Looking Back on the Oct. 3, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 3, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

This week’s chapter meeting was all about celebrating successes and fun at the recent Mid-Atlantic District (M-AD) contest and to launch plans for the upcoming holiday season.

 

Maggie McAlexander, assistant director of Metro Voices, did the warm up sessions for both ensembles to kick off this week’s gathering.  

 

Since there was a lot to talk about, news to share and announcements for members of both ensembles, all singers started the evening in the auditorium seats.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti started off the evening with praise and congratulations to the quartets that represented the chapter in the fall contest in York – BREAKTHROUGH, LEGACY, REVERB, and BETTER TOGETHER. All of them did really well and the chapter is proud for them to carry the chapter’s name. And he led the cheers for the great performance by Metro Voices as mic testers at that convention. (They would have placed sixth in the chorus contest with the scores they earned from the judges).

 

He thanked associate director, Tony Colosimo, for stepping up to direct the chorus ballad in the contest; and shared his pride of the Harmonizer chorus in their tribute performance during the contest for our 75^th anniversary and especially a salute to former artistic director, Geri Geis. At this week’s meeting, Joe and several members shared their memories of Geri and her impact on them individually as well as the Harmonizers and BHS. Joe started it all off, “We can't overstate the impact Geri had on this organization and on barbershop as a whole.”

 

Joe also confirmed that the chapter DID accept the invitation for Metro Voices and the Harmonizers to sing at the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) midwinter convention on Thursday, January 11 in New York City. Members should make plans to be there and are encouraged to register and attend the convention.  Stay tuned for details on how to use a discount code for $50 off the registration coming to members next week.

 

The MAD all-voice seniors chorus, which included several Harmonizers at the contest in York, did qualify to sing at Midwinter.  So, if any chapter member who is over 55 is interested in participating in that group, chapter music leaders can help you join. In addition, BHS is offering the “Seniors Dream Experience” to sing at Midwinter under the direction of Joe Cerutti.

 

Joe launched holiday plans for the chapter.  We have been hired to sing as part of the Frederick, MD, Catactones barbershop chapter holiday show, Saturday, December 16 at 3:30 pm.  Details to come, but Joe and the music team are encouraging all to participate on this major show in the DC area for barbershop harmony.

 

Our own chapter holiday show will be Sunday afternoon, December 17 in a local area church that will be chosen soon. There will be two combined numbers this year for the holiday shows – “Do You Hear What I Hear?” with an updated part for Metro Voices, and an eight-part arrangement of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Clay Hine.  The two ensembles will both have other songs on the schedule for the holidays.

 

Joe recognized the tremendous service Randall Eliason gave the chapter during his time as executive director. He retired recently and passed that task on to Stan Quick. 

 

The Capital Force launch will not be held in October and in fact, we will not add that new ensemble until next year - giving time for musical leaders of the chapter (including the many school music educators we have) to focus on building relationships in Virginia schools next year.

 

In that regard, DC Public Schools (DCPS) reached out to BHS for ideas about how to support vocal music programs in Washington, DC.  BHS of course passed it to us.   Joe, Tessa Walker and Tony Colosimo have had several meetings with the head of music programs for DCPS and they have asked us to run a Youth Festival for them in spring of 2024. This is huge for us, for BHS, and for DCPS

 

The Alexandria Chapter is proud to have so many members that have been inducted into the 

M-AD Hall of Honor. Members are named to that group in recognition for major service to the district.  Of the 103 members, 29 are from the Alexandria Chapter including our newest representative, Sheryl Berlin. She was recognized for her work with Harmony College East, as our chapter music education director, and as a chorus director in the district.  She competed in one of the first mixed voice quartet in the contest system. And she is a founding member of Metro Voices.

 

She joins the following fellow active chapter members who have been previously named to the Hall of Honor: Scott Werner, Jack Pitzer, Alan Wile, Mike Wallen, Steve White, Bill Colosimo, Rick Taylor, Keith Jones, Terry Reynolds, Mike Kelly, John Santora, Bob Eckman, Dennis Ritchey, and Joe Cerutti. 

 

Joe also paid tribute to Carl Kauffmann for being a 50 year (actually 51 year) member of BHS!

 

There was a business meeting coordinated by communications director, Steve Murane. Sophie Clarke prompted members of both ensembles to invite a guest for the Oct. 10^th guest night.  It is a rehearsal designed for interested new singers and it is best if they RSVP so the team knows who is coming.  More prospects are needed for this event. It is easy to do from harmonizers.org.

 

Craig Kujawa reported on the Scrip fundraising program he manages for the chapter, and announced that the top fundraiser was Randall Eliason for the third year in a row.  Thanks Randall.

