Singing Valentines
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Singing Valentines is the name for a fundraising program that is popular with barbershop choruses in the U.S., Canada and Australia. The delivery of Singing Valentines is usually done by a barbershop quartet from a chapter affiliated with the three major International barbershop societies:
- Barbershop Harmony Society
- Sweet Adelines International
- Harmony, Incorporated
This is not a variation on the singing telegram since the message is not dictated by the sender. Rather, quartets usually deliver a canned package of one or two barbershop songs with a personalized card and either roses or chocolates.
Each chapter is free to choose their music. For male barbershop chapters, the typical[1] two song selection is:
- Heart of My Heart, I Love You (the chorus from the Story of the Rose), and
- Let Me Call You Sweetheart
There are standard barbershop arrangements for these two songs from the Barbershop Harmony Society collection of twelve polecat songs (that society members are encouraged to learn).
The female barbershop societies[2][3] do not suggest particular songs for chapters to use in this fundraiser.
Logistics
Some of the larger choruses can field enough quartets to deliver as many as 200[4] Singing Valentines in two days, usually on the February 13 and 14. Often, deliveries to assisted living facilities or nursing homes can be scheduled for the weekend.[5]