Looking Back on the March 23rd 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the March 23^rd 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 

At 7 pm, artistic director Joe Cerutti started the Harmonizer meeting with hearty welcomes to guests and guys on the call we haven’t see in a while such as Greg Tepe from Amsterdam, Bob Thames from FL, Rick Taylor, Jon Frank,Bruce Sherk from Ottawa, Canada, and Julian Le Flore. 

 

Later in the meeting Joe shared he had good news and bad news.  The good news was that the music team has auditioned and welcomed two guests for membership – Josh Myers who is friends with Devin Gerzof and Duncan Peacock and sang with them in Georgetown Chimes; and Vinny Capaccio who is a friend of Scott Beach and sings in a. quartet with him.

 

The bad news was word that Jon Frank will be moving to Seattle for a work promotion and will leave already on March 27^th.  As is our tradition, we sang “There Will Always Be a Place on the Risers for You” and guys wished his best wishes via the chat feature of our Zoom meeting. 

 

Other new info from Joe included an announcement about a Jamulus night on March 29^th at 7:30 pm starting on Zoom.  Then about 8 pm those on the call will move to Jamulus and do some tag singing.  Joe shared that a lot of members have asked to be connected via Jamulus so the music team is organizing this for everyone.

 

Also Joe shared that he was happy that 29 men had submitted self-recordings of “Help from My Friends” as part of the new self-recording program being instituted in the chapter. Other singers are still welcome to submit for that song, and then everyone is welcome to start on recordings of “Chorus Line.”  The music team again reminds members not to stress out on making their recordings – use the helps on Groupanizer.

 

Members can also find a new song for the chapter on our Groupanizer site – “Sing” from Sesame Street and The Carpenters. It was arranged by Steve Delehanty and the learning tracks created by Tony DeRosa.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo did a brief warm up session this week to help singers get their voices ready to sing.

 

Joe worked with a quartet on Jamulus for “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.”  This week’s quartet was Doug White, Tony, Jacob Broude, and Steve White, but all other members were encouraged to sing on Zoom. Joe coached the quartet with the understanding that chorus members would take note and apply his coaching to their work. 

 

Next there was work with singers on special rhythm spots in  “Something’s Coming” followed by work with Tony andJoe on “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

 

Small groups were formed to work on “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.” Music team hosts for each of those groups called for volunteers to sing a part of the song and invited others in the group to offer positive comments on specific points like intonation, words, facials.

 

This week we had discussion groups based on length of chapter membership so they could offer ideas and suggestions and thoughts about celebrating the chapter’s 75^th anniversary in 2023.  It’s past time to get started on the planning, so chapter leaders used this session to gather member input.  Each age group was asked to select someone to record ideas shared and then that person was to submit them to Joe and Terry Reynolds. After the session, each group shared one idea from their group – there were some terrific ideas for the planning team. 

 

Communications chairman Matt Doniger conducted a brief business meeting for this week.  Executive director Randall Eliason recognized Steve White for his terrific work on our chapter’s annual report.  Stay tuned for release of the report for all.

 

Our elective tonight was presented by Joe and Tony – Chorus Directing 101.  It was well received and a high percentage of men stayed on the call until the end.  Joe showed in his home the number of bookshelves he has filled with text books, manuals and information about directing.  They shared many details and concepts, techniques and aspects of a director’s job.  For many of us it was an eye-opening session.

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm on March 30^th, 2021. 

 

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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the March 16th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the March 16^th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 

This week’s virtual meeting started off with informal discussion about the cancellation of the International convention in Cleveland in July, 2021.

 

At 7 pm, artistic director Joe Cerutti started the meeting and was eager thank all those members who submitted their recordings of “Help from My Friends” by the deadline this past Sunday.  The music committee is willing to except more recordings but would like them before Mar. 21^st. These recordings were the first step in a Harmonizer goal to create a tradition of self-recordings for all songs.  Joe stressed again that this is a new custom for us – not like the old days when recordings were used to qualify a singer for the contest!

 

Joe also reminded the chorus that the next song to submit is “Chorus Line” and that will be followed by self-recording  of “Never Fully Dressed.” Links needed to do these are on Groupanizer – a director to watch, tracks to listen to, and instructions on how to submit.

 

Everyone can help create this new culture for the chapter.

