Looking Back on the Oct. 19th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 19^th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

This week the Harmonizers began their meeting outside on the front steps of the Scottish Rite Temple.  The fall weather was a little cool for some, but the chorus sang well all night.

 

The warm up session this week was conducted by assistant director emeritus Will Cox. It got everyone excited about singing together this week.

 

When artistic director Joe Cerutti took the reins he welcomed some guests with us this week including David Breen, Jared Liscinsky, Liz Birnbaum, and Josh Hershkowitz who is a friend of Michael Berkson. Also this week Rick Wagner and Dick and Nancy Newton were with us in advance of the service for Sandy Stamps.

 

Joe also shared that this week there would be a Birthday Glow at the Harmo House after the meeting in honor of all of the October birthdays in the chorus: Ashford, Gerzof, Berkey, Pinto, Buechler, Schwartz, Grimes, Pitzer, B. Colosimo, J. Smith, Kujawa, and J. Greene. 

 

There were sectionals to start off the night in various parts of the building to work on some more of the holiday music. Brian Ammerman worked with the tenors, Ben Watsky and Tessa Walker worked with the leads, Joe worked with the baritones, and Ryan Mextorf worked with the basses. All sections worked on the tongue twister words for “Trim Up the Tree’ first and then worked on “Joy to the World.” 

 

During these sessions there was an effort made to gather uniform info from guys regarding the colorful sweatshirts we wear for the holiday show.  It was especially an effort to find out who did not have a shirt from the past.

 

The full chorus reassembled outside to sing thru the songs for the Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. Any members of the Harmonizer family will be invited to sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City”  during the celebration.

 

Then the chorus worked on two additional songs for the show with half of the singers assigned to each song – “Text Me Merry Christmas” and “Fa La La.”

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on Oct. 26th, 2021 at Scottish Rite   Temple on Braddock Rd. in Alexandria and will be a hybrid meeting again.

 

President Stan Quick shared the sad news of the passing of another Harmonizer, Bob Ulibarri, due to COVID.  Bobbecame ill in late September.  He was hospitalized on Sept 30 and passed on Oct 13.  He was fully vaccinated. His wife, Sandy, has provided the following email if you'd like to send words of encouragement and sympathy: rsulibarri@verizon.net

 

There was cake and pizza at the afterglow this week with a good crowd to celebrate the October birthdays.  A similar event is scheduled for every month.

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Oct. 12th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 12^th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

Again this week, the light rain early in the evening spoiled the gathering time and warm up session that was to be outside the front entrance of Scottish Rite Temple.

 

The music team and the tech team of Mike Kelly and Dennis Ritchey had to stay flexible for the night and in the end we were able to assemble for the last segment of the night outside.

Associate director Tony Colosimo started off the singing for this week and welcomed some guys who were back for this week, several guys who were on Zoom, and three singing guests – Jared Liscinsky, Owen Dilworthv, and David Breen.

 

As previously announced, this week was the official election of the officers and board for the BHS Chapter. Current president Stan Quick conducted the chapter meeting after confirming there was a quorum present of the 152 members of the chapter.

 

The new officers and board members elected by acclamation are Noah Van Gilder (President); Dave Kohls (Vice President); Devin Gerzof (Secretary); Terry Reynolds (Treasurer); Joshua Baumgardner (Member at Large);  John Greene (Member at Large); Carolyn Griffin (Member at Large);  Bruce Roehm (Immediate Past President/Member at Large); and Frank Shipp (Member at Large). The community board members were introduced to those who had not met them and each spoke a bit about their background and connection with the chapter.

 

There were sectionals to start off the night in various parts of the building to work on some more of the holiday music. Then the chorus worked on two additional songs for the show with half of the singers assigned to each song – Tonyworked with one group of guys on “Text Me Merry Christmas” and Terry Reynolds and Tessa Walker worked with the other half on ‘Fa La La.”

 

While all the singers were assembled outside again since the rain stopped, Tony directed the songs for the Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. Any members of the Harmonizer family will be invited to sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City”  during the celebration.

 

The final singing for the night was on “Trim Up a Tree’ and “Joy to the World.”

