Members of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Chorus at Four Seasons in Galloway are, from left, Lawrence Stroud, Don McFarlane, Ron Freemyer, Joe Formica, Don Kelley, Russ Collins, Dick Holst, Bill Duber, Norm Hibbs, director Jean Ward, Paul Boris, Al Rodriguez, Aninto Mauro, Kenny Kohout, Gene Gallucci, Ed Tenhor, Terry Bergeron and Tony Previti.

GALLOWAY – Getting right to the heart of the matter, Al Rodriguez said that the main fundraising events that support the Atlantic City Boardwalk Chorus are its personalized Valentine’s Day performances.

“It’s the big thing that carries us through the year,” he said. “On the 13th and 14th, for $40 our quartets will go to your location, sing two songs and provide a card.”

They used to take Polaroids, but now they just let people take their own pictures.

The 18-member chorus, which also features two quartets among the singers, meets 7-9:30 p.m. Wednesdays at St. Mark and All Saints Episcopal Church on Pitney Road.

“We’re a nonprofit organization,” Rodriguez said Sunday, Jan. 29. “We put on shows and go to various functions – whoever will hire us. We do what the customer wants; we can have the entire chorus or just a quartet perform.”

She said the group has performed for senior citizens at Four Seasons, at a number of nursing homes, and at Betty Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation.

The Atlantic City Boardwalk Chorus is part of the national Barbershop Harmony Society that used to be called the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing of America. The association has been active in South Jersey for 55 years.

“I’ve done it for 44 years – 22 years in Mountaintop, Pa., where I got started,” Rodriguez said. “A friend there kept trying to get me to join. Finally I agreed to go to a practice. I told my wife, ‘John wants me to sing; I’m going for just one night.’ I got hooked and I’ve been going ever since.”

Rodriguez, 75, said it is just as enjoyable now as it was then.

“If it wasn’t, at my age I’d give it up,” he said. “I enjoy the four-part harmony. I think I have a good voice. I always had a good voice. I’m sure when I was younger I had a better voice.”

The local group, with an average age of around 60, is reaching out for new members, he said.

The youngest member of the chorus is Jeff Forney of Mays Landing, who in his 40s, and the oldest is 94-year-old Walter Fuhrmann of Egg Harbor City.

“To join, you just have to love to sing,” Rodriguez said. “We give you the music; we give you the learning tapes.”

He said that years ago a friend told him that music is mathematics.

“You have a do, re and mi – and that makes a chord,” he said.

“In barbershopping, the lead carries the melody,” Rodriguez said. “The bass is normally six notes below, and the tenor sings three notes above the lead. The baritone sings all over.”

He said new members at first are asked to sit across from a quartet and listen to decide who they most sound like.

To join the chorus, call Rodriguez at (609) 407-9024 or simply attend a practice 7 p.m. Wednesdays at St. Mark and All Saints Episcopal Church.

The whole chorus went to a national convention of the harmony society when it was in Philadelphia two years ago.

“During the year we go to conventions in our district,” Rodriguez said. “That’s where we pick who’s going to nationals. We participate in lots of competitions.”

He said they also do a lot of spontaneous singing. There are a number of what they refer to as “polecat songs,” that all barbershoppers know, like “My Wild Irish Rose” and “Sweet Adeline.”

“If we have a job and go out to eat in a restaurant, we’re all dressed alike and someone will ask what’s that all about,” Rodriguez said. “We’ll stand up and perform. We’ve sang on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. If you get four barbershoppers together, they’re going to sing.”