The six women sitting around the table were wide-eyed when the four partially gray- and white-haired men greeted them, lined up and belted out Sweet Valentine in perfect harmony.
Dressed in black pants, red vests and red bow ties, the Derbytown Men’s Chorus barbershop quartet sang a medley of songs, including Heart of My Heart and Let Me Call You Sweetheart.
The songs created smiles and immediate applause on Tuesday from members of the Coffee Break Women’s Bible Study group at the Akron Christian Reformed Church on Marshall Avenue in Highland Square as they swayed with the music. Two of the ladies grabbed their cellphones to capture the event.
“The songs were beautiful,” Renata Kinnan said.
“Who set this up? Is someone responsible for doing this for us?” Debbie Romesberg wanted to know.
The ladies were given a friendship card that was signed “Bob and Wendy.”
“They are church members,” Romesberg said. “That is so nice.”
Quartets from the Derbytown Men’s Chorus and members of the Malone University Chorale delivered singing valentines throughout the region this Valentine’s Day to raise money for their organizations while spreading some musical cheer.
The cost for the singing valentines ranged from $5 to $30 for the Malone University Chorale and $39 to $59 for the Derbytown barbershop quartets, depending on time and location.
“It’s a lot of fun for everyone,” said Jim Heaton, the lead singer of Pitch Blend, one of six Derbytown Men’s Chorus barbershop quartets that delivered the musical love notes for Valentine’s Day.
At the group’s next stop, PNC Bank on East Exchange Street, the foursome walked in and asked for Tammy.
“I’m Tammy,” said Tammy Grist, a banker/teller at the bank, still unaware of what was going to happen next. “How can I help you gentlemen today?”
Breaking away from a bank line, they formed a half circle and told her they had a special request for her from her boyfriend, Samry Lynch. Without missing a beat, they sang Heart of My Heart.
As the quartet sang the words to the song, they hand delivered a red rose during the line: “You’re the flower of my heart. I’m in love with you.”
Grist blushed.
As they ended their last song, Let Me Call You Sweetheart, they wished her a happy Valentine’s Day and handed her a box of chocolates.
“What a huge surprise. This was the greatest thing ever,” Grist said, holding back tears. “If I had known, I would have had a better hair day.”
The Malone University Chorale had a full day as well. Nine groups with four to six singers each delivered love or friendship songs.
Their list of recipients included a group of children at Lake Center Christian School, a couple in Hartville married 57 years, and one singer’s boyfriend, Jacob Schmucker, who works for Donamarc Water Systems on East Turkeyfoot Lake Road. He said his girlfriend told him she had to work, so he didn’t expect to see her. He especially didn’t expect her to show up with a group of people singing a love song — but he couldn’t stop smiling as they sang Our Love is Here to Stay.
Three men and two women, all students in their 20s, were dressed in black formal attire, accented with red scarves and red hair bows for the ladies and red bow ties on white shirts for the tuxedo-clad men.
Deanna Maggio, a senior at Malone, handed her boyfriend a carnation, a piece of chocolate and a card, that read: “I hope this makes your day, as you make mine. It’s very clear our love is here to stay.”
She called the Valentine gift a “Valen-versary.”
“We’ve been together two years today. It’s a way to celebrate both occasions at once, and save money,” Maggio said. “I’m very frugal. I’m on a budget because I’m still in college.”
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @MarilynMillerBJ