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on Oct. 19th, 2021 at Scottish Rite   Temple on Braddock Rd. in Alexandria and will be a hybrid meeting again.

 

There was an afterglow at the Harmo House this week too with a good crowd of tag singers in the basement and another crowd for barbershop chat on the screened porch.

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Oct. 5th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Oct. 5th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 

The rain was the big topic Tuesday night, as chapter leadership tried to decide if we could meet in-person (using outdoor time) with the forecast of heavy rain.   It actually did rain in some parts of the DC Metro area but maybe not where Scottish Rite Temple is located!!

 

But to move things along, the chapter leaders announced just before 4 pm that this week’s meeting would be completely via Zoom .  As it turned out, there were almost the same number of singers present as we have been having in person.  There were several members who can’t attend in person or have been away that were on the call and it was great to see them including Bob Rhome, Jack Cameron, Matt Doniger, Mike Edison, Bob Thames, Adam Afifi, Rick Savage, Duncan Peacock, Reed Livergood and Rusty Orvick!

 

Since there was not going to be much singing during the evening, there was not an organized warm up session Associate director Tony Colosimo did suggest that there are about 50 lessons or guides for members to use for their personal warm up, or for their quartet, on YouTube.

 

The music team decided this would be a great week to work on the words and pronunciations of the crazy lyrics on “Trim Up The Tree” from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”  Artistic director Joe Cerutti worked with the singers first to say the text several times, then sing it on one note, and at a slow temp and at a performance tempo.  These work sessions were recorded so all members can benefit from reviewing them before next week.  

 

Also this week, Joe had the men sing “Ave Maria“ which the chorus will bring back for this year’s holiday show.  Here again there was a lot of work to help with pronunciations – in this case the Latin words.

 

Joe also asked for all singers to complete the holiday show survey before the night was over. That way the music team can assign men to the two choruses that will sing either “Text Me Merry Christmas” or “Fa La La.” The first run of these choruses will be next week.

 

Next week there will also be work on the last new song for this year’s holiday show – “Joy to the World.” And the singing will begin on “Trim Up The Tree.”

 

As per the chapter bylaws, President Stan Quick has announced an election of officers and board members for the BHS chapter next week, Oct. 12^th.  A quorum is needed for this election.  We expect to meet some of the community members on the ballot that night as well. 

 

Here is the list of nominees from the nominating committee: Noah Van Gilder (President); Dave Kohls (Vice President); Devin Gerzof (Secretary); Terry Reynolds (Treasurer); Joshua Baumgardner (Member at Large);  John Greene (Member at Large); Carolyn Griffin (Member at Large);  Bruce Roehm (Immediate Past President/Member at Large); and Frank Shipp (Member at Large).  

 

The Harmo family is reminded of the Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. Any members of the Harmonizer family will be invited to sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City”  during the celebration.

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on Oct. 12th, 2021 at Scottish Rite   Temple on Braddock Rd. in Alexandria and will be a hybrid meeting again. There was no in-person afterglow at the Harmo House 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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Sept. 28th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Sept. 28th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

The rain held off Tuesdasy night, so when the Harmonizers arrived at Scottish Rite Temple, they gathered out front of the building facing Braddock Road to visit and catch up.  Then at 7 pm, associate director Tony Colosimo conducted a good warm up period for all singers on the steps of the building.

 

The tech crew of Mike Kelly and Dennis Ritchey had their hands full again this week with some sessions outside and some sectionals in four different rooms inside the building.  Plus it is getting dark earlier and earlier, so they provided some extra lighting outside. There were about six guys connected on Zoom too this week.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti welcomed the members present and all those on the Zoom call, announced that Donnell Torres passed his audition last week, and welcomed David Breen as a guest in the bass section.

 

There were sectionals inside the Scottish Rite Temple to work on the Jim Clancy arrangement of “Silent Night,” and a shortened version of “Sleigh Ride/Jingle Bells” like we have done at the holiday pub crawl in recent years. 

 

When the singers regrouped outside again, they whole group sang those two songs and continued their work from last week on “Carol of the Bells.”

 

Joe promised next week there would work on the holiday show opener, “Trim Up The Tree” lyrics and rhythm. Again he suggests that just working on Tuesday night on this song will not be enough. 

