Looking Back on the June 23^rd, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Again the chapter has suspended in-person meetings of the chorus, boards and committees until further notice as well as for any small group, quartet, or ensemble gatherings. Chapter leaders are discussing and considering how to move into the next phase of openings for groups – especially singing groups.

However, there was not a regular in-person meeting of the Alexandria Harmonizers on June 23^rd   2020.  

Director Joe Cerutti hosted the gathering at 7 pm via Zoom video meeting this week to continue learning more about our chapter and our fellow members, learning about the barbershop hobby in general and  meeting  guests from around the Society. Plus we continue to  work on our music.

It was great to have some Harmonizers with us this week we haven’t seen for a while including Mike Fasano. Bob Eckman and John Rettenmayer were back with us too.

Joe reported news from the recent music committee meeting with plan for guest presenters for the weeks ahead. Next week our guest will be one of our frequent arrangers, Steve Tramack and his family of singers, who will bring us some songs.

Other future guests will be Darrel Flinn (one of our coaches in the gold medal years who named the Basses Animals, and the guy who came up with the term “Breathless Moments” which became the title of our history book ) on July 7; VINTAGE MIX quartet from Wisconsin (quadruplets that sang on our holiday show a few years ago) on July 14; Clay Hine (one of our arrangers and the baritone of  the popular comedy quartet FRED) on July 21; and Chad Bennett (currently a staffer at BHS and former performer with Disney Dapper Dans) on July 28. 

We had two special guests on our Zoom call this week to help with the warm up period. Quincie Snook did physical body warm up routines. She is from Nashville and sings tenor in THE LADIES quartet – fifth place last time at SAI.  The quartet was on staff for our Youth Harmony Festival recently.  Drew Wheaton did the vocal warm ups and taught the chapter a fun tongue twister and a chord warm up round.  He had done some of the Harmonizer learning tracks in recent years and is the gold medal tenor with FOUR FRONT.  He is also director of the Louisville Thoroughbreds. 

 After the warm ups, Joe and associate director Tony Colosimo worked with the singers on sections of the uptune and ballad we are preparing for future contests. Tony sang and Joe coached him so the members could see what Joe wanted.

There were 60-plus attendees again this week. Terry Reynolds used the Zoom system to randomly divide all attendees on the call into a small group of five to share “how are you finding time to work on your music?” The Covid situation had a lot to do with making it hard for guys to work on their music: challenging to sing loudly in the house, no commute to work and therefore no chance to listen to the music, guys are working at home and many report they are required to do a lot more work and have more responsibilities. Of course everyone misses the fellowship and the sounds of chords ringing!!

The chapter’s business meeting was brief with no major announcements.  President Stan Quick suggested members reach out to Sandy and Mick Stamps during this difficult time for them. You can also visit Sandy's CaringBridge site at: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sandystamps 

Other Harmonizer family news included word that Rob Barnovsky’s 87-year-old father in Ohio tested positive for Covid 19. This is especially of concern since his dad has several underlying health issues. Rob is in Ohio to help his Mom during this time.

Former member Al Duddleston called to report that his wife, Cookie, died on Saturday in FL.  Al sang on the front row of the chorus in the ‘70s. Cookie was 86.

Latest news from BHS reports that former member Alan Lamson will be named to the Society Hall of Fame. He joins fellow Harmonizers Wilbur Sparks, Dean Snyder, Bud Arberg, Darryl Flinn and Walter Latzko.  There can't be many chapters that have six members named to that honor.  Also our coach and arranger Kevin Keller will be named to the Hall of Fame this year.  Congrats all around.

Chapter Chris Buechler reports sending renewal cards to the following members: Howard Nestlerode  for 45 years; Bob Bates for 42 years; Ike Evans for 33 years; Ken Rub for 29 years; Bob Wells for 29 years; Anthony Colosimo for 27 years; Rob Barnovsky for 10 years; and Stan Quick for 9 years.

The chapter welcomed guest Yuhan Roh again this week. He has moved to the Alexandria area having sung in other choruses.

