The barbershop quartet, an a cappella form of singing once considered grounds for a social gathering, is alive and well in Centre County. But the quartets have left the barbershops and entered the community.

At 7:30 tonight, men interested in entering the world of barbershop singing can attend the Nittany Knights Barbershop Chorus' special guest night at Calvary Baptist Church, 1250 University Drive.

Judging from the membership of quartet societies around the country, the activity remains as popular now as at the time of its inception in the 1890s. The Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America has become one of the largest singing organizations in the world with 700 local chapters and a membership of 38,000.

The State College chapter, the Nittany Knights Barbershop Chorus, has a membership of about 40 people, said Elton Atwater, publicity chairman for the Knights.

Songs written for barbershop quartets or choruses consist of four parts: a lead, a tenor, a baritone, and a bass. Barbershop quarteting, Atwater said, has been called "one of the indigenous forms of American folk music."

Russell Bloom, assistant director of the Penn State Glee Club, said the University's Varsity Quartet was reformed this semester. The quartet will be touring various cities in Ohio with the glee club over spring break, he said.

Ed Hammond (junior-political science) who sings baritone for the varsity quartet, joined the group for a musical outlet. "I like vocal music and it's a fun social activity," Hammond said. The group sings spirituals, standards, and three-part mens songs about brotherhood, he added.

Jeff Kemp (freshman-music education) sings tenor for the quartet. "Barbershop singing is an enjoyable, different kind of sound," he said, adding that he likes singing "old standards" the most.

The Nittany Knights have two active quartets that sing regularly in the community, Atwater said. The entire chorus performs an annual show in the spring.

Membership is open to men of any age and students are welcome. Although no students currently sing, some have in the past, Atwater said.

The Nittany Knights even have one barber as a member. Wayne Britten, who works at Rinaldo's Barber Shop, 107 S. Allen St., said The Knights sing several times a year in Rinaldo's to show how quarteting started.

"Barbershop singing gives those people who aren't proficient in singing a chance to express themselves in song," Britten said.