 

Joe reports that chapter leaders will take the suggestion of members and create a Google Doc to announce the links and plans for the weekly Zoom meetings.  Music team administrator Terry Reynolds will continue to send out the weekly email too.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo did warm ups again this week and had rigged sound absorbent materials as his “background.” 

 

Joe worked with a quartet on Jamulus for “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.”  This week’s quartet was Rick Savage, Mike Edison, Jacob Broude, and Steve Murane, but all other members were encouraged to sing on Zoom. Joecoached the quartet with the understanding that chorus members would take note and apply his coaching to their work. 

 

Next there were sectionals on that same song, and then the Jamulus quartet demonstrated work for “Something’s Coming.” 

 

Small groups were formed to work on “Bridge Over Trouble Water.” Music team hosts for each of those groups called for volunteers to sing a part of the song and invited others in the group to offer positive comments on specific points like intonation, words, facials.

 

Alan Wile conducted another interview of a member who has submitted his Harmonizer Hero bio for inclusion on Groupanizer.  This was the 20^th interview and helped us meet and learn more about Turner Arndt who joined the chapter about four years ago.  He was raised in Fairfax County and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.  He went on to college at the University of Alabama earning his BS and MS degrees there in civil engineering.

 

His music background started as an alto sax player in high school and in the university’s famous marching band.  Often the bandsmen were asked to sing their parts while practicing their marching routines, and some friends in the band heard Turner sing and suggested he should come with them to sing with the Crimson Pride barbershop chorus of the Tuscaloosa Chapter. 

 

After he finished college, he returned to NoVA for his job at the same place where he had done internships – an engineering firm for mechanical, electrical and plumbing.  He knew of our chorus (having had Joe as a chorus coach in AL), joined our chapter, and earned his spot on our risers right away.

 

Turner lived with his parents until recently when he bought his condo. He keeps busy with lots of outdoor activities.  He is a frequent hiker in the mountains to our west.  He rowed in school and now volunteers as coach for the crew team at TJ. He likes exploring and traveling and is quickly building up his record of visiting all states.  His next destination is Alaska. And he likes to cook and especially likes to bake bread. (We have seen him in the kitchen on early Zoom sessions!)

 

Turner has earned an Eagle Scout status and is one of the new younger leaders in the chapter.

 

Communications chairman Matt Doniger conducted a brief business meeting for this week. 

Membership chairman Jacob Broude announced plans to resume social events for the Harmonizers including a beer tasting event via Zoom with Kellen Hertz.

 

Jacob also offered to get new name tags for anyone who needs one – planning ahead for our regathering!! Contact him by Fri. March 19^th if you have lost yours during this Covid era, or have changed parts, or are new to the chapter.

 

Executive director Randall Eliason announced that the 2021 Spring2ACTION will be April 28^th.  This is a one-day-of-giving-support for nonprofit arts groups in Alexandria.  Randall alerts us that there will be sectional competition again this year. This is one of our chapter’s largest income sources.

 

Then Joe reported outtakes from the 95 personal 30-minute interviews he conducted with all members – singers and non-active singers.  He was most eager to share that of the 95 (that includes the many men who can’t make the Zoom meetings for whatever reason), only one man is planning to move on to some other singing. Joe also interviewed the community board members on the AH Inc. board.

 

He thanked Terry for his faithful support for every interview and also Joe thanked the section leaders who joined interviews of men in their section.

 

The results of the interviews provided many suggestions for the music team and for the chapter leaders.  Already some changes have been implemented based on input from chapter members.  Work is underway already on how to restart chorus operations when possible. We are seeing some changes in the format of the Zoom calls already. 

 

As Joe presented major points he collected, he stressed that many of the ideas would need a committee or team to implement. Guys were encouraged to step up and offer to help if they are interested in any of them.  One major change is the plan to add a Director of Community Engagement to our Ops team. 

 

Finally, one major note from the process reports that some men find the weekly Zoom an important key to their social and person pleasures.  And that means they appreciate all the guys getting on the calls and participating.  Joe too shared that he was proud to have done the interviews and that he felt he was better able to provide leadership having talked and visited with each man.

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm on March 23^rd , 2021. 

 

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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the March 9th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the March 9^th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 

This week’s virtual meeting started off with lots of visiting and we got to meet James Colosimo brand new son of Tony and Elizabeth Colosimo born on Thursday, March 4^th. Congrats to their family.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti was eager to report exciting news for our chapter.  Five BHS chapters will be working together in collaboration to produce a virtual choir of “Stars and Stripes Forever” that will be made available for July 4^th uses in media.  Our chorus will join singers from the Ambassadors of Harmony, Masters of Harmony, Vocal Majority, and Westminster choruses for this project.

