For those looking to give a unique gift this Valentine's Day, the City of Lights Barbershop Chorus will serenade that special someone with the gift of song.
"It's really beautiful in a lot of ways," said John Lenox, the outgoing president of the chorus.
A quartet of singers from the Barbershop Chorus, wearing tuxedos, will go wherever needed to sing "Heart of My Heart " and "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" to the recipient of the Valentine. A long-stem red rose, card and any other special requests to customize the presentation are included with the package.
"It's so different for most people. No matter where we go, we gather a crowd," Lenox said.
The barbershop quartet will show up within a four-hour window for $40, or within a 15-minute window for $60. Lenox has sung in schools, casinos, department stores and houses.
Lenox said last year, a man living in New York called the chorus to send a quartet to sing for his girlfriend in Las Vegas. The quartet showed up at her doorstep before she left for work. He said the girlfriend began to cry and immediately pulled out her cell phone.
"We all knew who she was calling. That's the fun part of it," Lenox said.
The quartet also serenaded a firefighter last year while he was at his firehouse.
"All the guys came out. He was a little embarrassed. But when he was home later on with his wife, he probably said, 'Thank you, that was very unique,' " Lenox said.
The money raised from the sales of the singing Valentines go toward new sheet music, uniforms and equipment for the chorus, as well as money to pay for members to attend competitions, and donations to local high school choral programs.
John Thompson, the chorus' vice president of public relations and marketing, said the money will help Chaparral High School travel this year.
"This is going to help defray costs for their competition in the spring," he said.
Thompson said a singing Valentine is a unique gift to give.
"It takes about five or 10 minutes. It's cheaper than buying a dozen roses or something," he said.
The singing Valentines often elicit a lot of interest from onlookers.
"Everybody that hears it asks, 'How do I get that for next year?' The nice part about barbershop is that once people hear it, they love it and they just get into it," Thompson said.
The quartets often have just as much fun singing as the recipients have listening.
"It's always an anticipation of 'what situation are we going to be in now?' " Thompson said.
Lenox said the history of barbershop dates back to the turn of the century, when groups of men would sing and harmonize with one another in barber shops. The style was eventually lost, but regained popularity in the 1930s, he said.
"Now it's an international hobby. For some, it's life itself," he said.
The City of Lights Barbershop Chorus has been in existence for about 10 years, and has been doing singing Valentines since then, Thompson said.
In addition to the singing Valentines, the Barbershop Chorus holds several concerts throughout the year. Most recently, it performed with Del Sol and Chaparral high schools for a Christmas concert.
Lenox said the chorus is always looking for new members.
"(Singing barbershop is) a lot of fun and it can be a tremendous pleasure," Lenox said.
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