From left, are Randy Kerr, Mike Sheldon, George Lohmann and Mike Ebbers.
There is something irresistible about the popular music of the fifties and sixties and Valley Harmony delights in the harmonies that particular music offers its all male a cappella context. Founded in 2007, the four-member ensemble has been sharing their music throughout the Southern Tier. In particular they provide an annual full-length concert at the Newark Valley United Church of Christ, 32 South Main St. in Newark Valley.
The Seventh Annual Valley Harmony Concert, titled “Sock Hop & Rock”, will be held on Saturday, May 9 at 7 p.m.
Selections from the fifties sung by Valley Harmony will include “Heartbreak Hotel” (Elvis), “Silhouettes” (The Rays), “Maria” from West Side Story, and “Bye Bye Love” (Everly Brothers); and from the sixties, “Runaround Sue” (Dion), “Eight Days a Week” (the Beatles), “The Sound of Silence” (Simon & Garfunkel), “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding), “I’ve Got to Get a Message to You” (Bee Gees), and “Hooked on a Feeling” (B. J. Thomas).
Christina Salasny of Windsor will return as special guest soloist singing “Unforgettable” (Nat King Cole), “So in Love” (from Kiss Me Kate) and the duet from The Music Man “Till There Was You” with Valley Harmony member Randy Kerr.
There will be a new guest soloist playing the organ this year. Eric Machan Howd, hailing from Ithaca, will join them, playing “Aura Lee,” a Civil War song (think 1860s) that inspired Elvis Preley’s “Love Me Tender.”
Laurie Holdridge (Johnson City) and Tamara Heiss (Newark Valley) will provide a variety of woodwind instrumentals with pianist Aric Phinney (Endicott) accompanying, including “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music. Phinney will be playing “Pass It On” as a piano solo.
Valley Harmony was founded by George Lohmann of Berkshire. He sings with Mike Ebbers (Owego), Randy Kerr (Newark Valley) and Mike Sheldon (Berkshire). This all male quartet has done many engagements for the Newark Valley Historical Society and Newark Valley Celebrations. They have done church services and church and secular events Newark Valley, Berkshire, Richford, Waverly, Owego, Apalachin, Endicott, Vestal, Candor, Greene and Binghamton. Their repertoire consists primarily of American a cappella music covering the past 200 years. They enjoy singing folk songs, spirituals, barbershop, pop, rock, sacred, and even classical music.
