Send your sweetie a singing valentine

Carissa Bowlin

There’s no better way to tell people you love them than to have four to eight perfect strangers sing it to them.

The Men’s Chorus is offering to sing a valentine and present a personalized card and rose on Valentine’s Day, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. for $15. To guarantee delivery time in a specified four-hour delivery window, the cost is $25. The time of delivery can be narrowed to ten minutes for $30.

“The guys will go anywhere within a ten-minute radius of Kent State, knock on the door, tell them they have a singing valentine, proceed to stand all around them and dolefully embarrass the loved,” said Men’s Chorus director Ben Ayling.

The presentation will only take two or three minutes.

Michael Martin, a graduate assistant in the Men’s Chorus, is organizing the activity. The chorus began preparing three different songs for the occasion last semester. Titles include: “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” “Heart of My Heart” and “Wild Irish Rose.” Martin is dividing the 40-man chorus into four to eight men per group.

“We would like to book 90 to 120 valentines carried out by the four to five quartets the men’s chorus will be divided into,” Martin said.

Members of chorus are required to find and submit orders for the occasion.

Singing valentines are often done by professional barbershop quartets. Both Martin and Ayling have been involved with them in their professional careers.

“The singing valentines are something that’s done a lot by the Barbershop Harmony Society, the professional organization for barbershop quartets,” Ayling said.

This is the first time the Men’s Chorus is holding such an event.

“It’s still in its trial process. It’s something new for us,” chorus member Ryan Patterson said.

However, members of the Men’s Chorus have positive expectations for the Valentine’s Day event.

“It’s exciting to have a new opportunity like this. I’m interested to see how it will all turn out,” member Shaun Zuhosky said.

Although the valentines are meant to be a bit of a surprise, the chorus will attempt to e-mail faculty recipients of the singing valentines, to make sure the presentation is not an inconvenience.

All proceeds of the singing valentines will go to the Men’s Chorus touring fund and to help cover the production of their first CD.

“The Men’s Chorus is really growing. We started off with 16 guys two years ago and now we have about 40 members,” Ayling said. “There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the guys in the group. It’s like a singing fraternity.”

To order a singing valentine, find a Men’s Chorus member or contact Michael Martin at [email protected] or call (330) 672-4802.

Contact performing arts reporter Carissa Bowlin at [email protected].