional kickoff session for the 2026 year and also the next chapter Put Together Quartet Contest – as the name implies, members are encouraged to “put together” a quartet and enter the fun.  Usually some BHS friends are the judges.  Rules and details to come soon.

Chapter secretary, Cy Shuster, presented membership renewal cards to several members including some long-time members – Alan Wile for 44 years and Carl Kauffmann for 53 years.  Joe then presented Jack Pitzer his card and pin for 60 years of membership in the chapter and the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). Joe used the occasion to encourage future generations of chapter members to look forward to long years of membership, service and music. (YeEd says thanks to all who extended a hand of friendship and congrats!!)

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed Chris Buechler and Dixie Kennett; and four returning guests: Billy Ermlick, Susan Friel, Cooper Schwartz, and Monica Lynch.  Jason Lee directed the chapter welcome song. 

There was a brief  break and then it was back to rehearsal.  During the Harmonizer rehearsal, Joe shared the warm and personal thank you note from Dr. Joyce Garrett who the chorus saluted recently at Alfred Street Baptist Church for her retirement.   Her note included thanks for the flowers and wonderful songs – she shared “the music made my heart sing.” 

Also Joe shared a recent message from Kirk Riffer and his wife Dana about the serious development of health issues for her. Joe recorded the Harmonizers singing a message to Dana and Kirk and added a message to welcome them for a visit when they can. 

The end of the meeting included the entire AACC chorus singing “Keep the Whole World Singing” directed by Lance Fisher. 

In other chapter news, chapter leadership sent a message to members about estate planning and legacy giving to the chapter.  This annual appeal helps build up funds needed for the growth and expansion of the chapter programs and services to members. Consider how you can support the appeal. 

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 77^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. 14, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 14, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting

This was a busy chapter meeting for AACC to launch important work on holiday music for the show in December and the carol sings in Old Town Alexandria.

The evening began at 7 pm at AlexRenew with a lot of guests and members on hand. The Harmonizers and Metro Voices met separately for the first part of the evening.

Metro Voices started with warm ups led by their director, Samantha Tramack, then they worked in sectionals on “Sing Me Noel” and “Auld Lang Syne” with a run-through of each of those songs after the sectionals.  Next, assistant director, Maggie McAlexander, walked through the scores from their recent appearance at the district contest, and explained the judging categories. 

The Harmonizers warm up session was led by associate director, Tony Colosimo, then they worked on “El Yivneh Hagalil.” 

It was apparent that members had worked on learning the new songs before they got to the meeting this week!

Both ensembles combined to work on “Welcome Christmas” led by artistic director, Joe Cerutti. 

Next, president, Craig Kujawa, conducted the official chapter meeting and election of the officers and directors-at-large for 2026. Secretary Cy Shuster declared there was a quorum and that no nominations had been made by members beyond the slate announced by Bruce Roehm for the nominating committee.  President Craig declared the slate elected by acclamation. 

President – Craig Kujawa

Secretary – Cy Shuster

Treasurer – Terry Reynolds

At Large Board Members – Michael Berkson, Mary Cooper, Ashley Merryman, Betsy Mullins, Carolyn Griffin, Cody Leihgeber Carpenter

Thanks to this year’s nominating committee for their work to get the slate for the election: Bruce Roehm, chairman, with members Terry Reynolds, Charley Rothermel and Sheryl Berlin.

Other announcements for AACC included a thank you to Ashley Merryman for her work on the fall show. Joe shared his pride and thanks for great performances by both ensembles who qualified to compete in the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) International contest in St.  Louis in July. A great accomplishment!  

Looking ahead, a small ensemble will represent the chapter to sing at the Danish Embassy on Oct. 20 for the Defense Attaché Association – the group chosen from singers who were available and who knew the fall show music. Members will car pool to the event.  E.J. Herold is organizer. The Oct. 21 meeting will be at Beth El Synagogue; Oct. 28 will be at AlexRenew. November 1 is  another Honor Flight sing – also organized by E.J. Herold.  On Tuesday, November 11, the Harmonizers will work with Steve Armstrong and discover their new contest package. On Tuesday, Nov. 18, AACC will sing in Old Town to promote attendance at the holiday show.  That show will be on the weekend of Dec. 12-13-14 – final times and venue to be announced soon. AACC will sing carols again in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16. There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30. The Jan. 6 meeting will be a kickoff session for the 2026 year and also the next chapter Put Together Quartet Contest – as the name implies, members are encouraged to “put together” a quartet and enter the fun.  Usually some BHS friends are the judges.  Rules and details to come soon.

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed a long list of guests this week: Billy Ermlick, Susan Friel, Linda Sinnwell, Cooper Schwartz, Mary Beth Cole, Monica Lynch, Justin Schoolmaster, Catalina Buitrago Torres, Mackenzie Girard, and Logan Glauser. Our newest member, Robbie Delia Bernarda, received his official name tag.  Maggie McAlexander directed the chapter welcome song. 

There was a fifteen minute break and then both ensembles continued their work on holiday music. Metro Voices worked on “Oseh Shalom” after Sheryl Berlin introduced the song,  explained its meaning and suggested pronunciations of some of the words. (Thanks to Annie Ermlick for her reporting again this week.)  

The Harmonizers worked on “Here Comes Santa Claus” in sectionals and back as a full ensemble.

The end of the meeting included the 50/50 drawing coordinated by Alan Wile, and the entire AACC chorus singing “Keep the Whole World Singing” directed by Christine Pan.

