Recently recognized by Broadway World as offering “some of the best choral singing” in the D.C. area, the The 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.”
Joe Cerutti has been the artistic director of the Alexandria Harmonizers since 2007. During his tenure he has prepared the Harmonizers for an average of 20 performances a year, including multiple performances at the White House, the Supreme Court, Carnegie Hall, and major cities across North America and abroad. He also founded their annual Youth Harmony Festival and initiated successful outreach programs to the communities within Northern Virginia. In 2023, while celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Alexandria Harmonizers, Cerutti oversaw the successful launch of Metro Voices, a treble companion chorus to the Harmonizers.
He conducted the choral preparations for the world premiere of Andrew Lippa’s I Am Anne Huchinson/I Am Harvey Milk with the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Kristin Chenoweth, and the world premiere of and Jeremy Schonfeld’s Iron and Coal – Survivor and Son, a contemporary masterwork with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, based on the memoirs of the composer’s father surviving Auschwitz at age 10.
Cerutti has served as judge, faculty, and clinician for several choral festivals and conductor roundtables across North America, Europe/UK, Australia and New Zealand, including founding the No Borders Youth Chorus, an honor chorus of 150 young men, recruited and auditioned specifically for a one-day rehearsal and concert at Carnegie Hall. Over the course of four years with No Borders, Cerutti has conducted 457 participants representing 6 countries, 43 U.S. States and Canadian Provinces, 182 grade schools, colleges and universities, and 105 choral ensembles from around the world.
He currently works as full-time Director of Leadership Engagement for the Barbershop Harmony Society, overseeing a suite of programs called “Next Generation Barbershop” supporting life-long singing around the world, including an annual youth festival for up to 20 high school choral ensembles, featuring over 1,000 voices ages 18 and under.
Cerutti is a lifetime member of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), a charter member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO), and holds memberships in the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Chorus America and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), currently serving on their National Standing Committee for Advocacy and Collaboration.
Anthony has been a member of the BHS since 1991. He has competed in quartets since the age of 12 with many of them being notable competitors in regional, national, and international competitions. Anthony is the lead singer of First Take (2023 BHS international finalists), the associate director of the Alexandria Harmonizers, a certified singing judge, and is an active coach and clinician for youth and adults in BHS events. Anthony is a professional singer in the Washington D.C. area. He has performed at the White House, Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap, on TNT, and under many notable choral batons. In 2005, Anthony sang on stage with Andrea Bocelli as the recipient of the NIAF Andrea Bocelli scholarship for music at Christopher Newport University where he received degrees in Vocal Performance and Choral Music Education. Anthony is a vocal music instructor in Montgomery County Public Schools at Sligo Middle School and a cantor and chorister at St. Stephen-Martyr Church in Washington D.C.
Samantha, a fifth-generation barbershopper on her father’s side and a third-generation barbershopper on her mother’s, boasts a rich family heritage of vocalists. She has been a member of Harmony, Incorporated since the age of 9, and joined the Barbershop Harmony Society as soon as she was eligible. Currently, Samantha is the lead in the International Semi-Finalists Quartet and 2022 Northeastern District Champions, Sweet & Sour and is the lead of the 2016 Harmony, Inc. Champion Quartet, Taken 4 Granite. Samantha resides in Northern Virginia with her husband, Mert, where she is the musical director of Metro Voices. Having graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Music Education, she is an Elementary Music Teacher in the Arlington Public School District. She has taught at numerous youth festivals and camps in the Barbershop Harmony Society, Harmony, Incorporated, and Sweet Adeline’s International.
Maggie McAlexander is a lifelong barbershopper, having been born into the hobby, and joined Capital City Chorus at age 13. She minored in music with an emphasis in voice at Vanderbilt University, where she studied public policy. Maggie has been a member of the Sweet Adelines International Faculty since 2020 and enjoys coaching ensembles, teaching at youth camps, and leading classes on vocal development. She won the 2013 Harmony Incorporated International Quartet Contest with Spot On and the 2017 Sweet Adelines International Rising Star Competition with Adrenaline. In 2011, Maggie earned a gold medal at the Sweet Adelines International Chorus Competition with the Melodeers Chorus. From 2018-2022, she served as the assistant director, and at times the baritone and tenor section leader, of TuneTown Show Chorus. Maggie was the president and co-founder of Noteworthy Mixed Chorus in Nashville, Tennessee. She arranges music for Adrenaline in her spare time. Maggie works in public relations and event logistics in Washington, D.C.
Terry Reynolds 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.
He has been a member of the Alexandria Harmonizers since 1992 and has served in numerous musical and leadership positions including Executive Director, President, and Music & Performance VP. He has been Associate or Assistant Director for over 20 years.
Tessa Walker is the choir director at Seneca Valley High School in Germantown, Maryland. There, she directs 4 choirs and the musical theater productions. She is also the proud creator of the special education adaptive music curriculum at her school. Though she now resides in Maryland, she grew up in Georgia, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Choral Music Education with a History Minor from Kennesaw State University. She has been a barbershopper since 2010 (joining at age 14) with many contests, camps, and conventions under her belt. She is a proud member of the Barbershop Harmony Society and Harmony, Inc. In recent years, she won the Sweet Adelines International Rising Star 2018 Competition and the 2019 Harmony Incorporated International Quartet Contest with her quartet, Hot Pursuit! Through her decade plus in the barbershop world, she has competed as the lead in 7 different quartets and in the Song of Atlanta Show Chorus. Tessa’s passion is diverse youth involvement and she strives to bring her love of barbershop to the young people she meets.