 

Chapter secretary David DesPortes distributed new member packets to a group of recently added chapter members in both ensembles. 

 

President Noah Van Gilder sent out word about the annual meeting of the chapter and election of the 2024 chapter board to be held on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 7 pm at Scottish Rite Temple.

The nominating committee has selected three new members to fill at-large seats on the board: Mary Cooper, from Metro Voices; Charlyne “Chuck” Miller from Metro Voices; and Michael Berkson from the Harmonizers. 

The slate will be comprised of the three new at-large candidates identified above, plus the following members who will be nominated for re-election: Noah Van Gilder, from the Harmonizers – President; Carolyn Griffin, from the community - Vice President; Terry Reynolds, from the Harmonizers – Treasurer; Cy Shuster, from the Harmonizers – Secretary; Turner Arndt, from the Harmonizers - Member At-Large; and Dave Kohls, from the community - Member At-Large

Devin Gerzof and John Greene will be retiring as member-at-large board members. The members of the nominating committee are Brad Jones, Ken Rub, and Sheryl Berlin.

Chapter members should make every effort to attend the meeting on October 17 to ensure that   we have a quorum.

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed two first-time singers this week – Shalini Verma for Metro Voices and Bob Gudauskas for the Harmonizers. Bob is Stephen’s brother.  Assistant director emeritus, Will Cox, directed the chapter “Welcome Song.”

 

When the it was time to sing, both ensembles launched work on holiday songs.  This is the first season for Metro Voices, so all of the holiday tunes will be new for them. They have begun work on “Sing We Noel” and “Winter Wonderland.” 

 

The Harmonizers will repeat some holiday songs each year, but they added “Believe” from “The Polar Express” – which is another arrangement by Jim Clancy who seems to have done lots of great holiday songs for choruses to sing. This week the work time included “J-IN-G-L-E Bells,” “Silent Night: - another Clancy arrangement, and “Mr. Grinch.”

 

Associate director Tony Çolosimo, directed “Keep the Whole World Singing” to end the evening before a good crowd headed over to the Harmo House for the afterglow 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 75^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 Sept. 29-30, 2023 M-AD Contest and Convention with the Alexandria Chapter

 Looking Back on the Sept. 29-30, 2023 M-AD Contest and Convention with the Alexandria Chapter 

It was a great weekend of barbershop harmony and fun for the members of the chapter who sang on stage in the two choruses and in the four quartets that represented our chapter. The drive to York, PA, was just a couple hours or so and not bad on Friday.  Some members actually drove up Saturday morning and went home that night. We were staying in hotels all along Rte. 30 which seemed be like a parking lot some times. Our members got to mix and mingle with members from throughout the Mid Atlantic District (MAD). 

 

After the chorus contest, some members ventured out to explore York and found a local brewery. Some found the nearby diner for chow.  Others were free to sit in on some special program events: a roundtable discussion on how to improve membership in chapters in MAD; a Q and A session with the chief financial officer of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), Erik Dove, from Nashville (he was the official BHS representative to our M-AD convention); and a Gold Medal Hour with MIDTOWN quartet who took the gold last summer in Louisville.

 

Friday night’s quartet contest saw four quartets with Harmonizers in the semifinal round: REVERB with Dennis Ritchey, Reed Livergood, Paul Grimes and Steve White; LEGACY with Rick Taylor; BREAKTHROUGH with Mike Fasano, Jordan Zimmerman, Jason Lee and Ken White; and BETTER TOGETHER with Elizabeth and Tony Colosimo and Heather and Andrew Havens.

 

Three advanced to the finals round on Saturday night with BREAKTHROUGH as mic tester quartet having placed 12^th. LEGACY ended up 8^th.  BETTER TOGETHER set the standard high in their performances but came in second place with 3,048 or 84.7 per cent when a quartet from Hell’s Kitchen, NY, SMOKE RING, outscored them by six points!!  REVERB finished 18^th.

 

The chorus contest got an early start on Saturday morning.  Metro Voices was invited to be the mic tester chorus and they were terrific! They scored 1,384 points or 76.9!  Founding-director, Tessa Walker, was director for this performance with Maggie McAlexander, Sheryl Berlin, Sophie Clarke, Lenna Jawdat, Heidi Suckow-Krukowski, Cadence Flaherty, Elisabeth Cosh, Mireille Kouagou, Elaine Cooper, Mary Coooper, Jeanne Hillinck and Sylvia Kelty. 