 

The promised feedback from Joe’s interviews with 94 of our members will be moved to the March 16^th meeting.

 

Joe reported again that materials are now on Groupanizer to help our chapter singers submit recordings for “Help from My Friends” including a directing track, music track, and actual directions. 

 

Associate director Tony did warm ups again but this week he was holding baby James while speaking and singing the exercises.  When Tony took James to bed, Joe had everyone sing the melody for “Oh What a Beautiful Morning,” and he spoke about the importance of everyone using these warm up sessions to get their vocal muscles in shape for chorus singing when we get to do it.

 

Joe had a quartet on Jamulus work on that song too.  This week’s quartet was Devin Gerzof, Tony, Jacob Broude, andTurner Arndt, but all other members were encouraged to sing on Zoom. Joe coached the quartet with the understanding that chorus members would take note and apply his coaching to their work. 

 

Next there were sectionals on that same song, and then the Jamulus quartet demonstrated work for “Something’s Coming.” 

 

Small groups were formed to work on “Bridge Over Trouble Water.”

 

This week’s discussion breakouts were on topics related to Julian LaFlore’s presentation on “Engaging Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Youth.”  Members could choose the following breakouts – repertoire selection; how we engage guests at rehearsals (in non-Covid times); how we engage potential members (audiences, friends, co-workers); or how we prioritize engaging our community.  After we regathered, each breakout recorder gave a quick summary of comments offered.  (President Stan Quick has invited all members who want to offer additional thoughts to submit them to him, Joe or Terry Reynolds.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communications chairman Matt Doniger conducted a brief business meeting for this week. 

 

Membership chairman Jacob Broude announced plans to resume social events for the Harmonizers.  He asked members to respond to his email about a beer tasting event with Kellen Hertz.

 

Jacob also offered to get new name tags for anyone who needs one – planning ahead for our regathering!! Contact him if you have lost yours during this Covid era, or have changed parts, or are new to the chapter.

 

Then Joe welcomed our presenter for this week’s special topic – How to Be a Great Tenor. The speaker was Tim Waurick, tenor of             SPECTRUM and CEO of Tim’s Tracks.   

 

(Future speakers will include lead Heather Havens and baritone Brandon Guyton.)

 

Tim’s presentation reported the many qualities of a tenor voice for our kind of music – a special need for singing above the melody sung by the leads.  He shared lots of examples and invited our members to suggest great tenors they recall.  (The list included a number of guys from the Harmonizer ranks including Rick Taylor, John Adams, John Casey, Harold Nantz, and Rick Savage.)

 

Tim suggested that the best tenors enhance the lead; that they are skilled at working thru their range break; that they know how to balance chords, and that they add personality to the music.

 

Joe and the members thanked Tim for sharing time with us again.

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm on March 16^th, 2021. 

 

In other news, president Stan Quick has announced that the interment for John Adams’ wife, Jean, will be at Arlington National Cemetery at 10 am,Friday, April 9^th. 

 

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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the March 2nd 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the March 2^nd 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 

This week’s virtual meeting started off with lots of visiting among the large number of members who get on the call early each week. We also learned that Tony and Elizabeth Colosimo were on baby watch for a new arrival tonight.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti briefed the attendees on the plans for tonight and the weeks ahead with a series of “How to Be a Great _____” bass, lead, bari, tenor.  We start with bass presenter Dan Wessler tonight.  Then in the coming weeks Tim Waurick will speak for tenors, Brandon Guyton for baritones, and Heather Havens for leads.

 

There was some talk about Jamulus work and that Joe has a complete set up now at his home thanks to help from Tony.  The consensus seems to be that we will keep going on efforts to expand the number of men on that system. 

 

On March 9^th, Joe plans to report on the feedback he gathered from interviewing 94 of our members in recent weeks. 

 

Joe was also eager to share that the often-mentioned new materials to support individual recordings and submissions is ready.  The conducting video, section-leader-recorded tracks, and suggestions on how to submit are provided via Groupanizer.  Joe thanked Joel Golden and the section leaders for their efforts on this new plan. 

