JANUARY 2008
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DUFFY SAYS "BE MINE" ON VALENTINE'S DAY
Yes friends beneath his rough exterior Ned Duffy is a
romantic soul. He wants you to reserve Valentines Day,
February 14, as well as February 13 and 15, to be with
him and Dan Cupid singing songs of a romantic nature.
Singing Valentines will be sold by the chapter to male
and female patrons for $50. Ned promises order forms
beginning January 7. We will form as many foursomes as
possible to deliver two songs, a card, a flower and a
picture of the recipient with the quartet.
A portion of each upcoming chapter meeting will be
devoted to preparing quartets for this mission. This is a
great opportunity to enrich the chapter treasury and at
the same time involve as many members as possible
singing in a quartet.
Volunteers to man the phones and take orders will also
be needed. President Bob Wells will not allow snow to
happen on his watch and guarantees fair weather.
ODE TO THE GROUNDHOG
Close beside Potomac's waters / Sleeps our little friend. / Safe within his sunken quarters / Soon his nap will end. / Blow the pitch pipe, start the hum / And hear the Ground Pigs squeal. / Hail to thee our furry mascot / Hail with all our zeal.
Tis for thee the Groundhog Gam-bol / Came into its own. / Started by our own Gene Boardman / Grandest Headhog known. / Food and singing, chords a ringing / Fellowship and glee. / Hail to thee tonight, King Woodchuck / Hail all hail to thee.
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PLANS FOR THE 2008 GAMBOL
The late Gene Boardman, chapter founder, felt that
there was a lull between the holidays and spring
celebrations. He reasoned that on Groundhog Day, or
the nearest Saturday to same, the bo should
celebrate. m e n the groundhog emerges to hunt for a
lady groundhog, or to predict how much longer winter will
be, was an excellent excuse for a four part party.
Jim
Cullen, our Immediate Past President, is in charge of this
year's Gambol. Day and time will change in 2008. We will
gather on Monday, February 4, at St Paul Lutheran
Church, Connecticut and Everett St. NW, at 7:30 PM.
Menu will be snacks, soft drinks, and maybe pizza.
Tickets will not be sold. You just have to show up,
preferably with a guest. Cash donations from PC Cb&r
members would be helpful but not required.
All
Barbershop Harmony Society members are invited to
enjoy chapter quartets and other entertainment.
Foursomes from other chapters will be welcome as well
as "civiliann male guests. Jim may be reached
and 301 -434-7440.
BOARD MEETING CHANGE EFFECTIVE IN 2008
Due to conflicting schedules of several members of the
Board Of Directors, President Wells announced that
meetings will take place on the second Wednesday of
the month.
Therefore the January meeting will be
Wednesday, January 9, 2008. St Paul Church at 7:30
PM in the same location. As always, any dues paying
chapter member is invited to attend this open session.
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THIS COLUMN IS 'WELLS' SPOKEN
A key feature of the 2008 Board and Musical planning
meeting on December 27 was the presentation and
endorsement of a five year plan for the chapter.
Act "As if" VISION
By 2012 we intend that the Singing Capital
Chorus be widely recognized as the premier men's a capella singing organization in the Washington
Metropolitan area.
MISSION AREAS SUPPORnNG THE VISION
1. MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE To develop, maintain &
expand a consistently high quality music product.
2 MEMBERSHIP & CHAPTER DEVELOPMENT
develop, maintain & expand a talented group of satisfied
members.
3. MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS To develop,
maintain & expand a high level of positive community
awareness of the DC CHAPTER - Singing Capital Chorus.
4. EDUCAllONAL OUTREACH To develop, maintain &
expand educational programs about our art form and
vocal music in general.
5. BOARD OF DIRECTORS To develop, maintain &
fortrfy all internal resources necessary to accomplish
these missions-including talented leadership,
technology/communications and financial security. This
includes the continued monitoring and modification of
the Chapters progress toward the achievement of the
above missions through: annual planning, periodic
reviews and meetings of the Board of Directors (BOD).
Is this too ambitious? Your leadership does not think so.
Hence the watchwords "Act as if'
Mether this proves to be true will largely be determined
by YOU. We are depending on your willingness to spend
your personal time practicing and improving your singing
and visuals between chapter nights and upon
exceptional focus and diligence during our meetings.