 

Songs for this week will be used for a holiday show Friday, Dec. 10^th at 7:30 pm, in Schlesinger Hall. 

 

Members were alerted to watch for two surveys of the membership. One is the monthly Pulse Survey that may be submitted anonymously, if desired.  That survey will include some options about alternative rehearsal nights. The second one is asking the singer’s intentions or interest in extra participation options for the holiday show. 

 

Executive director Randall Eliason reminded members that the chapter continues to manage attendance so as to comply with CDC guidelines.  Everyone present must have been vaccinated, wear masks inside, stay home if feeling ill, use Zoom if needed, if exposed – stay home for two weeks, and if sick – let chapter leadership know.

 

As per the chapter bylaws, President Stan Quick has announced a call for an election of officers and board members for the BHS chapter on Oct. 12^th.  Here is the list of nominees from the nominating committee: Noah Van Gilder (President); Dave Kohls (Vice President); Devin Gerzof (Secretary); Terry Reynolds (Treasurer); Joshua Baumgardner (Member at Large);  John Greene (Member at Large); Carolyn Griffin (Member at Large);  Bruce Roehm (Immediate Past President/Member at Large); and Frank Shipp (Member at Large).  

 

The nominating committee was chaired by Steve White with committee members Dave Kohls, Devin Gerzof, Noah Van Gilder and Steve Murane.  Steve also thanked several other members who helped with ideas and suggestions including Liz Birnbaum, Randall Eliason, Dean Rust, Clark Chesser, Tony Colosimo, Jack Pitzer, and Terry Reynolds.  

 

Stan also saluted a quartet of guys from the chorus who sang for the 100^th birthday of a WWII veteran in the Hayfield Farm section of Fairfax County, Tony Scinta.  Carl Kauffmann, Randall Eliason, Mike Schwartz, and Dean Rustsang at the outdoor neighborhood event on Sunday, Sept. 26^th.  They chose several old songs including the military medley which Tony was still singing later that afternoon.

 

Membership director Jacob Broude reminded guys about the party to honor the bass section for their success on Spring2ACTion that will be in the afternoon of Nov. 6^th.  There will also be a top golf event this fall.  And Jacobthanked Alan Wile for bringing the Hamro Hero Books and putting them out for all to look through as a way of learning more about our fellow members. 

 

The Harmo family is reminded of the Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. The Harmonizers will sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City.”  

 

The rehearsal concluded with sectional duets on the holiday songs sung this week and then the adjournment to the afterglow at the Harmo House.

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on Oct. 5th, 2021 at Scottish Rite   Temple on Braddock Rd. in Alexandria and will be a hybrid meeting again.

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

 Looking Back on the Sept. 21st 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

Again this week, when the Harmonizers arrived at Scottish Rite Temple, they gathered out front of the building facing Braddock Road to visit and catch up.  Then at 7 pm, associate director Tony Colosimo conducted another solid warm up period for all singers on the steps of the building.

 

Mike Kelly and Dennis Ritchey handled all of the tech support this week – with some sessions outside and some sectionals in four different rooms inside the building.  Then on top of that, there was another outdoor session a while after it got dark outside, so the challenges of lighting added to the task. 

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti welcomed the members present and all those on the Zoom call.  

He mentioned it was good to see Scott Beach and Adam Afifi on Zoom and good to have Tony Amante, Matt Riedl, Dylan Smith back with us and guest Donnell Torres present.  Donnell is about to audition for membership this week.

 

Joe took time to explain the plans for this week’s rehears. Basically, after some everyone-sings-sessions on the steps out front, there were sectionals in different rooms the first half of the night.  Then back outside for announcements, all chorus singing, and then duet sectionals.  

 

Songs for this week will be used for a holiday show Friday, Dec. 10^th at 7:30 pm, in Schlesinger Hall. The plan for some quartet opportunities and VLQ (very large quartet) selections on that show is coming together and a number of foursomes have been formed and asked for a chance to audition.  If anyone else wants to try, contact Joe before next week.

