Calliope Barbershop Quartet

  Ray Agnello, tenor

Singing tenor with Calliope, Ray is a Chemical Engineer and business owner. Ray was born in New Britain Ct., where he met and married Sandy, his  high school sweetheart. They along with two children relocated from Boston to Maryland where he managed National Gypsum's Board Plant operation. Ray has been harmonizing all of his life, from the street corner to high  school glee club and Madrigal choir and later with his college chorus. Once in Md. Ray sang with his church choir where he was often called upon for solos. Ray is self taught on acoustical guitar with which he writes and sings his own music. Introduced to Barbershop by chance in 1981, Ray has been enjoying it ever since as a member of Harford Counties Bay Country Gentlemen as well as the Chorus of the Chesapeake. "CHORUS SINGING IS GREAT FUN BUT NOTHING BEATS QUARTETING"

 Ted Evans, lead

 Ted Evans sings lead.  He currently works as a Dispatcher for Aggregate Industries. He and his wife Debbie have two sons and live in Glen Burnie. In addition to singing with Calliope, Ted sings lead with the Chorus of the Chesapeake, Bass with the Arundel Vocal Arts Society and Bass with the church choir. Ted also plays guitar and trumpet and collects autographs. Ted is the youngster in the group in age and quarteting experience. He says he has learned a lot singing with Calliope and loves how the guys work hard to continue getting better!

Dan Dekowski, baritone

Dan Dekowski is the founder of and contact person for the quartet and sings baritone. He began his musical career by taking trumpet lessons at the age of ten and still owns the same trumpet he learned on. At 14 he played the valve bugle in a marching band. He played the baritone horn in his middle school band and French Horn in his high school orchestra. During high school he also taught himself to play the soprano ukulele and still owns an antique “banjo uke”. After discharge from the service he learned to play the tenor banjo – his musical instrument of choice - and took piano lessons but never found enough practice time to become proficient. Although he sang in barbershop quartets as early as 1960, since 1983 he has been a dedicated quartet singer. He also sings with the Chorus of the Chesapeake, occasionally arranges music in barbershop style and has written a pamphlet on good vocal production for singers that is free for the asking.

 John Treff, bass

John Treff sings Bass.  Born in Baltimore, he, his wife Elaine,(who sings with the Dundalk Sweet Adelines), two married sons, and three grandsons now live in Pasadena, Md.  He served four years in the U. S. Coast Guard where he helped operate a Voice of America Radio Station in Rhodes, Greece. Being the old man of the group, he is retired after working forty years at Westinghouse. John also volunteers one day a week at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. He began singing in Junior High School and has sung in various Glee Clubs, and Church Choirs. He has been singing Bass with the Chorus of the Chesapeake, with his son Doug, since 1981, and is one of their Assistant Directors. He has sung with Calliope for over ten years. He says Barber shopping is a great hobby, and Quartetting has provided much improvement in his vocal production. As Danny Cuthbert said, "Time spent singing is not counted against your allotted time on earth.”