 

The 55 Harmonizer singers captured a score of 1,611 points or 89.5 percent. This score entitles them to compete in the 2024 International contest in Cleveland, OH. When the curtain opened, Joe spoke briefly to share that this package was a tribute for our 75^th anniversary and also to honor our former artistic director, Geri Geis, who died recently.  Both of the presentation plans for the songs were designed by her.  It was a moving performance and top-notch entertainment – “Wee Small Hours of the Morning/Always” arranged by Walter Latzko, and “New York, New York” with it’s exciting front row kick-line ending. The chorus wore the pants and vest from the blue suit with orange ties.  The front row guys wore their orange sox and they were visible, for sure, during the kick line. 

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo stepped forward after Joe spoke to be the director for the ballad in the package.  A major honor for all he has done to teach, coach and lead the chorus.

The chorus did their warm up time outside since the meeting rooms in the school were small. This was the first contest performance for several of the newer members. 

 

The Harmonizers did not compete in the division contest in the spring and therefore were not eligible to compete for the district championship. The chorus was allowed to compete for score in order to qualify for Cleveland. Parkside Harmony was named chorus champion.  In the end, five choruses will go to Cleveland to represent M-AD based on their scores – Parkside Harmony, Alexandria Harmonizers, Gotham, Parkside Melody, and East Coast Sound.

 

As is often the case, there were a number of Harmonizers. both past and current, who sang with other choruses on stage on Saturday: The Virginians from Richmond included Mike Wallen, director, and Bob Wilson, Tom Berkey, Scott Beach, Jim McConnell, Clark Chesser and Mike Geipel; Dundalk with Rick Taylor; Loudon County with Sam McFarland, Frank Shipp, and Bob Arbetter; Parkside Harmony with Sean Devine and Chris Yates; Patapsco Valley with Kris Zinkievich as director and Biff Gaut, Bob Hirsh, and Tim Buell; East Coast Sound with Josh Meyers; and about a dozen singers from the Harmonizer family were in the new seniors chorus that was formed for this contest. 

 

After the chorus contest, the annual induction of new members to the M-AD Hall of Honor – members who have provided significant services to the district.  Many Harmonizers have been added over the years, and one more was added this weekend – Sheryl Berlin, our chapter director of education, a founding member of Metro Voices and a major leader for the M-AD Harmony College East.

 

Four of our members serve on the M-AD events team to run things back stage for the contest – Dennis Ritchey, Brian Ammerman, Ken Rub and Mike Kelly.

 

Steve White is coordinator of MADAQC – Mid Atlantic District Association of Quartet Champions. It was their 25^thanniversary this year and as always, they welcomed the new quartet champs into their ranks at the end of the Saturday night session.  Here again, there were several from the Harmonizer family who were there to sing and welcome the new champs. 

 

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

 

 

 

Looking Back on the Sept. 26, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Sept. 26, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

The week’s chapter meeting was all about preparing for the Mid Atlantic District (MA-D) contest and convention coming up in York, PA, Sept.29 and 30.  Several members are also competing with their quartets that week end - REVERB with Dennis Ritchey, Reed Livergood, Paul Grimes and Steve White; LEGACY with Rick Taylor; BREAKTHROUGH with Mike Fasano, Jordan Zimmerman, Jason Lee and Ken White; and BETTER TOGETHER with Elizabeth and Tony Colosimo and Heather and Andrew Havens.

 

Samantha Tramack, director of Metro Voices, did the warm up sessions for both ensembles on the risers.  She concluded the warm up with a new exercise with the words “I Breathe In PEACE and I Breath Out LOVE.”  

 

Associate director Tony Çolosimo, welcomed Chuck Hunter who was the coach for the two Harmonizer contest songs this week.  Tony reported on the health status of former artistic director Geri Geis in FL – all communications with her should go to Bruce Roehm, brsigmachi@aol.com.

 

Tony asked for a show of hands for how many first timers to sing on the district chorus contest stage.  A big number! 

 

Metro Voices will be mic testers for the chorus contest and will receive a score and an evaluation from the judging panel.  The Harmonizers will receive a score hoping to qualify for the International chorus contest in Cleveland in 2024.

 

Tony also asked about Harmonizers singing in other chorus groups and there were several hands raised including those men who will sing with the M-AD Seniors Chorus.

 

The chapter business session was held early before the two ensembles worked on their music. 

 

Music team coordinator, Terry Reynolds, alerted all singers that there will not be a meeting of the two ensembles on Friday night in York as previously announced. The first call for Metro Voices is at 8 am.  The Harmonizers will all go into the contest arena to cheer for them, then those singers will go to their meeting room.  Both groups should arrive dressed in their contest uniform/outfits. Terry assured everyone that he would be sending final word in a message to all members about the weekend.  As an advance alert, everyone should bring their casual outfit if the chapter is invited to sing on the Saturday night show.

 

Terry also shared that next week work will start on holiday songs including a new song that is already on Groupanizer. 

