Harmony at Home

Meredith Willson, creator of “The Music Man,” would have enjoyed this rehearsal.

The parish hall at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys was filled with four-part harmony and songs from bygone eras.

Unlike Willson’s show, however, there were 35 men singing, not four (The Buffalo Bills quartet), and “Lida Rose” was not present--giving way instead to “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” “I’ll See You In My Dreams,” “Stardust,” and a Glenn Miller medley.

The group rehearsing was the San Fernando Valley Valleyaires, a barbershop chorus under the direction of Tom Raffety. The Valleyaires have been singing for the last 37 years.

The group was preparing for “RADIO . . . Thanks for the Memories,” which was performed at Reseda High School in February.

The choristers who filled the risers on stage represented a variety of occupations: lawyers, doctors, engineers, insurance executives, accountants, police and, oh yes, one barber, named Jerry Cottone.

The group is a member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America, Raffety said. It is dedicated to preserving four-part harmony, which he says is one of the two last surviving American art forms--the other being jazz.

The origin of barbershop quartets is hazy, but Raffety said he thinks they probably began in the late 1800s, gaining national prominence on the vaudeville circuits.

Computer consultant Rich Rosales of Portland, Ore., was in Los Angeles on a job and came to rehearsal after he found the Valleyaires’ address on the Internet.

During a break in rehearsal, members got coffee or a cookie and then they sang in small groups. Rosales, who quickly found three parts in search of a fourth, seemed to fit right in.

Visitors from other barbershop groups are not uncommon, Raffety said.

“We sing the same songs.”