Looking Back on the September 29, 2026 Alexandria A Cappella Collective Chapter Meeting
The AACC ensembles met separately this week since there was not room for both of them to meet at the Fairlington Presbyterian Church. Metro Voices did meet there and continued working on holiday music and other music for the repertoire. Jeanne Hillinck reported for Metro Voices this week: there were three returning visitors – Amanda Ridlington, Heather Blackhurst and Holly Faust.
Metro Voices music director, Samantha Tramack, invited Annie Ermlick to lead a warm up with some dance "moves" while Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine encouraged us to "Conga". This was followed by vocal warmups led by associate director, Maggie McAlexander, -- notes were bubbled, jokes were made, and a good time was had by all.
After the warm ups, Samantha led work on "Auld Lang Syne" focusing on vowels. Then the ensemble adjourned to sectionals for work on "Queen Anointed" and "Stop the World” before coming back together to run "Stop the World" as a whole chorus.
After break there was work on "Happy Holidays," duet sectionals on "Tribute to World Peace," then work on "Queen Anointed" as a whole chorus (Samantha announced that she planned to have Metro Voices do at least some of it when singing in Old Town in two weeks). After a bit of hiatus, there was a run of "Yes I Can."\
Rob Stark conducted "Keep the Whole World Singing" for the ensemble.
The Harmonizers sang in Old Towne Alexandria and included “Barber of Seville” as part of their show set so the singers could get some reps on the song. The sing-out started at the steps into the Torpedo Factory at 7 pm with a brief warm up. Associate director, Tony Colosimo, was director for the evening and he frequently introduced the chorus, plugged the Capital Force youth ensemble and welcomed singers to consider contacting the chapter. Thankfully the weather was dry after the recent rainy spell, so there were crowds of folks to listen and cheer for the chorus at the various stops along the walk. (Although YeEd heard from one member who went to the afterglow, and when he got back to his car the high tide on the Potomac had his car in several inches of water, so he had to take off his socks and shoes to get into his car to drive out of the parking area!)
The Harmonizers sang first on the steps into the Torpedo Factory, then on the boardwalk along the Potomac River, then on King Street amid the crowds of folks having dinner in the restaurants there, and finally back at Torpedo Factory. Tony led congratulations and bid farewell to Ian Trent who was attending his last meeting before heading out of town on travel and then to relocate in Ohio for a new job.
In addition to “Barber of Seville,” they sang “Africa,” and “I’m Just a Bill with Lance Fisher, Terry Reynolds andJason Lee doing the comedic narration. They also sang a “Happy Birthday” greeting for a crowd of friends of the birthday girl at an outdoor restaurant.
There were three returning guests visiting the Harmonizers – Carl Pankin, Ethan Hattingh, and John Ferri. As it usually happens when the chorus sings in Old Towne, the evening ended with a casual afterglow at Chadwicks. Also, a number of men brought copies of flyers announcing the call for youth singers and before going to the afterglow, the flyers were posted around Old Towne.
David Hillinck has announced that he will relaunch taking rehearsal notes and making them available for the Harmonizers in preparation for the holiday show
Cheers of support for the five quartets with AACC members who will be competing this weekend in the Mid Atlantic District (M-AD) fall contest and convention in Cape May, NJ – SUPERNOVA, SIDE HUSTLE, BREAKTHROUGH, FANTATIC 4 and BETTER TOGETHER!
Here are other calendar notes: on Oct. 6, both ensembles will meet at First Presbyterian. Chapter president Craig Kujawa has announced the annual chapter election will be held that night too. It is very important for a high number of AACC members to attend so there is a quorum for the election.
And then on Oct. 13, the Harmonizers will rehearse at the church and Metro Voices will sing in Old Towne.
Capital Force, the youth ensemble of AACC, will have their first rehearsal on Sunday, Oct. 18, from 2:30 – 4:30 pm, with Tessa Walker as music director. Singers who sign up will be given details as to where the rehearsal will be held that afternoon. AACC singers are asked to contact families of singers in 7th -12th grades to sign up and bring their youth to the rehearsal, The 2026-27 season runs from October to March. Fee is $30 for the season – scholarships are available.
The fellowship event with the Harmonizers and the Alfred Street Baptist Men’s Gospel Choir will be held at the Fairlington Methodist Church and fellowship hall on Oct. 20. Call time is 6:30 pm. Black t-shirts for attire. The Harmonizers will sing their recent contest package songs “Harmony” and “Stars in the Night.” Metro Voices will meet at Fairlington Presbyterian Church that night.
AACC chorus members will be singing a welcome to Veterans arriving on Honor flights at National Airport this fall. There are two flights each day - Oct. 10 between 7-10 am, and Nov. 7 between 8-11 am. Sign-ups are needed to boost the number of singers. E.J. Herold organizes these service projects to welcome military veterans to the Nation’s Capital. All AACC singers are welcome to attend as there is printed music available for the basic patriotic songs that will be sung in a comfortable key for all. Learning tracks are also available on Groupanizer for most of the music. Attire will be the black t-shirts.
The AACC Culture Team has organized a social event at Cox Farm on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 11 am to 4 pm. Members interested in attending should contact Culture Team members and make a reservation/payment of $30 by Sept. 30!. Don’t pay or register with Cox Farm but with a Culture Team member – Becca Williams, Kellen Hertz or Matt Darouse. The chapter will have the pavilion there as part of the fall festival for friends and family of AACC - at 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, VA 20120, at the corner of Braddock Rd., and Pleasant Valley Rd.
Looking way ahead, the Dec. 12 holiday shows are scheduled for 3:30 pm and 7 pm at Fairlington United Methodist Church (across the street from our weekly meeting place). ALERT: Singers will need to make plans to stay at the church between the two shows – the chapter will order in some dinner foods. Then everyone will need to be out of the church by 9:30 pm.
Latest news about the chapter’s trip to Japan in 2027 – it is still possible to sign up to join. And there is news that Northern Stars chorus, a Scandinavian chorus directed by Rasmus Krigstrom, will be a part of most, and possibly all, of the performances in Japan. Plus there is a possibility that Vocal Fix from New Zealand will join us for some performances. Contact for the trip is Brad Jones and can help with the last-minute sign up process.
In other news, CHEF’S KISS quartet will be appearing on the fall show of the Patapsco Valley Chapter in Columbia, MD, on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Plus, chapter coach, Darren Drown, and his quartet SYNC OR SWIM, won the BHS Rocky Mountain District quartet championship recently. Congrats!
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 78th year of the Alexandria Chapter. - YeEd)
The Chapter Mission Statement Enriching lives through vocal harmony in the greater DC area.
