Helping spread love, joy with Singing Valentines.

Members of the Sweet Adelines, including Lynn Robison (center, in black) of
Solon Township, rehearse at CenterPointe Tuesday night. Some of the Adelines,
including Robison, will be presenting Singing Valentines Thursday.

A Solon Township woman is among a dozen in the Grand Traverse Chorus of Sweet Adelines who will be delivering Singing Valentines today.

Lynn Robison sings baritone in “Just4Fun,” a recently organized foursome and one of three quartets that will be spreading holiday joy in an area from Charlevoix/Petoskey to the Traverse City as a fundraiser for her group.

“I joined the Sweet Adelines in 2000,” said Robison, who moved to the county from the East Coast. She had worked as a speech therapist in school settings and her husband was a veterinary pathologist who worked in the development of pet pharmaceuticals. “My husband’s brother had a place up near Central Lake, but we never really investigated the Traverse City area.”

The Robisons got their chance in 1999 when their only son decided to attend the University of Michigan.

“We were very surprised at the amount and quality of cultural activities available,” she said. “We’ve seen performers in Traverse City who were just as talented as some of those we saw when we were a stone’s throw from Broadway.”

She is the only Leelanau County resident among quartets that will be delivering between 45 and 50 Singing Valentines today. Rounding out the foursome: Bonnie Deigh and Cheryl Woodring of Traverse City, and Bernice Widrig of Interlochen. The other two quartets are called Sashay and Cashmere.

“We’ve been rehearsing since November,” Robison said.

Those receiving Singing Valentines from Just4Now will hear one of two selections based on the relationship between the giver and receiver. For instance, a Valentine sent by a wife to a husband will likely feature I Don’t Know Why I Love You Like I Do, made popular by Marty Robbins. We Go Together from Grease would be more appropriate for a Valentine from an employee to their boss. Some men will be hearing Bald Headed Men, which is a funny tune but not appropriate for everyone. The lyrics include: “Why would you cover your manly badge of honor with such a bad disguise? (guys, guys, guys) Why would you blow your money on Rogaine and Minoxidil when all it can guarantee is years and years of pharmacy bills? (please don’t do it).”

“It’s for someone with a good sense of humor,” Robison said.

The Singing Valentines are in addition to the material performed by the group of 30 or so that includes several Leelanau singers, including Karen Lambert of Solon Township, Barb Steffe of Suttons Bay and Philomena Hanson of Elmwood Township. Jill Steckley of Suttons Bay is working on completing the requirements for membership, which takes a bit of study. Unlike traditional choral arrangements, which divide parts into soprano, alto, tenor and bass, the female version of male barbershop choruses splits the parts into tenor (soprano), lead (melody), baritone (alto) and bass.

“The bass is the bottom and carries the tempo,” said Robison, whose singing experience was limited to church choir before she joined Sweet Adelines. “You don’t have to be able to read music to sing with us. We have tapes and CDs which you can listen to an learn your part.”

New members must be able to perform their parts to the satisfaction of director Diane Clark before performing with the chorus. Clark is a former voice instructor and music department chair of Rhodes College in Memphis. The women’s group also assigns prospective members a mentor to help and offer encouragement along the way. For example, Robison, a baritone, serves as a mentor to Hanson.

Each singing Valentine recipient will also receive a box of chocolates, a special Valentine’s Day card and a photo to commemorate the event.

“Some of our Valentines have been at assisted living centers and nursing homes,” Robison said. “When they hear us sing, they’re blown away. You can see it on their faces.”

Proceeds from the Valentine project go toward group community service programs, such as Reach for Recovery with the American Cancer Society and local student scholarships.