 

Membership director, Jacob Broude, reminded the whole chapter that there will be a guest night for the chapter on Tuesday, Oct. 10^th, at the Scottish Rite Temple (SRT).  Each member is expected to bring one prospective singer for either ensemble. This week there were five returning guests – two Harmonizers and three Metro Voices.  Assistant director emeritus, Will Cox, directed the chapter “Welcome Song.”

 

The two ensembles then started work on their two songs for the weekend.  In working with the Harmonizers, Chuckspent his allotted time to help the men know the story and true message of the song; and to recognize the gems in the arrangement that Walter Latzko gave us for “Wee Small Hours.”  Chuck helped the men recognize contrasts, emotions, flow of the song and lessons learned by the story teller. It was an awesome work session and yielded power to the performance. 

 

For “New York, New York” his opening remark said it all – “it always has to be a new song!”

 

There were several repetitions for the benefit of all.  Then near the end of the evening, each group sang their package for the other.

 

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

 

All hands were needed to load out all of the chapter’s equipment from the auditorium for the weekend. Operations director, Gary Cregan, helped things go to the right places. 

 

The afterglow was at Rampart’s 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 75^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 September 19, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the September 19, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

The chapter was back in action after the great anniversary show with serious work to do for the Mid Atlantic District (MA-D) contest and convention coming up in York, PA, Sept.29 and 30.  Several members are also competing with their quartets that week end.

 

Our chapter contests chairman, Craig Kujawa, reminds all singers that they must have a contest convention registration in order to go on stage.  Get them at midatlanticdistrict.com right away in advance or pay a higher price when you get to the convention.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo did the warm up sessions for both ensembles on the risers.  Prior to the start of the meeting, a crew unloaded the Harmonizer truck with equipment we had used for the show.

 

Jason Lee served as admin staffer to coordinate the flow of the evening. 

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti was out of town on a judging assignment at the Pan Pacific Barbershop convention in Auckland, NZ. 

 

Tony thanked all of the singers for their preparedness for the Sept. 9 show and for their enthusiasm that weekend. He also complimented the Metro Voices singers for their great job on their first big show.  

 

This week’s chapter meeting helped the two ensembles maintain their standard of quality for their appearances at the convention. That event also is a way for our chapter members to engage with the larger barbershop harmony community. Tony asked for hands of first-timers at a contest – terrific number of new singers will get the thrill of the contest stage. 

 

The chapter is having an open-to-all singers guest night on Oct. 10 at Scottish Rite Temple (SRT).  Current singers were encouraged by our membership chairman, Jacob Broude, to each bring a prospect – for either ensemble.

 

Tessa Walker, director of the future Capital Force youth chorus, announced plans for the kick off of that new ensemble on Sun. Oct. 8 at Clarendon Presbyterian Church, 1308 North Irving Street, Arlington, VA 22201, from 1-4:30 pm.  She had flyers for all singers to distribute in order to alert parents and youth in grades 8-12 about the event.

 

Samantha Tramack, director of Metro Voices and a relative new chapter member, got the singers to do an ice breaker designed to help everyone get to know the other singers’ names.  It was fun and lots of laughs, and certainly helped the two ensembles know the fellow chapter members.

 

President Noah Van Gilder also thanked show participants for their good job.  Then he announced that Randall Eliason is stepping down as executive director of the chapter.  Randall served two terms as president, and then six terms as executive director.  The chapter members honored his dedication and hard work and many hours of time with a huge round of applause.

 

The new executive director will be Stan Quick, who served as president and will assume the new duties right away.

 

Mark Klostermeyer made a presentation to Tessa and Samantha of a framed color photo of Metro Voices at their first show. Any members who want one of those should contact Mark. 

 

Jacob welcomed four guests this week and assistant director emeritus, Will Cox, directed the chapter welcome song. 

 

At this point in the meeting, Metro Voices adjourned to the cafeteria to work on “It Don’t Mean a Thing” and “I See the Light.”

 

The Harmonizers worked on “Wee Small Hours” and “New York, New York.”  Tony started the session with a review of focal point changes that occur in “Wee Small Hours” with help from Bruce Roehm.  There were sectionals on this song too with section leaders Randy Lazear for tenors, Lance Fisher for leads, Jason Lee for baritones and David Breen for basses. 

 

Another upcoming event for the Harmonizers is the annual sing with Alfred Street Baptist Men’s choir. Tony took a poll of how many would attend – the number was high – for this annual fun exchange of musical fellowship. It’s scheduled for Wed. Oct. 11, at their church.

 

To end the evening, the two ensembles gathered to sing “Keep the Whole World Singing” with Samantha as director.  The afterglow was at Rampart’s 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 75^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 Sept. 9, 2023, 75^th Anniversary Show of the Alexandria Chapter 

The show was a perfect culmination of the yearlong anniversary celebration by the chapter; but by all accounts, it was likely one of the best shows the chapter has ever produced during the 75 years.