 

At one point, a new song for this show was introduced – “Trim Up the Tree” which Joe challenges singers to get to work on right away at home. He suggests that just working on Tuesday night will not be enough. Holiday music is all up on Groupanizer.

 

Joe did share that the size of the chorus wishing to attend each week is getting large enough that some members might be rotated into an alternate list and get a last minute invite as things unfold each week.  This is all part of the desire of chapter leadership to abide by the CDC guidelines and those of our Covid Committee. It is important that members be up-to-date on Groupanizer with their attendance plans each week. 

 

In other announcements, president Stan Quick worked to find four guys to form a quartet and sing for the 100^thbirthday of a WWII veteran in the Hayfield Farm section of Fairfax County.  Carl Kauffmann, Frank Fedarko, Mike Schwartz, and Dean Rust have volunteered and will sing for him at a community party. 

 

Chapter secretary David DesPortes reported that he will begin mailing the membership renewal cards to guys since it is hard to know who will be attending a session each week for the traditional presenting in person.  He and YeEd determined that David will provide the renewal names for future Looking Back reports. 

 

The Harmo family is reminded of the Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. The Harmonizers will sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City.”  

 

As per the chapter bylaws, President Stan Quick has announced a call for an election of officers and board members for the BHS chapter on Oct. 12^th.  Here is the list of nominees from the nominating committee.

Noah Van Gilder (President) has been a Harmonizer for 13 years. His previous leadership roles for the Harmonizers include one term as vice president for marketing and public relations and three terms as board member at large. In his professional life, Noah is a policy analyst for the federal government. He graduated as a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University in 2006 and as a Master of Public Administration from the George Washington University in 2012.

Dave Kohls (Vice President) has been associated with the Harmonizers since 2011 and has served on the Alexandria Harmonizers, Inc. board as a community board member since 2020. Dave is a psychologist with a private practice in Alexandria, VA, providing both clinical services to individuals and consulting services to industry and government. Dave holds a bachelor’s degree in physics, a master’s degree in electrical engineering, and a doctorate in clinical psychology. Although Dave no longer sings in public, he is passionate about the power of music to enrich lives and improve our communities.

Devin Gerzof (Secretary) has been a member of the Alexandria Harmonizers since the fall of 2019. He began his tenure on the BHS board in 2021. Devin works on Capitol Hill for the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. While at Georgetown, Devin sang with the Georgetown Chimes, the campus' only all-male acapella group. Devin developed his barbershop roots with the Chimes and is excited to continue his post-college involvement in barbershop harmony with the Harmonizers. He attended Georgetown University for his bachelor’s degree in Government and Psychology.

Terry Reynolds (Treasurer) has been a member of the Alexandria Harmonizers since 1992 and has served in numerous musical and leadership positions including Executive Director, President, Treasurer, Music & Performance VP, and Front Row Captain. He has been Associate or Assistant Director for over 20 years. He currently manages the activities and operations of the Music Team for Artistic Director Joe Cerutti. Terry has held numerous positions with the Barbershop Harmony Society serving on the Leadership Operations Project Team (LOPT), Chorus Director Development Committee, as a Certified Trainer for Chorus Director Workshop Intensive (CDWI), and on the Leadership Academy Training Faculty for President and for Music and Performance. Terry is an IT Specialist and Data Analyst for the consulting company Deloitte, supporting US Government clients. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Bowling Green State University in Ohio..

Joshua Baumgardner (Member at Large) will be a new community member on our boards.  He enjoyed a diverse career, performing both operatic, concert, and choral works across the United States and briefly in Germany. Joshua had the distinct pleasure of being a young artist with Opera North, the Mittelsächsiches Theatre, and the American Wagner Society as well as a regional finalist for the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Joshua also enjoyed a career teaching voice alongside his career singing. He now enjoys a career as a full-time realtor with TTR Sotheby's International Realty, and still performs as a soloist on occasion at the request of conductors with whom he has worked previously. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in voice performance from James Madison University and his M.M. from Florida State University, where he was awarded the Hannah Beaulieu prize for vocal excellence.