 

Communications chairman Matt Doniger conducted a brief business meeting for this week. Bruce Roehm, president of AH Inc, reported that their board has elected Noah Van Gilder as a new chorus member on the board. 

 

Membership chairman Jacob Broude announced plans to resume social events for the Harmonizers.  An email will go to all members inviting their participation for an April event.

 

Then Joe welcomed our presenter for this week’s special topic – How to Be a Great Bass. The speaker was Dan Wessler, bass of AFTER HOURS who won the quartet gold in 2018. We scheduled his talk early in our meeting night so he could go join a call with the New Tradition chorus which he directs.

 

He proposed a bass philosophy that basses are like Spiderman – with great power comes great responsibility.  He suggested there were four components of a good bass singers effort (and he played examples of some of each and invited our guys to guess who it was in the Chat) (Chuck Hunter seemed to know them all!)

 

His four components were (1) a constant foundation of sound, closely aligned with (2) consistency throughout their range, (3) singing melodically, and (4) singing with buoyancy.

 

There were questions from the Harmonizer guys and good discussions with Dan.  Everyone agreed it was a great presentation.

 

After Dan left, Tony did a warm up session for the members on the call. After the warm up there were sectionals to return to working on “Oh What A Beautiful Mornin.” 

 

That was followed by more work using Jamulus while singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”  This week’s Jamulus quartet was SILVER ALERT who had continued working extra time on this new song.  Thanks to Rick Savage, Mike Edison, Will Cox and Steve Murane. 

 

Next Joe worked with all the singers next on “Something’s Coming,” and then the chorus went into small groups to work on the same song.  Volunteers would sing a section of the song as requested by the monitor for the small group.  The other guys in the group would offer suggestions or comments.

 

We ended this week’s meeting with another Harmonizer Hero interview – the 19^th one conducted by Alan Wile. His interviewee was Randy Lazear who is a 45-year Society member and a 45-year Harmonizer.  He is among the ranks of those members who have earned all four of the gold chorus contest medals.

 

He grew up in the Chicago area and was involved in music in school. After college at DePauw University he went on to get a dental degree at Northwestern University in Chicago.  He was destined to follow in the footsteps of his father and eventually launched his own dental practice in Springfield, VA.  He is retired from his practice that is now headed by his son.  

 

When Randy got to Springfield, he joined the church choir where he met Joe Craig and Brain Rodda, two Harmonizers who made sure Randy found our chapter.  Randy has been a quartet tenor all those years with a long stint of singing with the 4 MAN VOCAL BAND.  (The current version still practices and sings gigs – Randy on tenor, Bob Bates as lead, Larry Walker as bari, and Dave Cureton as bass.)

 

Randy shared some fun stories about quartets he was in that won the chapter Put Together Quartet Contest.

 

Although he is retired, Randy keeps busy and he and his wife Vickie travel in his airplane and enjoy their cottage. 

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm on March 9^th, 2021. 

 

Last week, YeEd forgot to report on the visit of former quartet bass, Chip Guffey, who was on the call and stayed til the afterglow ended.  He was bass in HIJINX who were 1999 Mid Atlantic District 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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Feb. 23rd 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Feb. 23^rd 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 

This week’s virtual meeting started off with lots of good comments about last week’s installation and awards event. If anyone missed it, the video of Tony DeRosa’s keynote remarks are available and worth taking a few minutes. 

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti launched the activities for this night and proudly reported the news that he has completed 94 personal one-on-one interviews with Harmonizers as well as community board members for AH Inc. Joe thanked Terry Reynolds for his major effort to make the interview process run smoothly and easily for the members. Joepromises a summary report of his interview notes during our March 9^th meeting.  Again he shared that to-a-man all the guys are planning to regroup when the Covid situation clears up and we can do something in person.  

 

Joe did share that he wanted to clarify to all members that they should not feel guilty about or under an obligation to attend the Zoom meetings.  He understands that for many, the Tues. night Zoom is just one more period of screen time for many; but for others, the Tues. night gathering is a gift of fellowship and comfort when we see each other and can talk and share. And so your attendance is a gift to a fellow Harmonizer!

 

Next, associate director Tony Colosimo conducted the warm up session to get the body and the voice ready for the night.  