 

The theme, “This is Why We Sing,” helped convey the story about the great moments in Harmonizer history, the strong history of those members who went before, and the excitement and pride of moving forward for another 75 years. The theme was used by the many members who were asked to introduce a song or feature on the show – each of them spoke briefly about “why I sing.”  It was a warm and special part of the show evening.

 

David Wilt, keystone donor for the chapter’s 75^th anniversary, shared his thoughts about the show to YeEd – “it was so professional and sophisticated. The “Defying Gravity” number could have been on Broadway.  The transition to each song or feature was awesome. The whole evening was a heart-warming experience for the audience and especially for former members.”

 

As the audience assembled (rushing in out of a heavy summer rain storm), they were greeted by decorations and friendly faces of volunteers who helped with tickets, and passing out printed programs.  A display of Harmonizer history items was also in the lobby area.  

 

The Schlesinger Hall was full for the 7 pm show! Long-time members were there, barbershop friends and fans of the chapter were there from far and near, new patrons were there, guests who paid for VIP seats and a special welcome chance to hear the guest quartets were there, former officers and coaches and judges were there, arrangers of Harmonizer songs were there, family members were there, and members of a future generation of the Harmonizer family were there. 

 

Show attendees were seated in unreserved seats in the auditorium beginning at 6:30 pm. Tickets were $20 for youth, $40 for general admission, and $150 for VIP. Soon after the doors opened, the audience was treated to a fantastic video production of the chapter musical performances from the past. It wrapped up right at 7 pm which is when the Harmonizers finished taking the stage in a casual entrance plan and grabbed the audience’s attention with “I’m the Music Man.”

Randall Eliason welcomed the audience, explained the theme and shared “why I sing” to set the stage for the show. He shared that the many changes in the chapter suggests ‘somethings coming’ all the time – a perfect segue into “Something’s Comin” with a great choreo plan by David McEachern. 

 

Will Cox spoke about his 45 years in the chapter and why he sings and his recall of the chapter singing “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” to win a gold medal. The chorus sang the song for the show.

 

Joe Cerutti spoke about his 17 years as artistic director and recognized former artistic director Geri Geis, who was in the audience, for her work in the past for songs like “Wee Small Hours.” Joe went on to share the chapter’s vision and dreams about changing the core values of the chapter to allow more people to sing.  He explained the addition of the Metro Voices ensemble as one step toward a future chapter that will include a seasonal youth chorus (Capital Force to be launched on Sunday, Oct. 8) and a senior daytime chorus (likely to be launched in 2024). The 19 members of Metro Voices were on stage when Joe finished and they sang two songs – “On the Wayside” and “I See the Light.”  Their new director, Samantha Tramack, directed the first song; and interim director, Tessa Walker, who help launch Metro Voices, directed the second song. 

 

Samantha stepped off the risers to tell why she sings, and to introduce the first guest quartet for the show – the 2007 Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) International Quartet Champions – MAX Q. The quartet stepped forward of the curtain and did a great set of their songs. They paid tribute to the chapter as part of their remarks and lead singer, Tony DeRosa, recalled being on a past Harmonizer show with KEEPSAKE quartet when the electricity went out but the show continued without spot lights or sound amplification. Tony was also proud to have his son Joe singing tenor for the quartet to fill in for Greg Clancy. Gary Lewis was baritone and Jeff Oxley was bass. 

 

The curtains opened again and the Harmonizers performed their always-popular rendition of “New York, New York.”  Long-time Harmo fans applauded as the song began, and as usual, the front row kick-line brought the audience members to their feet.  The extra work by the front row for this show yielded some great entertainment for the audience. Bruce Roehm is front row captain. Congrats to new front row guys, Chad Ross and Matt Ambler (although Matt broke his ankle in a recent rehearsal and did not do the major choreo numbers for the show). The front row wore their bright orange sox to match the chorus orange ties!

 

Assistant director of Metro Voices, Maggie McAlexander, spoke about why she sings, and then welcomed Virginia State Delegate Elizabeth Bennett Parker, who presented a Commending Resolution from the state legislature.  Joe Cerutti and chapter president, Noah Van Gilder, accepted the certificate.

 

During the presentation, the two ensembles combined on the risers, and Sheryl Berlin spoke about her over 30-year career as a music educator and about her many years as director of education for the chapter.  She shared the feelings that most of the chapter members have – that the theme song for the show - “Why We Sing” by Greg Gilpin and arranged by David Wright - tells the honest story about why we all sing!

