Stumped about what to get your sweetie this Valentine's Day?
How about the gift of four-part harmony?
The Cherry Capital Men's Chorus members are preparing their annual dispatch of singing valentines in Grand Traverse County.
A singing valentine includes a barbershop quartet performance of two love songs, delivered either in person in the Traverse City area or on FaceTime.
"Singing Valentines have been a staple of the Barbershop Harmony Society and the Cherry Capital Chorus for decades," said Doug Powers, Executive Vice President of the Cherry Capital Men's Chorus and Lead in the Northern Exposure barbershop quartet.
The annual singing valentines are not only a key element of the Cherry Capital Men's Chorus's fundraising efforts but they're also a favorite for the musicians.
"The valentines allow us to get up close and personal to see the impact that music can have on an individual," Powers said.
Every year, three or four different barbershop quartets travel throughout Traverse City, delivering singing valentines to a variety of audiences and in some surprising locations.
Powers recalled a particularly entertaining juxtaposition of venues one year, when a quartet was first dispatched to perform for a church group in a cathedral, followed immediately by a trip to an adult novelty store.
He said his most memorable valentine was delivered during lunch at an elementary school cafeteria.
"As soon as we started singing," Powers said, "everything stopped, and we had a rapt audience of over 100 young students hanging on every note."
When the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, the Cherry Capital Men's Chorus added virtual valentines to their offerings.
In 2022, quartets sang via FaceTime for recipients in New Jersey and Tennessee.
Powers, along with fellow quartet members Garrison Wilson, George Tatro and Bob Gray, visited IPR to share a singing valentine with morning host Kate Botello.
For more information and to book your own singing valentine, click HERE.
