Recently recognized by Broadway World as offering “some of the best choral singing” in the D.C. area, the Alexandria Harmonizers specialize in one of a cappella’s most challenging forms; four-part close harmony. Founded in 1948 and led by artistic director Joe Cerutti since 2007, the chorus is made up of over 100 volunteer singers ranging in age from their teens to their eighties. The Harmonizers have won nineteen International medals, including four championship gold medals, and received the 2018 Greater Washington DC Area Choral Excellence “Ovation” Award for “Best a Cappella Ensemble.”
A chance meeting of the Snyders and Barnwells on a rainy evening on the George Washington Parkway in November 1947 led to our founding.
Gene Barnwell, then Director of Alexandria’s Recreation Department and the Harmonizers’ first Chorus Director, and Dean Snyder, President of the DC Chapter who, several years later, was to transfer his barbershop allegiance to Alexandria, were Co-Founders of our chapter.
75 years later, the Harmonizers have attained twenty medals at international competitions, including four first-place gold medals. We were awarded the Greater D.C. Area Choral Excellence “Ovation” award for Best A Cappella Ensemble. We have performed at Wolf Trap, the Kennedy Center, Strathmore Music Center, the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court, and Carnegie Hall, and have toured internationally. While we are committed to producing the highest level of vocal harmony, we also strive to be a choral arts group that makes a significant impact on the local community. In addition to performing local concerts each year which have entertained countless thousands throughout Alexandria and the broader DC area. We also regularly provide free community performances such as holiday caroling in Old Town Alexandria and free singing valentines at local senior centers and businesses. We recently became a participant in the Virginia Commission for the Arts’ Virginia touring artist program, which helps the chorus travel throughout the Commonwealth to share its music.
In 2023, we expanded our organization to include a SSAA chorus, Metro Voices. In fall of 2024, we launched Capital Force, a seasonal youth chorus.
Read more about the history of this amazing organization HERE.
On June 13, 2023, the Alexandria City Council proclaimed June 2023 as Alexandria Harmonizer Anniversary Month. To celebrate, the Harmonizers and Metro Voices filled City Hall with song. Watch that presentation HERE.
Read more about it in this article from the Zebra Post: https://thezebra.mydigitalpublication.com/?m=69171&i=795793&p=48&ver=html5