 

After the 15-minute intermission, the Harmonizers were first up to sing the haunting and emotional rendition of a number titled “San Francisco” from the musical the chorus sang with Kristen Chenoweth at Strathmore titled “I Am Harvey Milk.”  Terry Reynolds, a 31-year member, introduced the song and shared the meaning of the song and how it had impacted the chapter. The chorus was accompanied by Zak Sandler.  The audience reaction was halting – a long silence before generous applause.

 

President Noah spoke of his singing experiences and introduced a new song the chapter had commissioned for the 75^thanniversary in memory of Sandy Stamps, a long-time chapter supporter and volunteer. It was written by Rasmus Krigstrom based on a poem, “Calling Dreams” by Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880-1966). Director Joe saluted Rasmus who stepped out from back stage to be recognized.

 

Kevin Mendez was the next member to speak about why he sings – as a really new chapter member but long-time barbershop singer. He introduced Metro Voices to sing “Don’t Mean a Thing” and “Fight Song.”  Sophie Clark sang the solo for “Fight Song.”

 

Tessa Walker welcomed to the stage the 2012 BHS gold medalists, RINGMASTERS, from Stockholm. Sweden. Rasmus was the lead.  Jakob Stenberg was tenor. Emanuel Roll was baritone.  Didier Linder was bass.  After their highly energetic set, the quartet sang the introduction for “Impossible Dream” and when the curtains opened, the Harmonizers sang the rest of the song with them. 

 

The Harmonizers continued to entertain with their exciting performance of “Sit Down You’re Rockin the Boat” with a major choreography package designed by Cy Wood. The front row was on display for the whole song and added a “water effect” while the chorus was a rocking boat at sea.  Lance Fisher was soloist in this number.

 

Tony Colosimo spoke about his life-long singing experience and introduced the finale with both the Harmonizers and Metro Voices on the risers to sing “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked,” arranged by Steve Tramack. Tony andSamantha sang a wonderful duet to wrap up this number to close the show.

 

After the audience applause died down, the chorus sang on the guest quartets for a final tag of “Why We Sing.

 

Top leadership for the show starts with Joe Sr. and Janet Cerutti who signed on months ago to produce the event in cooperation with chapter shows director, Doug White. (Joe and Janet helped decorate the stage with some family friends too.)  Chapter executive director, Randall Eliason; chapter general manager, Susan Fitzpatrick; and artistic director, Joe Cerutti get credit for pulling all the parts together for great night of harmony. Leadership from the music team, especially Terry Reynolds and the section leaders of both ensembles, and all members of the operation team were also key to the success. Certainly, the hard work and extra effort by all the chorus singers to prepare the music and choreography must be mentioned too. 

 

The chorus singers arrived on Saturday morning for warm up and review of the songs on the risers on the stage so that there could be sound checks, lighting checks and who-goes-where-when could be worked out. Both ensembles worked on their songs – associate director Tony Colosimo did the warm up session for the Harmonizers and director Samantha Tramack did the warm up session for Metro Voices.  Stage manager for the show was Greg Tepe. Operations team members helped Gary Cregan set the risers up on Thursday. Mike Kelly managed the tech crew with help from Dennis Ritchey and Gary.  The tech crew at Schlesinger also helped. Gary coordinated the blue suit pants and vests uniform for the Harmonizers too. Metro Voices wore black outfits with several members wearing a rust accent.  Randall Eliason organized backstage snacks for the performers and Doug White brought bottled waters for all.

 

Robyn Murane coordinated a large crew of volunteers from the ranks of the chapter family for ticket sale counter operation, welcoming patrons, passing out programs, and helping guests with special needs. That crew included Dave Kohls. Craig Kujawa, Alex Chen. Walt Page, Kitty Fedarko, Dixie Kennett, Chris Buechler, Isabella Salmi, Sylvia Kelty, and Jonah Philipp. Deanna Thompson, Don’s daughter, helped all day supporting the VIP guest program.

 

Brian Wolf was show photographer coordinated by chapter communications director Steve Murane. All sorts of promotion efforts were used to invite patrons and friends to the show – mostly the chapter members, plus social media and outlets in the barbershop world such as at the International and District conventions. The chapter also used direct mail to reach former members. 

 

There was a display of Harmo history in the lobby prepared by historian emeritus, Martin Banks, and set up by current historian, Don Harrington.  Mark Klostermeyer added two beautiful chapter photos to the display that will go to the Harmo House after the show. A printed program was produced for this show with ad sales coordinated by Frank Fedarko and Adam Afifi (thanks to the many members who sold ads), Publishing was coordinated by Susan Fitzpatrick.