John Greene (Member at Large) is not new to the Harmonizers, having been a member for 8 years, but now comes to us as a community member. He is retired after a 34-year career with the United States Copyright Office (Library of Congress) during which time he studied business administration at Central Michigan University. He has sung and performed (vocal and instrumental) most of his life. He is a current parishioner of The Alfred Street Baptist Church where he serves as president and member of the Handbell Choir and two vocal choirs. He went to Howard University where he received his Bachelor of Music Education degree.

Carolyn Griffin (Member at Large) is also a new community member for our boards.  She is the Producing Artistic Director of MetroStage where she has been since its founding in 1984. During that time, she has produced over one hundred main stage productions, including seventeen plays and musicals. She has chaired both the Alexandria Arts Forum, which she co-founded, and the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce, served on regional panels for both the Virginia Commission for the Arts and Kentucky Arts Council and various other arts boards. She has received numerous awards including the Actors Center Award of Distinction, the Award of Harmony from the Alexandria Harmonizers, the Helen’s Star from theater Washington, and was named a “Living Legend” by the Alexandria Gazette Packet and Alexandria Rotary Club. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the George Washington University, a Master’s degree in Psychology from Catholic University and an MBA from Georgetown University.

Bruce Roehm (Immediate Past President/Member at Large) joined the Alexandria Harmonizers in the fall of 1995.  He is the Immediate Past President for AH Inc. and has also been the Front Row Dance Captain for many years. Bruce retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Colonel after 26 years of active service. He is currently pursuing philanthropic endeavors such as assisting his international fraternity in leadership development activities. Bruce served in many healthcare positions at clinic, hospital, medical center, and Pentagon levels, as well as in deployed and overseas locations. His last couple of assignments were at a large outpatient clinic as CEO with 13K enrollees and 250 staff, and as a Director of Business and Clinical Analytics for the Air Force   Surgeon General with a staff of 55. He was a credentialed Fellow, American Academy of Medical Administrators.

Frank Shipp (Member at Large)  is relatively new with the Harmonizers, having joined in January 2019, but he is a 19-year barbershopper, having sung with two previous chapters in northern Virginia, and three registered quartets, most recently LOCO 4. He is president and general manager for Lazy Lane Farms, LLC, a privately held thoroughbred horse and cattle farm near Upperville in southwestern Loudoun County and has been employed there for 39 years. He has served on the boards of the previous chapters, and on thoroughbred Industry association boards in Virginia. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Kentucky.

The nominating committee was chaired by Steve White with committee members Dave Kohls, Devin Gerzof, Noah Van Gilder and Steve Murane.  Steve also thanked several other members who helped with ideas and suggestions including Liz Birnbaum, Randall Eliason, Dean Rust, Clark Chesser, Tony Colosimo, Jack Pitzer, and Terry Reynolds.  

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on Sept. 28th, 2021 at Scottish Rite   Temple on Braddock Rd. in Alexandria and will be a hybrid meeting again.

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Sept. 14th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Sept. 14^th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

When the Harmonizer gang arrived at Scottish Rite Temple, they gathered out front of the building facing Braddock Road to visit and catch up.  Then at our 7 pm start time, associate director Tony Colosimo was in charge of a good solid warm up period for all singers on the steps of the building.

 

Dennis Ritchey was in charge of the tech support this week – with some sessions outside and some sessions in two different rooms inside the building.  Then on top of that, there was another outdoor session a while after it got dark outside, so the challenges of lighting added to the task. Artistic director Joe Cerutti expressed his joy to have the members work so hard and even in the dark to stay safe and still enjoy the harmony. In addition to the holiday music, Joe did a couple runs of “There Must Be a City” which we will sing at the Sandy Stamps celebration of life.

 

About ten members were on the Zoom link, including a guest, Ken Doyle. New member Donnell Torres was present in the chorus.

 

Dave Welter’s sister, Susan Manthey, was with us for the evening too. She is a barbershop singer in TN.

 

Artistic director Joe Cerutti explained to the attendees the plans this week’s sessions for work and programing. Basically, the signers were divided into two equal sized groups with parts and they met in two different room inside the building.  Joe and Tony took turns changing rooms so that everyone got all the same coaching, announcements, and opportunity to sing.  

