Looking Back on the June 17, 2025 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Sing in Old Town; and Harmony College East Weekend
Great to have so many singers from AACC at Market Square in Alexandria for the kickoff of another sing and walk through the area of restaurants and shops in Old Town. There was a lot of enthusiasm and fun for singers who were met with large crowds along the route including at the Torpedo Factory and in the area along the banks of the Potomac.
Artistic director of AACC, Joe Cerutti, directed a warm up session for the ensemble to run though the songs planned for the evening – “Happy Together” for Metro Voices, “Africa” for the Harmonizers, and “I’m Still Standing” for the combined ensembles. During the evening, “Hey Jude” was added with Matt Ambler as soloist, and “Defying Gravity” with Samantha Tramack as soloist along with Tony Colosimo. Kudos to the soloists who had to sing over airplanes landing and taking off from National Airport!
There were some guests with the chorus this week including Alena visiting Metro Voices; Howard Nestlerode back to see everyone; and Craig Kujawa back after being gone to support his mother after her recent falls. Julian LeFlore was at the sing out as was Charlie, the lead in Maumen’s quartet.
After all the mini-shows at the various stops, the group adjourned to Chadwicks for an afterglow. It was a fun wrap-up to the evening!! Singers wore their black AACC t-shirts with summer attire for the evening (and carried some umbrellas – which must have been the secret that kept the predicted rain away all evening).
All singers of the Collective are reminded to mark their calendars and plan to attend the annual retreat scheduled for July 18-20 at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. Online registration began on Wed. June 4. (Registration and payment is due by July 1.)
The annual event is a great opportunity for serious work on the music, plus a chance for members to meet and socialize with each other and get to know more names to go with the faces we see each week. The two coaches for the weekend will be Darin Drown from Denver, CO, and Cy Wood, our frequent performance coach from Ohio. There will also be a ceremony to present the 2024 distinguished service awards for the Collective. Great food, relaxing housing on campus close to the meeting space, casual dress, a modest drive up into MD, and always fun. Stay tuned for signing up – talk up car pools and plans for that weekend. Plus expect a few team building surprises from the music team and chapter leadership.
A significant number of AACC members attended Harmony College East (HCE), June 12-15, 2025, at McDaniel College, Westminster, MD. HCE is a major event of the Mid Atlantic District (M-AD) of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). A long list of AACC members were on the staff or faculty for the weekend including deans for the weekend, Bill Colosimo andSheryl Berlin. Also the team included Joe Cerutti, Tony Colosimo, Mike Fasano, Mike Kelly, Julian LeFlore, Rick Taylor, Mike Wallen, Dave Welter and Alan Wile. Several quartets with active AACC members were there including FIRST TAKE, HARMOHAUS, and BELTWAY; and quartets with former members including SECRET BEST FRIENDS and SMITTEN. The Fairfax, Arlington, Red Bank and West Chester choruses were there for coaching too. Cy Shuster, Don Johnson, and Sam McFarland were there with Fairfax and sang on the show. Bill Colosimo was emcee for the evening shows during the weekend. Patrick McAlexander (Maggie’s brother) was guest director for the HCE chorus during the weekend, and gave the keynote address at the opening session. His remarks are on the HCE YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/-APt0VDf63U?si=M2GuCUc6O_z08wW5.” Thanks also to those members who did behind-the-scenes work like risers and sound and golf-cart driving, and airport runs for staff and out-of-district attendees! Alan Wile reports a significant total for the Mid Atlantic Endowment Fund collected during the weekend.
The AACC black t-shirts are available for pick up if you ordered one, or for purchase if you still need one. Just $10 each. Get your shirt from Terry Reynolds by contacting him so he can bring one to a meeting for you before the chapter retreat in July.
In other chapter news from the past week or so, condolences to former community board member, Bob Faherty, whose wife, Claudia, died last week after a brief illness.
Congratulations to Jackson Byrd for his vocal recital this past weekend at The United Baptist Church in Annandale.
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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