 

There was a fun afterglow following the show at a new venue – The Garden on Eisenhower Avenue, not too far from the show venue.  Ken Rub was in charge of it and was helped by Will Whittaker, Susan Fitzpatrick, Randall Eliason and Carl Kauffmann to operate the bar.  Food was good (catered by Donna O’Brien) and a solid line up of quartets sang for the nearly 200 guests.  Assistant director of Metro Voices, Maggie McAlexander, was emcee for the program that included THE GREG CLANCY MEMORIAL QUARTET with Maggie, Tessa Walker, Sophie Clarke and Samantha Tramack; ILLUMINOCHES with Devin Gerzof, Lance Fisher, Josh Myers and David Breen (they won the most recent chapter Put Together Quartet Contest); BETTER TOGETHER with Elizabeth Colosimo, Heather Havens, Tony Colosimo and Andrew Havens; SWEET AND SOUR with Christina, Samantha, Mert and Joshua Tramack; MAX Q and RINGMASTERS.  The two guest quartets sang one song together at the afterglow. The singing went on until the party ended at 1:15 am and then the tag singing continued in the parking lot!

 

On Sunday afternoon, there was a “Geno’s Reunion” tag singing event hosted by David Wilt at the Osteria de Nino restaurant in Shirlington. A dozen tag-singing enthusiasts were there for the fun.  Stay tuned for future reunions (Geno’s was a popular spot in Old Town where the chapter used to have its afterglows and the tag singing was the main event for years). 

 

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 75^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 August 29, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the August 29, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

Work continued at the Alexandria chapter meeting for the 75^th anniversary show that is just 10 days away on Sept. 9^that Schlesinger Hall.  Both ensembles will perform.

 

Associate director of the Harmonizers, Tony Colosimo, was in charge of warm ups for the chorus of the Harmonizers and Metro Voices that filled the risers. When the warm ups ended there was a cheer to sing Happy Birthday to him!  

 

Since artistic director Joe Cerutti was in Bloomington, IL, coaching their chorus in preparation for the district contest in Illinois, Tony was at the helm the whole time for the Harmonizers.  Samantha Tramack was at the helm for Metro Voices.

 

Plans have been set in motion to launch our newest ensemble, Capital Force, as a seasonal youth chorus for rising 8^th-11^th grade students.  The event is Sunday, Sept. 10 from 1-4 pm at Clarendon Presbyterian Church, 1308 North Irving Street, Arlington, VA 22201 (that is the address for the church’s parking lot). Both ensembles will sing for the students and their parents and friends. A flyer was released recently and every member is urged to distribute it far-and-wide to get a good number of students on the risers from the start. Contact Tessa Walker, director of that ensemble, for any questions. 

 

To clarify show week plans, there will NOT be an extra rehearsal that week, as has been the case in years past. The Sept. 5 chapter meeting will be used to “run the show.”  The call for Harmonizers will be at 11 am on Sat., Sept. 9. It will be 11:30 am for Metro Voices. The venue requires the space be empty for two hours so that we will all need to leave the building between 2:30 – 4:30 , which will be the time for members to get their dinner.

 

After the September 9 show and the Capital Force kickoff, there will be no rehearsal on September 12.  However, an extra rehearsal will be held on September 21 as the ensembles prepare for appearances at the Mid Atlantic District (M-AD) convention in York, PA, Sept. 29-30. 

 

The first singing this week was sectionals to work on “Defying Gravity” with Maggie McAlexander leading the tenors, Sophie Clarke leading the leads, Lance Fisher leading the baritones, and David Breen leading the basses.   

 

Before the two ensembles began work on their own songs, there was a Game Time led by Tessa Walker.  She kept the singers on the risers in the same sections as “Defying Gravity” and they had to bring out front the youngest and the oldest person in that section – without any talking.  It was fun for all and another great proof of the success of our multigenerational chapter.  The youngest singer was 18 and the oldest was 83. 

 

Chapter communications director, Steve Murane, coordinated the chapter business meeting.  He took a couple minutes to nudge all members to promote tickets sales for the show and suggested some flyers and media pieces to use.  He also suggested how to help get information about the Capital Force kickoff event.  There are just 40 tickets left foe the afterglow, so members should not delay in getting theirs.

 

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed several returning guests –Norm Barth, Ellen Dellert, Jonah Phillipp, Thomas Keeping. Marsha Ansel and Leah Musico. Bob Blair’s son-in-law Tony, plus family, were there this week.  Joe Cerutti Sr. was in the building – he is producer of the show on the 9^th. Julian LaFlore was at the meeting – he is new director of the Wilmington, DE, chorus. Ike Gallagher was a first-time guest – he had been to the Heavy Medal concert earlier this year.  Another first-time guest, Dave, had visited us back when the chorus met at the Durant Rec Center on Cameron Street (he remembered the mirrors on the wall so guys could check themselves with their choreography. Emeritus assistant director, Will Cox, directed the chapter welcome song.