 

One special aspect of this week’s work was to allow interested guys try their hand at singing one of the solo verses for “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

 

One major session for both the “blue” group and the “red” group was with Joe explaining the details song selection, expectations, and fun for our holiday show that will be Friday, Dec. 10^th at 7:30 pm, in Schlesinger Hall. The plan includes some quartet opportunities and VLQ (very large quartet) selections. Anyone interested in forming a quartet or VLQ to sing one of the songs chosen by the planning committee for the show should speak with Joe or Terry Reynolds. 

 

The Harmo family is reminded of the Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. The Harmonizers will sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City.”  

 

In other news,  YeEd receive a nice note for the whole chapter from the Ginny Shields, widow of past chapter president Jack Shields. He was a notorious community service chairman for the chapter during his tenure and we have a Community Service Award in his name the chapter has presented over the years to outstanding citizens in the area.  She receives Looking Back each week and wrote: “Thanks for the updates on the meetings. I really enjoy the news of the chapter meetings and appreciate you sending them to me. It’s been a long time since Jack was in attendance!  I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed reading them and I wish I were in Virginia to attend the concerts. – Ginny.”

 

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Sept. 7th 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Sept. 7^th 2021 Hybrid   Chapter Meeting

 

(For historians sake, there was no meeting on Aug. 31^st so the chapter member could have a summer break.) 

 

(Thanks to Jerry Jayjohn for taking noes this week for YeEd!)

 

 

We had about 30 guys in attendance. Associate director Tony Colosimo did a warm up outside for about 20 minutes. Then we went into 30-minute sectionals to review “White Christmas” and “Carol of the Bells.”

 

Then back outside.  There was no business other than artistic director Joe Cerutti introducing us to Donnell Torreswho has moved here from Florida where he was active in the Sunshine District. He is joining the Harmonizer Chapter.  

 

We then reviewed “Carol of the Bells” and “ White Christmas” as a group. Plus we reviewed “There Must Be a City” for Sandy Stamps’ celebration of life in October.

 

Following that,  the tenors and leads worked with Joe, and the basses and baritones worked with Tony to work on some spots for both holiday tunes.

 

About ten members attended via a Zoom link. The sectionals were broadcast over Facebook. The chapter is working on a new plan to adhere to CDC guidelines – two groups of 25 singers are invited each week and there will be movement from rehearsal spaces every 30 minutes.  The next few weeks, the meeting spaces will all be at Scottish Rite and there won’t be a need for being outside.

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on Sept. 14^th, 2021 at Scottish Rite   Temple on Braddock Rd. in Alexandria and will be a hybrid meeting again. 

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Aug. 24th 2021 Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Aug. 24^th 2021 Chapter Meeting

 

The Harmonizer family gathered at Fort Ward Park in Alexandria this week to share some songs, meet and greet, and catch up – all in an outside setting.  The chapter brought snacks and waters for all plus many folks brought picnic or other goodies to enjoy. It was great to see everyone again – without masks too.  Especially fun to see so many of the new members there for their first Fort Ward event.  And this time – NO RAIN.

Operations manager Gary Cregan had the Harmo truck there for the sound equipment and such which Mike Kelly andDennis Ritchey managed. (Fun to see Mike’s grandson, Owen, age 3 testing the mic for his grandpa!). The tech team also was able to connect with all the members who attended via Zoom! There were about 10.

Membership chairman Jacob Broude and some helpers hauled all the snacks and drinks to a table up by the stage for all to enjoy. 

There was lots of visiting and catching up among the Harmo family and then a little after 7 pm, it was Tag Time With Tony – associate director Tony Colosimo taught everyone “Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in Ireland.” 

Then artistic director Joe Cerutti welcomed everyone including some guys we have not seen for a while including Walt Page plus all those on the Zoom link. And he welcomed our newest member, Lance Fisher, who sings lead.

Joe did review some calendar items for the weeks ahead: there will be no meeting on Aug. 31^st; the Sept. 7^th meeting will be at Scottish Rite Temple on Braddock Rd. – stay tuned for word about who will attend (and be certain you have alerted the chapter leadership via Groupanizer of your attendance plans).  All members are also expected to respond to the monthly survey coming to members.