To wrap up the evening, Joe and president Stan Quick invited members to offer input regarding a statement from the Alexandria Harmonizers regarding our chapter’s work relating to diversity and inclusion in response to recent events.  The statement was prepared by chapter leaders Stan, Randall Elliason, Bruce Roehm, Joe and Tony with editorial input from Noah Van Gilder and Ben Watsky. It was sent to the members over the weekend and also was posted on the Zoom screen during the meeting.

Next week’s meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm.  Watch for email details.

During the “afterglow” period, there was some chatter about the Bucket Challenge advanced recently on Facebook by Will Cox to learn the intro to the ballad blindfolded.  He put his mask over his eyes and launched the challenge.  A fun time when we are trying to learn our music alone at home.

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 of the great things going on each week during the 71^st year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the June 16^th, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Again the chapter has suspended in-person meetings of the chorus, boards and committees until further notice as well as for any small group, quartet, or ensemble gatherings. This is in recognition of recent mandates by officials and leaders of the BHS and in cooperation with local health authorities and government officials. 

Thus there was not a regular in-person meeting of the Alexandria Harmonizers on June 16^th  2020.  

Director Joe Cerutti hosted the gathering at 7 pm via Zoom video meeting this week to continue the work on music, learn performance plans, and learn more about our chapter and the barbershop hobby in general.

It was great to have some Harmonizers with us this week we haven’t seen for a while including Bob Thames from FL, Jorge Acevedo from TX, and John Rettenmayer from MT. All three of them are singing in choruses in their area and John is president of the BHS Evergreen district.

Joe reported that earlier in the day he had helped the chapter’s history committee move our collection/archives to a different unit on Dove Street that was larger but cost less!  The work crew included ops team director Gary Cregan, and committee guys Howard Nestlerode, Bob Blair, Bob Rhome, Dean Sherick and Jack Pitzer.  We have a great historical collection including trophies we have won, the CD John Glenn took into space, every uniform the chorus has worn, and our chapter charter from SPEBSQSA – just to name a few items.

Joe also reported that there were recorded sectionals posted.

There are so many Zoom meetings for chapters every nite – Joe shared that he would be visiting another chapter during our warm up session, and our coach Cy Wood popped onto our call thinking he was using the Zoom code for his own chapter meeting.  Great to see him even for a minute!

Associate director Tony Colosimo did the warm up session for the chorus this week which included some dancing by the guys in their homes!  After the warm ups, there were sectionals to work on parts of the new ballad. 

A featured event this week was the interview of Alan Wile who has developed the Harmonizer Hero program for the chapter.  It was sort of turn-the-tables with Terry Reynolds interviewing Alan instead of Alan interviewing other members. Alan has collected Hero forms from members for about 10 years.  He asks every new member to submit.  The 300+ submissions are on Groupanizer for anyone to review and get to know each other better. Since there are photos of each person, it also helps new guys know who-is-who.

Alan’s 40 year professional career was in intelligence work – mostly in the Navy and then some years in the Department of State.  He was posted all around the world and says his favorite tour was in Israel. 

He and his wife Patty have retired to a high-rise senior facility.  She sings in the Potomac Harmony SAI Chorus.  They have 11 grand children and 8 great-grand children

.

He has served as president of the Harmonizers a couple times.  He also served as as president of the Mid Atlantic District and then served on the International board of directors. 

He still serves in many capacities such as nominating chairman and awards procurement for the chapter, and as promoter of our 50/50 effort to raise money for his favorite cause – the Mid Atlantic District Endowment fund, which he promotes within the district.

There were 60-plus attendees again this week. Terry used the Zoom system to randomly divide all attendees on the call into a small group of five to share thoughts about “what annoys you” in life.  Fun to hear all the things guys cope with.

The chapter’s business meeting was brief with no major announcements.  

Chapter Chris Buechler reports contacting a long list of Harmonizers who have renewed their membership lately. “While I left voicemail for several men, it was a pleasure to speak to many. I especially enjoyed talking with Darryl Flinn, a barbershop icon with whom I hadn’t spoken for several years, and Mike Fasano, who reports that he is still working at the lab. Reaching out to Harmonizers with whom we don’t speak regularly is a great tonic - something more than Zoom.”

