Valley Harmony is back in the “sing” of things. Their 12th annual community concert is titled simply “Love Songs,” and will be performed at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 16 at the Newark Valley United Church of Christ, located at 32 S. Main St. in Newark Valley. The theme springs from a desire to just do something that will gladden everyone’s heart, performers and audience alike.
The a cappella quartet encountered one small problem. Their original list of songs had to be cut significantly so that the audience could go home before midnight. Even after culling, the variety still remained, including doo wop, pop rock, spirituals, barbershop, Broadway hits, and even classical.
Valley Harmony will make sure the audience is awake by starting with a rousing “At the Round Earth’s Imagined Corners” to begin their set, labeled “Sacred Love.” “Swing Down Chariot,” a spiritual made popular by Elvis Presley in 1960, is included in that group along with a tribute to Ukraine, titled “Ukrainian Alleluia.”
There was also no problem finding love songs from Broadway musicals. “Maria” from Westside Story and “Till There Was You” from The Music Man couldn’t be avoided.
Speaking of Elvis Presley, his 1961 hit “Can’t Help Falling in Love” is still popular today, and Valley Harmony is planning to sing the Pentatonix version of it as part of their “Falling in Love” set. The 1967 hit by The Turtles, “Happy Together,” and Nat King Cole’s 1956 hit, “When I Fall in Love,” could not be left out of this set.
The songs of the last set, “Young Love,” range from the 1924 barbershop tune “Coney Island Baby,” touch the sixties with “Under the Boardwalk,” and wrap up with two from the 21st century, “All of Me” and “I’m Yours.”
“Happy Together” and Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love” will also be performed, but using the arrangement written for the Pentatonix.
Three guest musicians will join Valley Harmony in provided entertainment for the concert. Woodwindist Laurie Holdridge (Johnson City) is a longtime partner in this endeavor, playing recorder, clarinet and saxophone; and flutist Anne Austin (Endwell) is also back by popular demand. New to the gang is Rhonda Moulton (Berkshire) on piano. One of the songs all three will do together is “The Snow Begins to Fall.”
Valley Harmony includes Mike Sheldon (Berkshire) singing tenor, George Lohmann (Berkshire) singing bass, and Randy Kerr (Newark Valley) and J. Ladd Yost (Nichols) alternating baritone and tenor. This all-male quartet has done countless engagements throughout the Southern Tier since their founding in 2007, including church services and church and secular events in Newark Valley, Berkshire, Richford, Waverly, Owego, Apalachin, Endicott, Vestal, Candor, Spencer, Ithaca, Greene, Binghamton and in Athens, Pa.
Their repertoire, as you might gather from the songs mentioned above, consists of all sorts of a cappella music. They enjoy singing folk songs, spirituals, barbershop, swing, pop, rock, rhythm and blues, show tunes, sacred, and even classical music.
A free will offering will be taken. Concert proceeds will benefit outreach programming at the Newark Valley United Church of Christ.
Be the first to comment on "Valley Harmony to present ‘Love Songs’ Concert"