 

Operations director Gary Cregan was busy all evening getting new show uniform parts to several new Harmonizers. 

 

After a short break for the members to get off the risers, Metro Voices worked on their songs and the Harmonizers worked on their songs after confirming new riser positions.  Congratulations to Chad Ross and Matt Ambler who are hard at work as the new guys in the front row for the Harmonizers. 

 

The two ensembles regrouped and did the 50/50. Samantha directed  “Keep the Whole World Singing”  to end the evening.  The afterglow was at Rampart’s 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 75^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 August 22, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the August 22, 2023 Alexandria Hybrid Chapter Meeting 

As you can imagine, this week’s meeting was a busy one since the anniversary show is coming up on Sept. 9.

 

Assistant director of Metro Voices, Maggie McAlexander, conducted warm ups for the chorus of the Harmonizers and Metro Voices that filled the risers. This week she included the tag “Back in My Hometown.”  Cy Shuster and Gary Cregan set up the sound equipment for the meeting. 

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti  had a number of items to report to the combined ensembles. First, the emcee for the show will be Will Lagos, who is well known in barbershop circles as the emcee and performance coach for the Westminster, CA, chorus. 

 

Plans have been set in motion to launch our newest ensemble, Capital Force, as seasonal youth chorus for rising 8^th-11^th grade students.  The event is Sunday, Sept. 10from 1-4 pm at Clarendon Presbyterian Church, 1308 North Irving Street, Arlington, VA 22201 (that is the address for the church’s parking lot. Both ensembles will sing for the students and their parents and friends. A flyer was released recently and every member is urged to distribute it far-and-wide to get a good number of students on the risers from the start. Contact Tessa Walker, director of that ensemble,  for any questions. 

 

Joe has gotten word that the chapter’s choruses will be invited to sing at Wolf Trap again in the summer of 2024 as part of a major concert featuring DC Metro area singing ensembles.  It was really fun in 2022. 

 

To clarify show week plans, there will NOT be an extra rehearsal that week, as has been the case in years past.  The call for singers will likely be about noon on Sat., Sept. 9.  The venue requires the space be empty for two hours so that will be the time for members to get their dinner.

 

After the September 9 show and the Capital Force kickoff, there will be no rehearsal on September 12.  However, an extra rehearsal will be held on September 21 as the ensembles prepare for appearances at the Mid Atlantic District (M-AD) convention in York, PA, Sept. 29-30. 

 

The first singing this week was on “Defying Gravity” with Joe directing the combined ensembles and working on energy, meaning and flow of the song.  He had them sing in sections first, then mixed riser positions and then memorized.  It went really well!!  

 

The combined ensembles then did a run-through of “Why We Sing” which allowed members to self-record as they work to be risers ready.

 

At this point, there was another mixer/game for the chapter members to enjoy and get to know each other more.  Jason Lee asked four members a question before the meeting.  The folks on the risers had to vote as to whether that member would get the answers right or wrong.  David Hillinck was asked to name all of the professional sports franchises in DC; Lenna Jawdat was asked who arranged “Defying Gravity;” and Jonah Phillipp and Steven Gudauskas were asked what is Joe Cerutti’s age.   Both Lenna and Jonah answered correctly. 

 

Chapter communications director, Steve Murane, coordinated the chapter business meeting.  

 

Chapter executive director Randall Eliason asked for volunteers from the communities of both ensembles to help at the show.  Those volunteers would receive free admission by helping as ushers, ticket sellers, and a variety of other tasks. He also prompted members to push ticket sales and offered that Randy Lazear has paper tickets for those who preferred selling them. 

 

All singers were reminded that no outside food or drink is allowed in the auditorium at Scottish Rite Temple (SRT).

 

Chapter secretary David DesPortes presented an 18-year membership renewal card to Joel Golden.

 

Membership director, Jacob Broude, welcomed several returning guests –Norm Barth, Jonah Phillipp, Thomas Keeping and Leah Musico.  Emeritus assistant director, Will Cox, directed the chapter welcome song.

 

After a short break for the members to get off the risers, Metro Voices worked on their songs and the Harmonizers worked on their songs after confirming new riser positions.  This week was the first time for many to hear the piano accompaniment for “San Francisco.”  Zak Sandler was at the keyboard.  Joe thanked Cy Shuster for tuning the SRT piano. Also the Harmonizers worked hard to smooth-out the choreo for the several songs on the show that include it.

 

The two ensembles regrouped and did the 50/50 which Patricia Chow won. Joe invited members and guests to the Harmo House for the afterglow after “Keep the Whole World Singing.”  

 

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

 

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