 

That was followed by more work using Jamulus while singing “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”  This week’s Jamulus quartet was SILVER ALERT who had worked extra time on this new song so that its introduction to the chorus was solid.  Thanks to Rick Savage, Mike Edison, Will Cox and Steve Murane. The quartet did a great job and members  on the call gave them a thumbs up of appreciation.

 

Joe stepped up to lead the work on “Never Fully Dressed” with the chorus.  He figures this song is pretty well learned and guys have it under their belt.  He confirmed his opinion when he asked guys to go onto chat and post a number from 1-10 if they have it learned (not memorized).  The results were about all 9.  Same number for “have it memorized.”  And then averages of about 8 for “know the dynamic plan” and for “have the chorus breath plan and a personal breath plan under my belt.”

 

He worked next on “Something’s Coming” in a similar fashion first, and then the chorus went into small groups to work on the same song.  Volunteers would sing a section of the song as requested by the monitor for the small group.  The other guys in the group would offer suggestions or comments.

 

This week there was not a special discussion topic but the chorus was invited to form into small groups based on an age range.  The guys over 70 (about ten of them) talked mostly about the challenges of getting their Covid vaccinations.

 

Guess speaker this week was Julian LaFlore, lead singer in the QUINN TONES.   He presented a report on “Engaging BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Youth in a Predominately White Hobby.” One of his major points was that singing groups should consider their music carefully when choosing material for their repertoire. They should consider “what is the song about,” “when was the song written,” “what does it celebrate,” and “what event(s) led to this song being created?” After his presentation, the mics were opened for a general discussion of the topic with lots of comments and questions from the chorus members.  Julian is a music education major at Towson University.  

 

In other news, the chapter has received word from Bob Wachter’s daughter that there will be a memorial service for Bob at Arlington Cemetery on July 21^st at 12:45 pm at the Old Post Chapel.  More details to come, so mark your calendar. 

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm on March 2^nd , 2021. 

 

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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Feb. 16th Meeting, Installation, Awards Ceremony

 Looking Back on the Feb. 16^th Meeting, Installation, Awards Ceremony

 

This week’s virtual meeting was another Harmonizer milestone and about 75 members were on the call.  It has always been a tradition to honor and recognize our elected officers and board members.  The current leadership also decided to create a number of whimsical awards to recognize members for their participation during this past year of virtual meetings. 

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti launched the activities for the night before the special events and outlined the evening’s plans.  He also reported the great news that he has completed over 80 personal one-on-one interviews with Harmonizers.  And he also shared that to-a-man all the guys are planning to regroup when the Covid situation clears up and we can do something in person.  That is great news and certainly maintains the traditions of the Harmonizer spirit.

 

It that same vein, Joe welcomed our special guest and longtime friend, Tony DeRosa, who was with us to share thoughts and install our board for this year. He is a gold medal quartet man having earned his first one with KEEPSAKE at age 19 and most recently with MAIN STREET.  He is currently chorus director for both BHS and SAI groups.  Professionally he works as musical performer in FL. He has coached our chorus over the years and been a welcome guest during our Zoom meetings this year.  

 

As expected, Tony brought lots of laughs and teasing with Joe.  But when he got serious, he spoke about the challenges of a chapter like ours who maintain strong traditions based on the contributions and hard work of Harmonizers who went before us.

 

Tony suggests that our chapter and musical ensemble is unique in both its role as a chapter in BHS but also as an a cappella ensemble.  In summary, he challenged us all to do our parts to make sure those rankings continue. He suggested we are “all part of an amazing legacy!”

 

His major point in his remarks was “if we reformulate the WHY we gather, there is a greater chance that the chapter and its chorus will be making harmony for years into the future.” He added that “yes the leadership is important, but ALL members have a part.”

 

Tony recognized our section leaders, assistant directors and associate and artistic director who make so much of the operation “go” for the chorus.

 

Then he named the 2021 board, asked them to unmute and to agree to serve the chapter – Stan Quick, David DesPortes, Al Herman, Clyde Crusenberry, Frank Shipp, and Devin Gerzof. 

 

After we bid farewell to Tony, president Stan launched a presentation of awards for this past year of virtual meetings due to Covid.  (For historical purposes, the board decided not to present the traditional chapter awards for 2020 – New Note Award, Spirit Award, Honor Award, Sparks Award, Newgard Award, and the Harmonizer Memorial Award.)

 

Stan labeled the award the 2020 Covies Awards. First was the Chatterbox Award for best commentary in the chats every week. Nominees were Brian Ammerman, Matt Doniger, Noah Van Gilder, Doug White and the winner was Matt Doniger.

