This Valentines’ Day, Katie Cushing, senior and singer for the Madrigals choir group, will go from class to class and deliver singing valentines. While the singing valentines are a tradition at Central, a lot of students aren’t aware of the preparation that goes into the day.

“We start preparing about two to three weeks before and have to sing for our choir teacher a week or two before the day, to get her input on the harmonies,” Cushing said.

The entire Madrigals/Chamber choir is required to participate in delivering the singing valentines. Upperclassmen in choir are also invited to participate, but they must audition in order to do so.

The singing valentines groups practice in their small groups by scheduling time to meet outside of school. They prepare their songs by arranging harmonies by ear. They also use songs based off of YouTube cover videos.

“We have to choose an upbeat love song, and from there, we usually just pick a song we like or think people will enjoy hearing,” Cushing said.

On the actual day of singing, the groups go around the school all day delivering the valentines. Most groups only prepare one song to sing the whole day, but some groups like Cushing’s group arrange two songs to mix it up.

“The actual day of delivering singing valentines is so fun. But it is also exhausting on our voices by the end of the day. You definitely get sick of the song you are singing by the end of the day,” Cushing said.