Chris reported the following: Darryl Flinn for 65 years; Craig Odell for 51 years; Mike Wallen for 48 years; Geoff Berman for 38 years; Martin Banks for 37 years; Mike Edison for 29 years; Michael Gilmore for 28 years; Mike Fasano for 25 years; and Doug White for 14 years.

To wrap up the evening, Joe welcomed special guest Tim Waurick.  It was fun to hear in person how he prepares the terrific learning tracks for our chorus music (he shared lots of details about the challenges of doing the tracks for “Oh What A Beautiful Morning” he did recently for us).

Tim got a start singing barbershop in middle school which continued into high school. He was invited to St. Louis to do his college work and that connected him with the Ambassadors of Harmony, which helped him find his way into the tenor slot of VOCAL SPECTRUM, a gold medal quartet in the BHS. 

He answered many questions from individual Harmonizers, plus Tim shared personal details about his goals to work hard to grow musically and professionally as a producer of learning materials. 

Next week’s meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm.  Watch for email details.

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 of the great things going on each week during the 71^st year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the June 9^th, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Again the chapter has suspended in-person meetings of the chorus, boards and committees until further notice as well as for any small group, quartet, or ensemble gatherings. This is in recognition of recent mandates by officials and leaders of the BHS and in cooperation with local health authorities and government officials. 

Thus there was not a regular in-person meeting of the Alexandria Harmonizers on June 9^th  2020.  

Director Joe Cerutti hosted the gathering at 7 pm via Zoom video meeting this week to continue the work on music, learn performance plans, and learn more about our chapter and the barbershop hobby in general.

It was great to have some Harmonizers with us for this week we haven’t seen for a while including Bert Phillips, Tim Cash, Craig Kujawa, Mike Geipel, Jim McConnell, Bill Colosimo, and Mike Wallen.

Joe was excited to report that our special guest for next week will be Tim Waurick, tenor of VOCAL SPECTRUM and creator of many of our learning tracks including the new ballad.

There were 60-plus attendees again this week. Terry used the Zoom system to randomly divide all attendees on the call into a small group of five to share thoughts about the favorite recording or song a member might listen to, or the quartet most often listened to.

Tony did the warm up session for the chorus this week. After warm ups, Joe worked with the singers on sections of “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.” He asked Tony to sing and coached him as an example of what the chorus members should concentrate on.

There were break out periods next for those who were Riser Ready or Not Riser Ready on “42^nd Street.”

The chapter’s business meeting was brief with no major announcements.  Executive director Randall Eliason requested some volunteers to assist the chapter’s history committee move the storage locker the chapter uses for historical materials, past uniforms, trophies and displays.  Three guys signed up on the Chat feature of Zoom to join the committee on Tues. June 16^th at 10 am.

The reports of the small group discussions were mixed and fun. AMBIANCE was on the list and their version of “Rhapsody in Blue” as were some often mentioned gold medal BHS quartets VOCAL SPECTRUM, RINGMASTERS, OC TIMES, FOUR RENEGADES, and GAS HOUSE GANG.

To wrap up the evening, Tony hosted a great chat with Steve White and Ricky Savage about the great fun and experiences they have had in quartets.   Both have won the M-AD contest multiple times.  Both have sung at the International level in the top 20 quartet semifinals rounds. We all enjoyed their stories about crazy times their quartets have had with other quartets on the show circuit or at contests. 

On a more serious note, Ricky shared that he thought strong chapter support helped a quartet succeed.  Steve shared the significance of personal friendships and being on the same “page” in life, work, skills, desires and goals. 

Both of these longtime Harmonizer front row men have sung together in some great quartets such as COPYRIGHT 86 and THE GREAT ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC CHORD COMPANY. Ricky currently is tenor in a seniors quartet SILVER ALERT with three other Harmonizers. He sang with PREMIER for about 10 years including a period with the great Fred King.  Steve sang with BAY RUM RUNNERS which included a half dozen times in the top 20 and two personal performances for John and Annie Glenn. He sang with PHAT CATS four times in the top 20. Steve reports he has sung in 16 quartets since high school. 

A big crowd stayed around for the afterglow period and more behind-the-scene stories from other quartet guys like Tony and Bill Colosimo and Mike Wallen.

