It starts with a single note plucked on a guitar string.
A second later, four male voices begin to croon a cappella. Softly at first, but then one takes the lead, soaring above the rest.
The barbershop quartet’s swelling echoes and overtones of “Sky Blue Sky” fill the four corridors of the Center of the Universe.
The group’s lost in song, snapping and clapping with pursed lips. They don’t even notice the students stopping and staring at them. The passersby stop only for a second, but their raised eyebrows and gaping mouths indicate they’re interested.
One hits a wrong note. It’s something most wouldn’t hear, but the group stops. Michael Stokes teases fellow singer Tony Zancanella.
“You’re killing me, man,” Stokes said, but the group falls into laughs before singing “Moondance,” by Van Morrison.
The men, including Tyler Jones and Jesse Herrera, are part of 505 Chorus, Albuquerque’s only all-male choir that specializes in barbershop quartet, a cappella and choral singing.
Their voices rise when they mention the group won 4th place at Barbershop Harmony Society Youth Harmony International Festival. They won 3rd place the year before that.
They have 45 registered members and at least 20 members at their Friday rehearsals every week, not to mention the 1,800 plus fans on Facebook.
“We measure up against the best choruses in the country,” Herrera said. “And that’s from this group of singers — It’s an all-you-can-come-and-sing group. We don’t pay anyone. It’s all volunteer. It’s all self-run. No one who is a big shot is running this.”
Zancanella said it’s a low-key group.
“We make music at a very high standard despite it being just a really relaxed environment,” Zancanella said. “No one has to feel like, ‘Oh, man, I have 505 rehearsal, I really need to be stressed about that this week.’ It’s usually just a fun thing. It’s a nice outlet from the world.”
Stokes said the group started out only wanting to compete in competitions, but as they grew bigger and started winning competitions, the chorus expanded its goals.
“We wanted to put together a community-based chorus, an a cappella chorus,” Stokes said. “The reason we wanted to do this is because we knew we had a pool of talent in the area that would be ideal for this kind of singing and close-knit harmony and choral work.”
Stokes said males between the ages of 16-30 can show up at the Friday rehearsals and after three rehearsals can try out to be an actual member of the chorus.
Zancanella said there’s a fundamental and biological difference between male and female voices. When a woman sings a high note, it’s only that high note that’s heard. However, when a male sings a high note, the note that’s heard is an octave above.
“It’s that first overtone, and that’s unique to men’s voices,” he said. “Which is why men’s voices can really ring those chords because you have that loud first overtone.”
*505 Chorus
Friday 5 to 7:45 p.m.
First United Methodist Church
314 Lead Ave. S.E.*
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