Sound Check delivers a singing Valentine to Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson in February. Courtesy photo
The guys ham it up at Eagle Mountain Elementary School. Courtesy photo
By BERNADETTE LAURITZEN
Los Alamos
If you have ever received a present and inside there is another present, the Barbershop Chorus event of I Believe in Music this weekend, can offer that, four additional times!
You see each two-hour performance also includes the golden, melodious tones of four pretty fantastic quartets. Each quartet is made up of four parts representing baritone, base, lead and tenor. The four-part harmonies blend together in what can sometimes be simply magical.
Our first, driving in all the way from Santa Fe are the Front Porch Singers. Rumor has it that the team came together just this past summer for the purpose of singing exclusively at one particular party. What party might that be you ask? According to Lou Gavioli, “International Singing on The Front Porch Day on the last Saturday of August.” The group consists of Gavioli, Will Hobbs, Marv Wetovsky, and Bill Clyde, with Chuck Case always at the ready. Bill, Will and Marv have sung with quartets individually, over more than 25 years.
Infectious Harmony joins the fun this weekend after forming in 2020. “We were tired of being inside and just needed to get out and sing,” Jeremy Conlin said. “For several months we met in the park and sang outside, hopefully not bothering anybody else as we learned our music.” The group is comprised of Maurice Sheppard, Jeremy Conlin, Bear Schacht, and Dan Sheppard. Members sometimes interchange which songster sings which part. The quartet performed this past August at the High Sierra Harmony Brigade in Reno, NV and looks forward to performing more frequently.
The Three Nice Guys quartet, consisting of locals Dick Heaton, David Daniel, Maurice and Dan Sheppard, will close out the first half of the show. This group has been singing together for more than 10 years. None admits to being the odd man out, but everyone knows who it is. These goodfellows are widely known for singing on Valentine’s Day, at RPEA annual meetings, for weddings, at church, and more. For this show, Bear Schacht will be standing in for David, but never fear, the Sheppards assure us that the quartet name still fits.
The highlight of the evening will be a Salt Lake City based quartet called, Sound Check. These are bronze and silver medal winning Rocky Mountain District champions, that graced our local stage in 2019 and are back and better than ever. They all met while singing with the Saltaires Chorus in Salt Lake City. They love to sing for audiences of all ages and preform in competition. What makes the story extra beautiful is most of all they have grown to be the best of friends, which they all find, makes it most rewarding.
Blair and Brain Dowd, Mark Andromidas and Jimmy Schofield are a merry band of gents that have done well in contest, which allowed them to sing in a variety of states. “We have sung all over the west for many audiences,” Blair said. “In 2022, we sang for over 35 audiences ranging from retirement homes to corporate events, from singing Valentines to barbershop harmony festivals, from youth outreach to stage shows.” The groups have sung in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and New Mexico.”
Their repertoire is over 40 songs, so it’s hard to pick a favorite. They will sing for the big show and at a special event later called the afterglow. “We would love to sing with anyone who would like to sing with us,” Dowd said. “Afterglows are fun because it gives us a chance to meet more people and sing more songs and tags.”
Sound Check loved singing here in 2019. This year they hope to spend more time making memories and a chance to eat some food “Christmas” style.
The show happens this weekend at the United Church of Los Alamos Friday and St. John’s United Methodist Church in Santa Fe Saturday. The shows start at 7 p.m. and tickets are available at the door.