At this point, Joe invited all singers to come up onto the stage to sing.  The guys spread out and formed a chorus.  Some folks used their cell phone for a song or two they needed help on. The little package show included “Never Fully Dressed,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “Help from My Friends,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.”

Tony taught a second tag, “We’ll Just Be the Same Old Friends,” and explained it was not the same tag the chapter usually sings at our annual retreat but from a different arrangement that has a Colosimo family connection. It was sung by past International quartet champs, THE AUTO TOWNERS.

Joe invited folks to come back to the Harmo House for an afterglow and reports are that the tag singing guys were doing before they left Fort Ward continued in Joe’s basement!

The Harmo family is reminded of the Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. The Harmonizers will sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City.”  

 

In other news, the Barbershop Harmony Society Board of Directors elected the officers and directors during its annual meeting on Sunday, August 15, 2021including Harmonizer John Santora who was elected treasurer for a one-year term. Another Harmonizer, Bill Colosimo, was on the nominating committee for the election.

Also the Barbershop Harmony Society lost a giant in the barbershop world recently when Joe Liles died at his home with his wife Kay by his side.  He had been Society executive director, a song writer and arranger of volumes of songs for all singers, and was in the Society Hall of Fame.  He was a friend of the Harmonizers and appeared with us at one of our post-gold-medal Masters’ Classes.

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on Sept. 7^th, 2021 at Scottish Rite Temple on Braddock Rd. in Alexandria. 

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Aug. 17th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Aug. 17^th 2021 Virtual Chapter Meeting

 

This week the chapter leadership, including administrative and musical leaders, called for another virtual Zoom meeting to go over plans for the meetings, shows and events coming up in the months ahead.

A good number of Harmonizers were on the call and many stayed for an informal afterglow too.

Artistic director Joe Cerutti welcomed everyone back and including several folks who are members but live far from our meeting place and can only attend via Zoom.  Great to see them all. Don Thompson spoke up early in the call to salute and share the good feelings of fellowship and comradeship among the Harmonizer family. 

The first announcement was to remind the family of the Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. The Harmonizers will sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City.”  

 

Joe confirmed the news that the fall show originally set for Sept. 11^th was cancelled.  Mostly this change was made because of the restrictions imposed by the venue.  The chorus was totally ready and a large number of other ensembles were in the que to be on the show with us.  Joe assures all that as soon as we can reschedule, we will do so.  It might be next year though, since we will try next to have our holiday show in December 2021.

That prompted Joe to share that the chorus would start work on holiday music before long as well as continue work on “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.”  

The Aug. 24^th event at Fort Ward Park will not be a performance event but a casual one with tag singing and fellowship.  The chorus will likely sing through some songs too. Guests are welcome.  Likely many will bring picnic, snacks or goodies. It’s all about being together!!  Of course we all will be keeping an eye on the weather!!

The August 31^st chapter meeting has been cancelled so everyone can have some rest and recouperation after lots of work on their music in recent weeks.  September meetings/rehearsals will be planned as the precautions for Covid safety emerge.

At this point, the Mid Atlantic District convention is still scheduled for Oct. 1 and 2 in Lancaster, PA.  If it does indeed happen, we will make our plans based on the number of singers available and then choose one of the songs we have been working on to sing at the contest.

Finally, Joe was able to welcome Bob Rhome and his wife Anne who have begun their move to the Atlanta area.  They were on the Zoom call from Georgia and Joe was able to pay a farewell tribute to Bob for his years of dedication to the chapter and his support of the chapter’s leadership teams. He has been the operations manager for many years – every time there was need to fill the slot, he was willing to step in again.  He has been a vital member of the chapter’s history team especially keeping the inventory.  He was a cheerleader for the uses we could make of Groupanizer and posted a chapter events calendar every year.  Bob was presented the Chapter Honor Award in 2007 and then was named recipient of our highest honor, the Chapter Memorial Award, in 2011.

And who could forget Bob’s part in the colorful costumes for holiday shows with him as one of the Crayons!!

We did sing “A Place on the Risers for You” to Bob and many members expressed thanks and tributes in the chat feature.

Bob and Anne say they will be checking into the barbershop world in the Atlanta area after they get settled.

