Catherine Colosimo's 2026 Fundraiser

I joined The Alexandria Singers in January 2007 when my dad was the Music Director. Nineteen years later, I'm still here, now singing under a new director as we launch into our next fifty years. Some things change. Some things stick.

This chorus has, very literally, given me everything.

My husband and I met because a Singers member played matchmaker. My boss became my boss because she was my friend first, through the Singers (shoutout to AveningTech, proud corporate sponsor of our 2026 pay-what-you-wish show, Dream Loud 🎭). My apartment application sailed through because a Singers friend vouched for me. My family is in the audience at every single show. I came into my twenties as a young professional with no clear path and found, through this group, a network that has genuinely shaped my life in ways I couldn't have planned.

It's no secret: my drive in the Singers is not to perform or be a star. I love my back corner crew. I'm an alto who occasionally gets permission to dip into the tenor section when my voice fits better there, because this group has always been thoughtful about quality over ego, and I respect that deeply. What I am is someone who has always found her people through singing. It carried me through switching schools as a freshman. It carried me into adulthood. It's still carrying me.

I grew up in a family of music teachers, so maybe it was inevitable. But finding a chorus where the social glue is as strong as the musical standard. That's not a given. That's rare.

Even when Lee Platt ran over my foot with a convertible during an Alexandria city parade, I was proud to be there in Singers Blue. (Foot survived. We still laugh about it constantly.) 😄

I don't gush. My friends will tell you this. So when I say this group changes lives — I mean it.