We will also be regularly asking for your help in
shouldering the load of our ongoing work. Since ours is
an organization largely without paid staff, we can only
survive and thrive if all of us do more than singing alone.
We must consume the "main meal" as well as "desseK.
So when asked to provide your volunteer services, in the
words of Nancy Reagan ... "Just say YES".
All the best for a fantastic 2008 to you and yours!
Robert A. (Bob) Wells, President
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WINTER STORM CANCELS CHORUS PERFORMANCE
Once again in 2007, a performance was derailed by
inclement weather. The Mormon Temple performance
was supposed to take place on December 5 but Mother
Nature had other plans in the form of snow, rain and
sleet with below freezing temperatures. Mile the Chapter ski team (Regnier, Peters, Nalls and others)
may have made it up that long Kensington hill to the
temple this reporter was happy to forgo the adventure
and save his golden voice and body for other gigs
scheduled for December.
CHEWY, PHYLLIS, DANIEL AND HOWARD
As any pet owner knows, the Schoenholtz family
memberi are listed above in descending order of
importance.
Howard Schoenholtz was born in The Bronx, NYC. He is
the Washington Bureau Chief for ABC News One, the
affiliate news service of ABC News. They have one son,
Daniel, 17 years old, who's a senior at Walt Mitman
High School.
Howard went to City College of New York where he was
active in print and broadcast media. Hobbies include
reading (historical nonfiction and the Dirk Pitt books by
Clive Cwsler) and taking walks with Chewy (a Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel).
Howard is married to Phyllis Edelman, who is also a
New York City native. She is Managing Editor of
GENEtics, the newsletter of the Genetics Society of
America. She's very active with local civic organizations,
and is currently the Chair of the Citizens' Coordinating
Committee for Friendship Heights. They live in Bethesda,
MD.
For your directory: Howard David Schoenholtz Lead
Wrfe: Phyllis
Address: 5810 Ogden Court,
Bethesda, Md 20816
Phone: (H) 30 1 -2287063
(Cell) 202-329-9333
E-mail: ~howarddschoenholtz@gmail.com
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DUFF's WINS
(E-mail from Ned Duffy, Membership VP)
I intend to start weekly announcements, beginning Jan
7, to keep membership recruitment "in front" of ALL our
active singers. This year will be the year of "Do you
Sing? I will ask all men to use the question as an intro
to talking about our chorus with EVERY man they
meet. Membership will be done by a committee of ALL.
Every man is part of the plan.
CHAPTER GUESTS
Ben O'Brian, Kevin Roth, Steve Allen
CHAPTER ANNIVERSARIES
Howard Schoenholtz 1 Year
John Taber 7 Years
Att Rounds 50 Years
Dick Sackett 50 Years
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PLANNING SESSION LOOKS FORWARD TO 2008
Malathi and Calvin Schnures graciously invitied the 2008 Board Of Directors to use their house for a
planning session December 27. Almost the entire
Board was in attendance for this informative meeting.
Plans and goals for Music & Performance, Program,
Finances, Membership and Chapter Development and
MarketinglPublic Relations were presented with time for
comments and questions. Short and long range plans were part of the discussion.
Articles elsewhere in this Sharp Notes by the Wells
team outlines where and how they plan to lead us in
2008.
CHAPTER TO BEGIN MEETINGS AT 7:30
Wait a minute! That's not news! It is to a number of
you, my friends. Many Monday evenings when PVP
Bob Hirsh calls the meeting to order many of you
continue with whatever you are doing ignoring our
beloved Program Vice President and the call to $ worship. The same routine happens when the break is
over.
In 2008 let's resolve to have our magnificent bodies
with golden voice attached seated and ready to
conduct the business of becoming the premiere a
capella singing group in the DC area.
PROGRAM = $0 EXPENSES FEW CHANGES IN 2008
Program VP Bob Hirsh says his "template" for chapter
meetings will remain basically the same with one or two
changes.
There will be focus on fewer songs each week, regular
sectionallgroup sessions and coachinglmentoring. In
cooperation with the Membership VP, Bob will assist
Ned Duffy in taking attendance. Bob will seek out a
variety of diversions to make the meetings more
enjoyable. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Announcements before the break will include
membership anniversaries, guest introductions and
singout signups and handouts.
