Sunday afternoons are for relaxing, long drives through the countryside, and perfect four-part harmony. Residents are in luck, as Sept. 9 at 4 p.m., the Sugar Valley Singers will perform in a free concert, “Harmony Through the Ages,” at First Wyoming United Presbyterian Church in Torrington.
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TORRINGTON – Sunday afternoons are for relaxing, long drives through the countryside, and perfect four-part harmony. Residents are in luck, as Sept. 9 at 4 p.m., the Sugar Valley Singers will perform in a free concert, “Harmony Through the Ages,” at First Wyoming United Presbyterian Church in Torrington.
The men’s chorus is composed of singers from the Torrington and Scottsbluff and Gering, Neb. areas, and belongs to the Barbershop Harmony Society, an international organization made up of around 24,000 men from around the world.
The local group will perform a variety of songs, including gospel, pop, old favorites and some quartet performances. The men rehearse every other week, alternating in Scottsbluff and Torrington, and completely memorize all pieces, with no instrumental accompaniment.
“We’re going to have about eight songs and then take a break for 10 minutes, then another about eight songs,” five-year Sugar Valley Singers member Tim Walter said. “The songs are from, I would say, mostly the 1940’s and 1950’s … you know, the old country-western and gospel kinds of songs. They’re fun to sing, and we sing almost every song in four-part harmony.”
The Sugar Valley Singers have two tenors, five leads, five bass singers, and three baritones. Walter sings bass.
“We sing in churches and at picnics, Fort Laramie at Christmastime,” he said, adding the concert is free, however the group always welcomes sponsors and donations. “Everybody who’s a sponsor or friend, we put their name in our flyer and hand out the flyers every time we sing. Last year, we made 1,000 flyers and ran out, and we printed the same amount this year. Everybody in the whole valley sees it … it’s our way of advertising for you.”
The Sugar Valley Singers have been under the direction of Dr. Dan Clark of Gering since 1985. Ryan Wunibald of Torrington and Ron Swank of Scottsbluff assist, and the current president of the Scottsbluff Chapter is Marty Jungck of Torrington.
“Come to the church if you want to listen to nice, four-part harmony,” Walter said. “We’ll try to do you a good job.”