 

Second was the Stage Hand Award for best virtual background on Tuesday night.  Nominees were David DesPortes, Mike Edison, Terry Reynolds, Steve Szyszka and the winner was Mike Edison with his shark background. 

 

Third was the Note-y Professor for best elective presentation.  Nominees were Mike Edison – Building a Custom Car,Mike Fasano – Barber Shop Bottles, Joel Golden and Chris Huber – History of Rock and Roll, Alan Gordon – singing category explanation, Jason Lee – A Statistical Analysis of the Covid-19 Pandemic, and Noah Van Gilder – Birds – Why I Love Them and Why You Should Too.  Winner was Jason Lee. 

 

Fourth was the Accidental Award for the guy most likely to sing unmuted when we were all on mute!  Winner, unopposed, was Howard Nestlerode. 

 

Fifth was the Inspector Gadget Award for the best at-home rehearsal setup. Nominees were Tony Colosimo and Davide DesPortes.  Tony won this one.

 

Sixth was the Quarter Rest Award for the guy most likely to appear to be sleeping during rehearsal. The winner, also unopposed, was Bob Mattes. 

 

Seventh was the Nom de Zoom Award for the best screen name.  Nominees were Frank Fadarko, Chris Huber, andBen Watsky.  Ben won this one for his many variations on Kyle (the name someone called him by mistake at the start of the year). 

 

Eighth was Director’s Cut Award for the most likely to be eating during rehearsal. Mark Klostermeyer took this one without any competition! 

 

Ninth was the Dos Equis (Most Interesting Man) for the best story presented during the Harmo Hero interviews conducted by Alan Wile.  Nominees were Ike Evans, Mike Fasano, Reed Livergood, Sam McFarland, Bob Rhome, Ken Rub, Ben Watsky, and Alan Wile.  Bob Rhome’s interesting like story was named winner. 

 

Eleventh was the Fatal Distraction Award for the most likely to have a distraction on the screen during our Zoom meeting (pet, inappropriate action, background sounds, etc.) Although Terry Reynolds’ cats were a strong contender in this award, Noah Van Gilder’s birds and their “speaking up” during the meetings were chosen as winner.

 

Stan did present two special awards on behalf of the board of directors.  Chris Buechler was named Secretary Emeritus.  In his 44 years of Harmonizer membership, Chris served just over 25 years as secretary.  He also had been vice president and president of the chapter.  He kept in touch with the hundreds of men who were members during those years.

 

The board also recognized Martin Banks and presented him emeritus status  as chapter historian.  He has been a member for 37 years and has presented many great “looks” into the chapter’s history for all to enjoy.  He was a leader of the BHS organization for Public Relations Officers and Bulletin Editors too. 

 

 

 

 

After the awards, we moved into our usual Tuesday schedule.  Associate director Tony Colosimo conducted the warm up session to get the body and the voice ready for the night.  He suggested how guys could improve their body alignment even in a sitting position. 

 

Sectionals were next and the section leader could choose which song he felt was needed for his guys. That was followed by more work using Jamulus while singing “Chorus Line Medley.”  This week’s Jamulus quartet was Tony, Mike Fasano, Jacob Broude, and Steve White. 

 

This week’s meeting ended with the 18^th Harmonizer Hero interview conducted by Alan Wile with men who have submitted their Harmo Hero form for inclusion on Groupanizer.  This week’s subject wad Dean Rust.  Dean is a 40-year member of our chapter and has received all of the chapter’s major awards.  He was born in Ohio where his family were farm folks. 

 

He sang with the family as part of their church background and was a euphonium player in high school where he was also a singer in the school choral ensembles.

 

Then he went off to college at Bowling Green State University and sang in the chorale there. He enrolled at some point in political science career studies and a graduate school advisor told Dean he should head to Washington DC where there were lots of jobs in the 1970s.  Dean did that and launched his 35-year career to stop the spread of weapons to other countries with his work with the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency/Department of State. He has been retired a number of years.

 

Although he sang in college, it was when he got to the DC area that Dean’s brother suggested he should go check out the Alexandria VA barbershop chorus.  And we have been the lucky benefactor of that move. He has tackled all sorts of serious jobs, often took notes when there were coaches with us and reported them to the singers, and in recent years concentrated on writing grants to raise funds for the chapter.  The figure $50,000 was used to indicated the level of his success for the chapter.

