For Valentine’s Day, why not send a barbershop quartet to serenade your sweetheart?

Members of the Chilliwack Harmony Chorus are once again offering singing valentines, something they haven’t been able to do for two years.

“If somebody is looking for that unique gift, order a singing valentine,” said Gerry Borden, director with the Chilliwack Harmony Chorus.

For $50, a quartet will serenade your love on Valentine’s Day, or even beforehand. It includes a few barbershop love songs from the early 1900s, a flower and some chocolates. A singing valentine performance is about five minutes long.

The chorus is currently made up of 15 to 20 members and they will have a handful of quartets available from Feb. 12 to Feb. 14.

They returned to singing in March 2022 and have performed a handful of times since, with performances in the summer and at Christmastime.

They’d like to double in size and are looking for more members.

“As long as you can recognize that notes go up and down and that your voice needs to match that,” then folks can audition, Borden said.

Both men and women can join, and they are specifically in need of more basses.

The Chilliwack Harmony Chorus is offering singing valentines Feb. 12 to 14. (Jenna Hauck/ Chilliwack Progress)

Barbershop harmony is based on four parts: bass, lead (or second tenor), tenor and baritone.

Borden explains each of the four parts: the bass is the like the foundation, the lead is the melody, the tenor adds “the glitz, the nice little brightness at the top,” and the baritone fills in the space between the bass and the melody “like a viola in an orchestra, they’re the ones who get anything that’s leftover.”

They rehearse every Monday at 7 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church at 9460 Charles St.

The cost is about $300 for the year and the dues include access to learning aids such as sheet music and learning tracks to listen to at home.

“If you like to sing, come out and give us a try,” Borden said.

To book a singing valentine, or to audition to join the Chilliwack Harmony Chorus, contact Lloyd Johnston at 604-795-5682 or lloydjoh72@gmail.com.

They will take valentines bookings right up until the morning of Feb. 14.

For more, go to chilliwackharmony.ca.

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