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NEWS
| february 13, 2004
Faculty/Staff
Barbershop quartet ready for busy
day
The group of vocalists prepares
to spend the weekend delivering musical valentines.
By Ebony
M. Moore
Contributor to The Shorthorn
The day before Valentine’s Day is a busy time for a barbershop
quartet.
The quartet, composed of two professors and two retirees, will spend
much of the day serenading recipients of musical valentines. The
songs are delivered with a card, chocolate and a rose, but the singers
say there are limits to what they’ll do.
“We draw the line at giving guys hugs,” said Jim Terry,
who coordinates multiple teams citywide for the Arlington Good Times
Chorus.
The quartet assigned to campus includes Gil Carrick, a computer
science lecturer; Don Granvold, a social work associate dean; Cal
Barker, a former mechanical engineering professor; and Dick Kneeland,
a retired groundskeeper.
All are members of the Arlington Good Times Chorus. The chorus is
offering the singing valentines on Saturday and Sunday.
Barbershop quartets, most familiar for their wide-brimmed hats,
bow tie and suspenders, blend lead, tenor, baritone and bass into
a four-part harmony. Their songs today include “Let Me Call
You Sweetheart” and “Heart of My Heart.”
The Good Times Chorus has been a part of the city for more than
four decades and claims a membership of nearly 60 ranging from 15
to 80 years old. According to their Web site, the chorus is a member
of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber
Shop Quartet Singing in America.
The members say they enjoy the singing as a diversion from their
day jobs.
“I do it for the camaraderie and for mental health,”
said Dr. Granvold.
It is also social. Granvold and Carrick did not know each other
until they started singing for the chorus. They found out later
that Granvold taught Carrick’s daughter here.
“I have been singing since I was in high school and thought
I would try something new, this is my time trying out barbershop,”
he said.
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