 

Dean works behind the scenes but is totally first class and gets to the point of the matter always.  We all thank him for his efforts.

 

He puts that same sort of dedication into his volunteer work in helping Fairfax County residents such as travel coordinator for Meal on Wheels in the Route 1 Corridor. 

 

In other news, Martin Banks tipped us off to the word that BHS Archives was gonna live stream on Wed. Feb. 17^th the 1986 performance of THE MOUNT RUSHMORE FOUR with our own Wilbur Sparks singing baritone as Thomas Jefferson.  They were all four past BHS presidents and this was for the very first senior quartet contest held that year at the Midwinter in Tucson.  Go to barbershop.org to check it out.  Pretty good singing for some old timers and a fun bit of show too. 

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm on Feb. 23^rd , 2021. 

 

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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Feb. 9th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Feb. 9^th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting 

 

Almost 70 Harmonizers joined the Zoom meeting this week and as usual there was a lot of chatter as guys were joining the call. A popular topic was “beverage of choice for this week’s call!”

 

Assistant director Terry Reynolds launched this week’s gathering until director Joe Cerutti could join.

 

Terry outlined the agenda for this week with the highlight that Jim Henry would be our guest.  And for a change in methods, there were four choices for breakout discussion sessions for members: (1) What questions should we ask Jimtonight?, (2) what action ideas do you have for our chapter in taking the advice of Kevin Keller in his keynote address at Midwinter?, (3) discuss the Superbowl, (4) or just chat.

 

Terry and others reported the efforts of guys in the chorus to expand the number of users of Jamulus.  Steve Whitereports a few guys that signed up recently did a tag singing session the other night and “it was fun.” 

 

Plus members were reminded that the music for “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” is posted on Groupanizer.  Terryplayed ACOUSTIX – the 1990 gold medal quartet – performing that song.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo conducted the warm up session to get the body and the voice ready for the night. 

 

When Joe joined the call, he remarked about all the singers who were on the call from all around the US that we have not seen for a while – Julian Laflore, John Santora, Michael Gilmore, Bob Thames, Aaron Simoneau, Bob Eckman, Michael Berkson, and Paul Grimes. 

 

Sectionals were next and they concentrated on “Something’s Coming” with the reminder to download the annotated copy of the music from Groupanizer. That was followed by more work using Jamulus while singing “Chorus Line Medley.”  This week’s Jamulus quartet was Tony, Turner Arndt, Jacob Broude, and Brian Ammerman.

 

After that there were small groups formed to work on “Never Fully Dressed” concentrating on breath plans and dynamics.  Individuals were invited to sing a section of the song (either a cappella or with a track), and then others guys would offer positive comments.

 

There were a few announcements during the business meeting. History committee chairman Jack Pitzer announced that David Welter will replace Dean Sherick, who has moved away, on that chapter committee.  Shows chairman Doug White announced future show dates in 2022 – a fall show at Schlesinger Sept. 10, 2022, and a holiday show also at Schlesinger Dec. 10, 2022.

 

The discussion topics were fun and the first two accumulated lots of input from members.  Joe used the suggested questions when he interviewed our guest, Jim Henry.  Jim was the gold medal bass in GAS HOUSE GANG and CROSSROADS, plus is director of the Ambassadors of Harmony from the St. Louis area. 

 

One question the guys had for Jim was “who are your heroes in the world of barbershop?” He had already talked a lot about David Wright and his support, talent, and passion. Without any delay, Jim answered the question and shared his respect and joy in friendship with two other chorus directors – Jim Clancy and Jim Miller. 

 

Several questions were to find out what the Ambassadors are doing during the Covid restraints. He told us about their efforts to sing from their cars in a parking lot.  It seems to work (maybe better than Jamulus) and they are hoping for good weather in the next few weeks to launch it for the whole chorus.  Jim will share will us the details about which microphone each guy bought (guys who needed help to pay got support from their chapter).  They also bought a clamp to fasten the mic to the steering wheel.

 

There were several references to the shared show and visit when the Ambassadors came to Alexandria and stayed with us in our homes.

 

When asked which of his own arrangements were his favorite, Jim humbly shared “I Still Can’t Say Goodbye.”