The bulk of announcements will follow the break. Bob
has promised our new treasurer a budget cost of $0.
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MAZZA LOSS IS GAIN FOR WHITE FLINT CENTER
The fabled Mike Bell Shift was employed when the
Mazza Galerie performance, scheduled for December 8,
was canceled. The ever SCC fast on its collective feet,
quickly shifted to the Bethesda Mite Flint Mall for a
singout the same day. The chorus performed two sets of
about 20 minutes each.
Shoppers, many of whom stopped and took seats, were
treated to the chorus singing many holiday favorites.
Several men from the spectators accepted our offer to
sing carols with us and information was exchanged
between them and us about attending chapter meetings.
Directing duties were shared by John Hohl and Bill
Colosimo. The Assets rendered "Jingle Bell
Rock" under Maestro Hohl. Several of the chapter
spouses were observed in the audience providing
encouragement to the hardy band of choristers.
It is indeed regrettable that Mazza Galerie did not
engage the chorus in 2007. It may be difficult to book
this up and coming premiere a capella group in 2008 as
our star is certainly on an ascending curve.
CHORUS CROSSES CONNECTICUT
Before the regular chapter meeting on December 10 the
a crossed Connecticut Ave to the DC Methodist
home, our friendly neighbors. In gratitude for the use of
their parking lot during several interchapter events we
have hosted in 2007 we did our Christmas package for
the residents.
Bill Colosimo directed and handled the MC chores. Also
directing were John Hohl and Frank Kirschner. Sheryl
Berlin, recovering from minor surgery, was unable to
direct but served as chapter photographer for the
concert. m i t a l Assets rendered two numbers to round
out the entertainment.
After the performance the chorus shared cookie and
punch with the home residents. Contents of the table
were considerably reduced by the time of departure.
We then returned to St. Paul Church for the rest of the
evening. Work continued on holiday music. At one point
we were divided into three mini-choruses and given a
short rehearsal time before singing one of the seasonal
songs for the assemblage.
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HOLIDAY PARTY WELL ATTENDED
Monday, December 17 was the occasion of the annual
DC Chapter holiday party. Member families turned out in
a goodly number. Quite a few faces not seen recently
including Dick and Melody Sackett , Chuck Hunter,
Chris Bucher, Dixie Kennet and several Gaithersburg
High singers were seen.
MC Chris May kept things going and was mostly
successful in maintaining order. All four chorus directors
led gang singing of religious and secular songs of the
season. We also heard from a Christmas Bell (Mike)
and Carrolls (Bill and Charlie) doing a Silent Night
Descant. A recitation by Dundalk member Frank Sigwart
of How The Grinch Stole Christmas was well presented.
Ed Regnier was honored as Barbershopper Of The Year
and Ed Boss, Anthony Colosimo and Ned Duffy were
presented with Presidential citations by outgoing Chapter
President Jim Cullen.
Fifty year pins were presented to Dick Sackett and Art
Rounds to well deserved applause. John Ondish stood
up and was recognized on his 45th chapter anniversary.
The quartet duties were shared by The Ad HOC Four.
Capital A Cappella, Surprise! and Soundbite. "Jingle Bell
Rock" never sounded better than with The Caaital Assets
under Director John Hohl.
Throughout the evening the refreshment table was
visited and many of the assorted foods were sampled.
No one was turned away hungry that evening
CHAPTER CHIT CHAT
Ed Boss also has a new phone number The Sharp-notes failed to include last issue. 301 -572-6544. Reports
are Ed and Fay are settling in at Ridetwood even putting
on the feedbag with Sharon and Teny Porter one
evening.
Ben Gallup continues to care for spouse Pauline as she
recovers from a broken hip. Best wishes for her speedy
recovery. Come back to sing with us when you can Ben.
Wally and Jane Eichelberg have shaken the dust of
Detwood from their heels and taken up permanent
residence in their new house in South Carolina.
The m rNo~tes continues its long tradition of "Creative
Punctuation" as was noted most recently by Jake Eddy.
Despite the scrutiny of your editor and The Trophy We
an errant apostrophe changed the plural Sharp Notes
into the possessive Sham Note's in the last edition.
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ARCHIVED ISSUES
September 2007 PDF
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