Concert choir delivers Valentines that are music to the ears

For the University of Wisconsin–Madison Concert Choir, the way to a person’s heart is through his or her ears. Each year, the 55-person choir celebrates Valentine’s Day by divvying up its members into quartets and taking to the streets to deliver singing Valentines throughout the city.

"The in-person ones are really quite moving because most people are just so delighted to get them," says Beverly Taylor, music professor and Concert Choir conductor. For those outside the city, though, Taylor adds that quartets also perform personalized Valentines over the phone throughout the day. The choir performs more than 60 in-person and 40 telephone Valentines each year, she says.

The singing Valentines serve as a fundraiser for the choir, which frequently goes on local, national and international tours to perform its primarily a capella musical repertoire. The door-to-door Valentines are $25 for non-students and $19 for students, and each delivery comes with a rose as well as the song. For phone Valentines, rates begin at $12 for non-students and $10 for students and decrease with each additional call ordered.

The quartets are comprised of soprano, alto, tenor and bass singers, and they perform one of four potential songs. The music selections run the gamut from a friendly, slightly altered version of the Beatles hit "When I’m 64" to more romantic tunes such as Gershwin’s "’S Wonderful" and the poetic madrigal "My True Love Hath My Heart." Taylor’s personal favorite, though, is the folksy Scottish tune "Annie Laurie."

"It’s a little sentimental, but I think my favorite is still ‘Annie Laurie,’" she says. "A guy is singing ‘for the love of Annie Laurie, I’d lay down and die.’ It’s done in dialect, and it’s simple and very beautiful."

Taylor adds that at least one song changes each year to keep the selection interesting for repeat customers, but the choir tries to maintain some consistency in order to focus on their academic singing.

"I don’t want us to become a group that forgets its mission, which is to perform all sorts of really wonderful music," she says. "This is great fun, and we want to get (the Valentines) in good shape. So I keep a few and we do a few new ones."

To ensure delivery of the Valentine, orders must be placed by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 13, Taylor says, although they try to fit everyone in.

"Sometimes, although we can’t always fill these, we get some on the day of Valentine’s," she says. "Often we’re making a singing Valentine to one person, and immediately three office mates say, ‘Oh, can I do one of those?’ If we have people to do it, we’ll do it the same day, although we prefer to get the orders upfront."

To place an order, send an e-mail to UWvalentine@gmail.com that includes the name of the recipient and his or her address, telephone number and detailed directions to their house from campus. Also include the buyer’s name and phone number; the song choice; and a suggested time range of delivery from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. in two-hour blocks. Checks can be made out to the UW Choral Fund and mailed to Concert Choir Singing Valentines, 4511 Humanities Building, 455 N. Park St., Madison, WI 53706.