 

During this week’s afterglow, we all watched one of the FaceBook musical spots, “Music Man,” created by Jim and his family.  It was awesome and a fun ending to a visit with a barbershop hero for most Harmonizers.

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm on Feb. 16^th , 2021. 

 

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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 Looking Back on the Feb. 2^nd 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting & Midwinter

 

A good number of Harmonizers joined the Zoom meeting again this week and there was a lot of chatter as guys were joining the call. 

 

Director Joe Cerutti launched this week’s gathering and updated the chapter on a number of issues including sharing word that Jim Henry will be a guest next week.

 

Joe did appeal to everyone to suggest speakers, and better yet, to offer to do an elective of their choosing – sharing about your hobby, your profession, your quartet experiences, you family musical background, or any topic.  Let Joeknow what you can share with the chapter.

 

We had a brief recap of the recent virtual Midwinter convention organized by BHS. It was a fun and interesting event.  It began on Thurs. Jan. 28^th and ended on Sun. Jan. 21^st.  Generally there were almost always about 20 Harmonizers on the “campus” in the avatars they had created for themselves in the virtual world.

 

The largest Harmonizer crowd was on Thursday night when the big show was “From the Archives” and included a set by VAUDEVILLE (Harold Nance, tenor [‘who was actually attending the event]. Scott Werner, John Hohl and Bill Cody).  

 

During the convention there was a full schedule of Harmony University classes.  YeEd heard that Terry Reynolds, Tony Colosimo and Joe Cerutti made presentations. 

 

It was great to chat with fellow chapter members as well as old friends from the district and around the Society.  Our chapter had a terrific “room” in the MAD hospitality room that featured a video our of Toronto contest package on a screen there.

 

Our popular coach, Kevin Keller, gave a fantastic keynote address during the Saturday evening schedule.  He received many accolades.  You can see/hear it by going to barbershop.org and click on his picture.  It is totally on target with how we come out of this Covid year as a chapter.  Take a listen.  

 

(Actually we listened to a segment’s of Kevin’s address at the end of this week’s meeting and discussed how his thoughts relate to our own chapter – especially as we emerge from Covid restraints.  And Joe promises we will learn the tag Kevin taught in his speech.)

 

Recently the music team has announced plans to rekindle the plan to have members submit recordings.  There has been a delay getting the support materials out to the chapter, but singers can still work on preparing themselves by working on the current songs – “Help from My Friends,” “Never Fully Dressed,” “Chorus Line Medley,” and “Something’s Coming.”  Joe also announced that we will be getting “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” soon too.

 

Associate director Tony Colosimo conducted the warm up session to get the body and the voice ready for the night. Sectionals were next and they concentrated on “Something’s Coming” with the reminder to download the annotated copy of the music from Groupanizer. That was followed by more work using Jamulus with singing “What I Did For Love.” This week’s Jamulus quartet was Tony, Turner Arndt, Jacob Broude, and Doug White. 

 

 We returned to the small group concept and the singers worked on “Never Fully Dressed.”  A member was invited to sing a section of the song and then others in the group offered positive suggestions.

 

Alan Wile conducted his 17^th Harmonizer Hero interview of a member who has submitted his Hero form for publication on our Groupanizer page.  This interview was with Adam Afifi, who has been a Harmonizer for four years. Adam grew up on Savanah, GA, and auditioned to attend Savanah Arts Academy high school where he sang in the boys’ choir as a freshman (he was named most improved singer in that group) and then moved to the mixed choir for the remaining three years.  The school had a strong music program and Adam got to sing at Carnegie  Hall and at the Kennedy Center.

 

Adam attributes his musical background to his Mom. He also shared the great experience he had attending a Youth Harmony Camp in high school singing lead in the school’s barbershop quartet. The guys in that quartet actually were invited to sing in the BHS collegiate contest when they were in colleges in the Savanah area.  They sang in both 2014 and 2015,  In 2015, Adam sang with the Carolina Vocal Express chorus at the International too, and that is where he met former Harmonizer, John Adams. 

 

For college Adam enrolled at Savanah College of Art and Design which set him up for his career in service design. Currently he works for Booz Allen Hamilton here in the DC area.

 

After the interview,  Joe invited the members to listen to the finale of Kevin Keller’s keynote address from the Midwinter. We opened the mics and shared thoughts regarding his talk.

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be via Zoom again at 7 pm on Feb. 9^th , 2021. 

 

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 72^nd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)