Next week’s meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm.  Watch for email details.

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 of the great things going on each week during the 71^st year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd

Looking Back on the June 2^nd, 2020 Virtual Chapter Meeting

Again the chapter has suspended in-person meetings of the chorus, boards and committees until further notice as well as for any small group, quartet, or ensemble gatherings. This is in recognition of recent mandates by officials and leaders of the BHS and in cooperation with local health authorities and government officials. 

Thus there was not a regular in-person meeting of the Alexandria Harmonizers on June 2^nd ,  2020.  

Director Joe Cerutti hosted the gathering at 7 pm via Zoom video meeting this week to continue the work on music, learn performance plans, and learn more about our chapter and the barbershop hobby in general.

Joe was excited to report plans for this week’s meeting and news from around BHS. We will have a lengthy time to spend with CEO of the BHS, Marty Monson. Therefore, the small group discussion topic this week will be to collect any questions members have for Marty. Each group posted their questions via chat; so during warm up time, the questions were collected.

A new annotated version of the new ballad is on Groupanizer  (It actually replaces the first one published). Also the learning tracks have been replaced too.  Joe also strongly suggested that everyone take a look at the Origins of the new ballad posted by associate director Tony Colosimo. 

There were over 60 attendees this week. Music team administrator Terry Reynolds used the Zoom system to randomly divide all attendees on the call into a small group of five to collect possible questions for Marty.

Tony did the warm up session for the chorus this week. After warm ups, Joe worked with the singers on the introduction and second verse of “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.” 

Alan Wile conducted another member interview from the Harmonizer Heroes series – this week was Don Harrington.  Don’s career in agriculture was a vast array of postings in countries all around the world either as a Peace Corps volunteer, staff member or staffer for USAID.  He shared one of his favorite locations was in Egypt. We were all impressed that Don has fulfilled a goal of his and has ridden his bike over 4000 miles across the USA.  His wife, Naida, was his back up and drove their car with him as they did it in three legs (depending on when he could get a chunk of vacation time). Each time Don ended an assignment he returned to the Harmonizers!

The chapter’s business meeting was brief with no major announcements.  

Chapter secretary Chris Buechler reports that he has mailed membership cards to the following men who have renewed recently: Jed Casey - 65 years, Gene Swartz - 54 years, Dave Welter -  44 years, Dave Branstetter - 15 years, David Desportes - 13 years, Kellen Hertz -12 years, Dean Sherick - 8 years, and Duncan Woodbury - 8 years.

We had three guests this week too.  Lewis Smith, who sang with the chorus when his Dad Al was a member in late 1970s and Lewis was about 15.  He is currently a member of the A Cappella Syndicate in Phoenix.  Arriving on the call was Yuhan Roh who has moved to VA after graduation from college in Indiana.  He has sung with the Ambassadors of Harmony and Voices of California in Sacramento.  He had a new job here.  And it was great to see former front row guy, Doug White, on the call.  He has retired and is moving to VA in a week or so and has already worked to transfer his membership. Great to have all of you visiting us.

The chapter was eager to hear from Marty and get his report on the status of the BHS. He was eager to share with us news and updates on all things from Harmony Hall in Nashville.  The building is secure and no big issues at this time during protests and such. Joe was moderator of the interview with Marty and presented the questions from the chorus. Marty shared some of his challenges and surprises as the organization rolls out the Everyone One in Harmony program.  

Before taking the CEO position, Marty was president and executive director of the Great Northern Union chorus is MN. They had built a strong program there.  Marty’s dad and brother are barbershop singers as well. His career field was communications technology.

He clearly likes a cappella singing and has started singing with the Nashville Music Medics to make visits at Nashville area Children’s Hospitals. A joy in his life was when he discovered how much he likes harmony singing.

When asked about how the Society and its chapters will come back from this quarantine situation, he suggests we will all have to start small - maybe quartet singing or small ensembles first.  After all, that is what we are about.

There was a lot of teasing as Marty is actually Joe’s boss at BHS, so we had some fun with that!

Next week’s meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm.  Watch for email details.

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 of the great things going on each week during the 71^st year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd