The Sunnyvale Sun

Cover Story

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Joining In: Guest Zach Howard (right) sings bass with the Peninsulaires during a Tuesday night rehearsal. While the group performs with men only, anyone, male or female, is welcome to sing with the barbershop harmony group during its Tuesday evening practices.

Noted Performers

Peninsulaires tip scales with talent

By Stephen Baxter

Wander into Sunnyvale's First United Methodist Church auditorium on a Tuesday evening, and you will be asked to sing.

The Peninsulaires, a men's barbershop a cappella ensemble, rehearse there each week, and tradition dictates that they ask all newcomers if they would like to join in. Newcomers sometimes accompany them at fairs, private shows, impromptu street performances and other events.

Sunnyvale's John Heather was at a friend's 50th birthday party in Redwood City about eight years ago when a barbershop quartet performed. They sang a few songs together, and before long he joined a Burlingame barbershop group and later transferred to Sunnyvale.

Heather, who is 72 and originally from London, has now sung at all kinds of events and performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at two San Jose Giants baseball games.

"That was a blast," he said.

The Peninsulaires are one of more than 810 chapters of the Kenosha, Wis.-based Barbershop Harmony Society. The Peninsulaires are the Palo Alto-Mountain View chapter, but have been meeting in Sunnyvale since they moved from Mountain View in January.

Starting in 1948, the Peninsulaires have drawn members from throughout the South Bay, in part because of their quality directors and singing coaches. They often perform at hospitals and community events and for groups such as Rotary.

On May 1, Paul Eastman and Steve Sammonds led more than 20 men in warm-up scales, a note-by-note rehearsal of the national anthem and other songs in preparation for a June 10 show in Mountain View.

The men, most age 40 or older and clad in khakis, jeans and collared shirts, stood on carpeted risers in the church auditorium. Led by Sammonds, they tuned their voices to different keys singing "hoooo." Most of the men are uninhibited singers, standing tall and bugging their eyes out as if in shock.

At the warm-up, Eastman challenged them to hit notes together and shorten the warm-up time.

"Ever been in an office where they say, 'Do it right the first time?' Show us you can sing," he says to the group. They sing the national anthem. "OK, now I want to do this one like you were on the infield of the San Jose Giants!" Eastman exclaims.

Taking notes

Barbershop style uses no instruments and four vocal parts: a lead, a tenor above him and baritone and bass below him. A lead follows the melody of the song, and the others form harmonies and chords with him, creating a full, rich sound.

The sweet tonal layers are like a cake they can't stop eating, members say.

"I got hooked on the four-part harmony," said Mark Hildebrand of Cupertino. Hildebrand started singing with a San Jose chapter in 1949, and has sung sporadically with the society in San Jose, Mountain View and Sunnyvale.

"When you get the right tone you get hooked ... once you get it, you can't shake it," he says.

Many singers in the group, which only accepts men, are teachers or retired teachers, but they also work in banking, insurance and other businesses.

Chuck Thompson is a 56-year-old warehouse manager from Sunnyvale. He started singing in college.

"What's really fun about this type of group is it's portable. You don't need an orchestra or speakers or instruments. The music really fits in a lot of places ...I enjoy anything really connecting with the audience," Thompson says.

The group's June show will feature songs that have appeared in movies and television, and part of the appeal is its recognizable lyrics and songs.

It was the popular music of the early 1900s, Eastman said.

Perfect timing

At a typical 7:30 p.m. rehearsal, the Peninsulaires have a tight agenda. They warm up together, break off into wings of the church complex, and reunite. They make announcements, take a break, then practice together again until 10 p.m. or later.

Split into groups, a dozen lead singers practice in the library, the tenors take the kitchen and the baritones and basses use the main auditorium. Other rooms are also available. The group began using the church in part because the Mountain View space had fewer rooms.

Sitting in on the rehearsal on May 1 was one of the men's wives, Ethel James.

Toting a bottle of Diet Coke and a paperback, she says she gets a free concert every week she takes her husband, Dean, to rehearsal.

"It's the highlight of his week," she says.

After he had been singing in the car and the shower for years, she said when he joined he regretted not doing it sooner.

"This is a very relaxed and friendly chapter, and they learn a lot because they have an excellent director," James said. A trip to the Barbershop Harmony Society's conference in Montreal in 2003--there are also Canadian chapters--had members singing in elevators, street corners, and all over the hotel, she said.

When her husband joined a group singing in an elevator, she said she couldn't get him to step out at their floor.

Tight friendships have also helped members cling to the society, and the coach Eastman says it helps them perform.

"They really like each other, and I think that comes through in performances. They bring out that emotional flavor. ... It's down-to-earth music."

Standing and practicing for hours has taken a physical toll, members said, and some have had to quit or limit their time singing because of it. Hildebrand, 78, placed runner-up in a society-wide competition in Kansas City, Mo., in 1974. He says it's harder for him to sing regularly and stand on risers at long rehearsals.

"It's great when you're young and you can handle it--well, it isn't great, it's a hard job--but physically you can take it," he said.

Eastman says the group is always on the lookout for young voices--men under 60, he says. Members must audition and pay dues, but visitors are welcome.

The Peninsulaires are "relatively easy-going, but they don't just want to be casual singers either," Eastman says.

"They want to entertain and thrill an audience, but not fanatically."

Showtime!

The Peninsulaires perform their spring show "The Balcony is Open" at 3 p.m., June 10 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Hi Fidelity, one of the country's finest barbershop ensembles, will headline the show, and The Mendicants from Stanford University will also perform. Tickets are $25 and are available at the box office at 500 Castro St. in Mountain View. To order tickets online or to learn more, visit www.barbershop-harmony.org.