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Photograph by Shaminder Dulai
With Louise 'Lulu' Johnson (left) and Helena Beltrano (right) out front, the members of the Mission Valley Chorus practice for their upcoming competition in Las Vegas. The group practices every Tuesday night in Los Gatos and has members from both Los Gatos and Saratoga.
Barbershop lives, and we're not talkin' haircuts!
Mission Valley Chorus is singing four-part a capella harmonies
By Jennifer McBride
The Mission Valley Chorus wants everyone to know--barbershop is not dead. The chorus, made up of about 50 women from Los Gatos, Saratoga and the surrounding areas, sings in four-part a cappella harmonies in the barbershop style and recently won a qualifying spot in an international competition in Las Vegas in October.
Harriet Feltman, who serves as the group's membership chairwoman, and has been singing with the chorus since 1991, says Mission Valley is actually an arm of the international Sweet Adelines organization.
"There are choruses in most English-speaking countries around the world, such as England, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and also all throughout Scandinavia, such as in Sweden, and in Western European and Asian countries like Holland, Germany and Japan," she explains. "The choruses basically operate independently, so we have our own management team and our own membership requirements, and we choose which songs we want to sing. The only qualifiers are that we have to sing a cappella, and we have to be made up of women."
Feltman says the Mission Valley Chorus is much more than just a choir.
"It's a very empowering kind of organization," she says. "It's an organization in which women can learn many, many skills. We really educate members about music theory, arranging and more. It's not just coming to chorus and singing and learning music, but we do a lot of performing and a lot of competitions, such as our yearly regional competition in April.
"Also, our international organization has an outreach program, to encourage the barbershop style in choruses around the country and in high schools. It's called Young Women in Harmony, and we put on educational weekends for young women who do this kind of music. So, it's definitely not your run-of-the-mill church choir."
It seems Mission Valley is helping to keep a little slice of history--the barbershop style of singing--alive and kicking. When people hear the term "barbershop," they might think of four men with walrus-style moustaches wearing candy-stripe suits and singing at ... well, a barbershop.
Feltman says, no way. Barbershop is merely a style of singing that can be applied to nearly any song. Examples of Mission Valley's repertoire include "Swanee," made popular by jazz singer Al Jolson; "I'll Never Fall In Love Again" by Burt Bacharach; "Once Upon A Time," which has been done by both Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett; and the traditional barbershop tune, "How Many Hearts Have You Broken?"
"It's really common, for this type of music, to do both a ballad and an up-tune, something that's really sassed, so we can sing and dance," Feltman says.
The Mission Valley Chorus rehearses each Tuesday night at Nordahl Hall in Los Gatos. The group is led by Angela Suraci, who joined as the group's director last October. Suraci has a degree in vocal pedagogy, or the art of teaching singing and vocal production. Suraci came to Mission Valley from Bay Area Showcase, another chorus under the Sweet Adelines umbrella.
"I had a lot of friends in the chorus, and I also direct another men's chorus, so I thought it would be nice to work with women for a change," Suraci says. "Besides [the women of Mission Valley] sing really well; they're very energized. They really want to do well, and they're really excited about the possibilities they have in this chorus. So there's a lot of positive energy whenever we get together, because they're really excited about what they're doing."
Feltman says she loves interacting and singing with the other women.
"I love the singing; I love to do that. But I've also been given the opportunity to do a little bit of coaching, and I really like doing that. And I never usually dress up and wear makeup, but when I sing I get to do a lot of that," she says, referring to the elaborate costuming and makeup the group is known for in its performances. "We dress up very glamorously, with lots of sequins and makeup, and we dance on the risers and have a bit of choreography going on."
Feltman says she also loves how the Mission Valley Chorus has women of all ages, including one of its members who has been with the group the longest, Peggy Town of Saratoga.
"Peggy's an amazing woman. She still stands on the risers the whole night, and she's 80," Feltman says.
Feltman says joining the chorus is relatively easy. Monthly dues are $32, which goes toward paying the director a nominal amount, buying music, hiring coaches and other expenses such as materials, costumes, makeup and travel. Aside from dues, members are asked from time to time to help cover certain expenses as they arise.
Feltman says interested women can come to any of the Tuesday night rehearsals, and someone will take them aside and have them sing a bit to determine their range and ability.
"You do qualify with an audition in the end, but we do help coach and teach people how to sing as part of the group," Feltman says. "It's not too difficult, and I've never known a situation where someone who was an active member of the chorus wasn't able to learn a piece of music."
The Mission Valley Chorus is having "Guest Night" on May 16 at 7 p.m., and interested singers are welcome to attend, find out more about the group and even get up on the risers and sing along. Refreshments will be served.
Sounds like the perfect opportunity for anyone with a song inside, just waiting to be let out.
For more information about Mission Valley Chorus, contact Harriet Feltman at 510.653.7664 or hfeltman@pacbell.net. Guest Night is May 16 at 7 p.m. at Nordahl Hall, 580 W. Parr Ave. in Los Gatos.