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 77^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. 7 and 8, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Events

 Looking Back on the Oct. 7 and 8, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Events

AACC music team leaders decided to cancel rehearsals for both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices for Tues. Oct. 7 so that folks could rest up after the district contest weekend, so that singers could get well (many folks had reported they could not attend), and so that the Harmonizers could muster a large ensemble for the sing at Alfred Street Baptist Church on Wed., Oct. 8.

The Harmonizer event is the annual men’s fellowship sing with Alfred Street men’s choir in Alexandria.  This year it was also the opportunity to honor Dr. Joyce Garrett, minister of music, who has retired.  She initiated the idea of the men’s singing fellowship. 

The evening began at 6:30 pm with a run-through of “Impossible Dream.” The Harmonizers wore their AACC t-shirts with jeans. They were the first chorus to sing and did “Africa” and “Wonderful World.” Associate director, Tony Colosimo, taught all singers a tag – “Raindrops” – that sounded great with all those singers.

The second chorus to sing was the West Point Alumni Glee Club.  They were guests of the Harmonizers and sang a cappella.  Their president is fellow-member E.J. Herold. Their director is Master Sgt (Ret) Neil Ewachiw, who formerly sang with the US Army Chorus. They sang “The Corps” and “Army Blue” – two songs recognized by all West Point graduates. They meet regularly and sing at retirement homes, Honor Flight events at National Airport, and at West Point. Their director taught a soldier’s prayer for world peace in Latin. In the end, it was sung in rounds.

The final chorus was the Alfred Street Men, directed by Melvin Bryant, Jr. He welcomed all fellow singers and thanked them for helping celebrate Dr. Garrett. Their songs were accompanied and included a great arrangement of “Amazing Grace.” It was great to see former Harmonizer, John Oswald Green, on stage with them!

After they sang, Melvin announced there was another new song and the singers began singing “Special Lady” – which lead to a tribute to Dr. Garrett. 

At the end of the evening, artistic director of the Harmonizers, Joe Cerutti, gave this tribute on behalf of the chorus and presented her with a bouquet. 

“On behalf of the Harmonizers, it’s always an honor to share an evening of fellowship with our Alfred Street brethren, but it’s even more of an honor to take a moment to celebrate the recent retirement of a remarkable leader, an inspiring educator, and a dear friend to our chorus – Dr. Joyce Garrett.

Since 2017, we’ve had the extraordinary privilege of standing in harmony with the Alfred Street Baptist Church Male Chorus. These collaborations have become some of the most meaningful musical moments in our history—and they simply would not have happened without Dr. Garrett.

This beautiful relationship began when she visited one of our rehearsals during a workshop with Dr. Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey In The Rock. What started as a simple visit turned into something far more powerful. Dr. Garrett saw two ensembles—just blocks apart in Alexandria—and envisioned a partnership rooted in music, community, and collaboration.

Just a month later, in April 2017, our choruses performed together for the first time. And thanks to her, that “first time” quickly became a tradition. We co-hosted a two-day Gospel Fest for the City of Alexandria, featuring the Grammy Award-winning Fairfield Four, and later that fall established our very first evening of choral fellowship.

In 2018, we had the pleasure of presenting her with our Award of Harmony. And still, it feels like that small recognition couldn’t possibly capture the full impact she’s had on our group.

We also reflect with some amazement: for literally decades, our choruses rehearsed just down the road from one another... and yet, we never connected, and with deep gratitude to Dr. Garrett , we don’t just sing for each other—we sing with each other.

So, as you begin this next chapter of well-deserved retirement, we just want to say thank you.

Thank you for your leadership.
Thank you for your belief in the power of music to unite community.
And thank you for reminding us that harmony is more than just the notes we sing—it’s the community we build together.

To close this tribute, we’ve prepared a very special gift. We’ve learned that this next song is one of Dr. Garrett’sfavorites—and so, tonight, the Harmonizers and the Alfred Street Baptist Church Male Chorus will sing it side by side, in your honor.”

At this point Alfred Street men and the Harmonizers sang “Impossible Dream” with a quartet of Kellen Hertz, Tony Colosimo, Rob Santine and Terry Reynolds singing the intro. It was a great ending for the night.

The fellowship event ended with the traditional spread of great eats in the church social hall. 

Looking ahead, on Oct. 14, AACC will meet at AlexRenew, hold the annual election of officers and board of directors, and launch the musical work for the holiday show. The next “new member orientation session” will be on Oct. 14 too. The Oct. 21 meeting will be at Beth El Synagogue; Oct. 28 will be at AlexRenew. November 1 is  another Honor Flight sing.  On Tuesday, November 11, the Harmonizers will work with Steve Armstrong and discover their new contest package. The holiday show is scheduled for Dec. 13-14; then AACC will sing carols in Old Town on Tues. Dec. 16. There will be no rehearsals on Dec. 23 and 30.

Holiday music is on Groupanizer so members can get a start on reviewing or learning the songs that have been used in the past for the holiday shows.  New holiday songs are also being added to Groupanizer.

In other matters, here is the slate of candidates for the chapter election on Oct. 14, as offered by the nominating committee (Bruce Roehm, chairman, with members Terry Reynolds, Charley Rothermel and Sheryl Berlin):

President – Craig Kujawa

Secretary – Cy Shuster

Treasurer – Terry Reynolds

At Large Board Members – Michael Berkson, Mary Cooper, Ashley Merryman, Betsy Mullins, Carolyn Griffin, Cody Leihgeber Carpenter

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

 

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