Singing Valentines is the name for a

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

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 A barbershop quartet is a group of four singers who sing music in the barbershop style, characterized by four-part harmony without instrumental accompaniment (a cappella). The four voices are: the lead, the vocal part which typically carries t ...

from a

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

affiliated with the three major International barbershop societies: *

Barbershop Harmony Society The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbersho ...

* Sweet Adelines International * Harmony, Incorporated This is not a variation on the

singing telegram A singing telegram is a message delivered by an artist in a musical form. Singing telegrams are historically linked to normal telegrams, but tend to be humorous. Sometimes, the artist is in costume or formal clothing. Western Union, the Americ ...

since the message is not dictated by the sender. Rather,

quartets In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

usually deliver a canned package of one or two barbershop songs with a personalized card and either roses or chocolates.

Song selection

Each chapter is free to choose their music. For male barbershop chapters, the typical 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

collection of twelve '' polecat songs'' (that society members are encouraged to learn). The female barbershop societies 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 Singing Valentines in two days, usually on the February 13 and 14. Often, deliveries to

assisted living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States. Still, the setting i ...

facilities or

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

s can be scheduled for the weekend.

Other Singing Valentines

Although the delivery of Singing Valentines is typically done by a

, other ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'' singing ensembles have been known to set up similar fundraising programs, particularly on college campuses. On every February 14 since 2011, the Canadian bilingual magazine ''La Scena Musicale'' / '' The Music Scene'' offers an annual Singing Valentines, a unique romantic one-to-one experience delivered by trained solo opera singers at the request of the sender to their loved one. This Valentine's Day gift is now done by telephone, personalized recorded video, or other video and audio platforms such as Zoom and Facetime. Different genres are performed, from opera arias to standard love songs to musicals and art songs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ''La Scena Musicale'' has extended the service to CORONA Serenades and Mother's Day serenades. There is a reference to Singing Valentines in chapter thirteen of ''

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the second novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ...

''.Harry Potter's Singing Valentine
from

Notes and references

{{reflist

External links

Quartets sing to your heart's desire on Valentine's Day
'' Star Bulletin'', February 7, 2006
To Horseheads with love, from Okinawa
'' Star Gazette'', March 12, 2008 Barbershop music Fundraising