- November 19, 2024
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Valentine’s Day is about flowers, romance and publicly embarrassing the one you love. At least that’s what happens when you hire the Surfside Chorus.
Part of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the Surfside Chorus will be making its annual rounds to deliver Singing Valentines. Lovers beware: The four-part harmony group could surprise you out of nowhere with a love song and a rose.
Chorus member Mike Stevenson said he’s looking forward to one particular delivery this year.
“One of the fun ones is going to be singing to a gentleman at Home Depot,” Stevenson said. “His wife has planned that. We asked if we could embarrass him and she said, ‘Oh, please!’”
This year, the chorus has four quartets that will be delivering Singing Valentines Feb. 13-14. And like many groups of guys, these quartets have gotten themselves into some silly predicaments.
“Well, we’ve gone to the wrong place,” said Chorus Director Gene O’Dell. “Knocked on the door and said, ‘Your husband told us to sing to you.’ We sang to this lady who wasn’t married. She said, ‘Who are you people?’ And we told her your husband, Fred, sent us. She said Fred lives next door.”
O’Dell said the national organization used to be called the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. Now, there are groups all over the world.
“It’s preserved,” O’Dell chuckled. “And we’ve got a lot of young kids coming in. It’s definitely going to grow. The four-part harmony is great because you don’t need anything to perform, except maybe a microphone.
The 27 members of the chorus range in age with the oldest member being 88. Members practice every Tuesday to keep up their skills and song lists. O’Dell encourages any interested guys to drop by practice and check them out.
“You need to be able to carry a tune,” O’Dell said. “You don’t have to be a great singer.”
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