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on August  24^th, 2021 at Fort Ward Park, 4301 W. Braddock Rd., Alexandria VA 22304.

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Aug. 10th 2021 Chapter Meeting

 Looking Back on the Aug. 10^th 2021 Chapter Meeting

 

True to form for the chapter, the heavens dumped rain on Alexandria Tues. night. Aug. 10^th just minutes before 7 pm.  Not good for an outdoor rehearsal at Fort Ward Park in Alexandria.

So leaders sent an email to cancel.  Many of us were anticipating that so kept an eye on our phones for a message.  And the old timers were especially ready for bad weather in lieu of the many times in our chapter’s past that we got rained out for Fort Ward events.

Of course, some folks were on their way like Mike Fasano and Mike Edison who were driving from DE.  They came on to VA and joined a good crowd of guys who went to the Harmo House to start the afterglow early.  Actually some guys had missed dinner, so they were hungry.

Also the riser crew and sound crew was ready at 6:30 but fortunately had not set up anything.  So they too headed for the Harmo House. 

Mark your calendars for a mini performance for friends and family on Tues. Aug. 24^th  at Fort Ward. This event may include some food and fellowship.  

 

YeEd received the following note to include in this week’s Looking Back report: A Remembrance Service for Sandy Stamps is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11am at the Fairfax United Methodist Church, 10300 Stratford Ave, Fairfax VA. The Harmonizers will sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and “There Must Be A City.”  

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on August  17^th, 2021 at the Scottish Rite Temple.

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)

 

Looking Back on the Aug. 3rd 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

      Looking Back on the Aug. 3^rd 2021 Hybrid Chapter Meeting

 

(A thank you to Jerry Jayjohn for taking notes for this report of the Aug. 3^rd meeting. – YeEd)

 

The rehearsal started in the auditorium, with baritone section leader, Jason Lee, leading the warm up session. His focus was to get the chorus to always be in motion.  

After warmup a good friend of the chapter and former community board member of our AH Inc. corporation, Paul Dolinky was introduced.  He represents the DC Scottish Rite Temple and reports they have refurbished their performance space in DC.  Our chapter has accepted his invitation to be one of the first performance groups in their refurbed space. We will do a holiday show on December 5^th.  He has been a long-time supporter of the Harmonizers.

After that introduction, associate director Tony Colosimo continued with rehearsal starting with the beautiful ballad “Remember Me.” Then he moved on with “You’re Never Fully Dressed” with choreo review. 

After that the singers moved to the cafeteria and continued working on “Sing a Song,” and “Little Help from My Friends” – also with a choreo review. Many thanks to Turner Arndt who demonstrated during the choreo reviews.  The members appreciated his help!

We then sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and finished up formal rehearsal with “Impossible Dream.”  

After rehearsal, operations team leader Gary Cregan asked for helpers to load risers onto the Harmo truck since we will be at Ft Ward Park next week, and also asked volunteers to be there early next week to help set up the risers. 

A head count was taken for pizza at the chapter’s new afterglow location, the Harmo House at 3916 N. Stevens St. in Alexandria; then we ended rehearsal with “Keep the Whole World Singing.”

There are some inputs needed from chapter members for the fall show. Members will be invited to suggest VIP officials who might speak; to suggest names of first responders or groups of them we should honor (and invite to the show); and finally to organize a singing ensemble for the show to do a song that fits into the show theme – can be a quartet, or octet or mixed gender group or family group (there will be the need to apply and audition or such). Membership director Jacob Broude especially asks members to report names of anyone in the Harmonizer family who may have died during the Covid pandemic. Send those names and information to Jacob at membership@harmonizers.org. 

 

Mark calendars for the two events scheduled for the stage area in Fort Ward Park for a rehearsal on Tues. Aug. 10^th and then for a mini performance for friends and family on Tues. Aug. 24^th. This event may include some food and fellowship.  

 

Our next  Harmonizer Tuesday meeting will be at 7 pm on August  10^th, 2021 on the stage in Fort Ward Park at 4301 W. Braddock Rd., Alexandria VA 22304. 

 

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 73^rd year of the Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. - YeEd)