As they sing, the five-man a cappella group begins in one breath and ends with a collective smile.

For The Music Men, enjoying each other’s company is as much, if not more important than the music.

The local a cappella quintet, with more than 250 songs in their repertoire, has been performing and laughing together for 15 years.

“It’s music therapy,” says tenor Paul Anderson, professor in landscape architecture and agronomy.

The Music Men say coming together for practices and performances has to be more than just business. It has to be fun.

“We’ve all come from hard days at work and been crabby, but it’s not a problem,” says tenor Sam Wormley. “This is part of the quality of life and we have a good time.”

Good times sometimes mean struggling to maintain composure, Wormley says.

“Sometimes it’s hard to keep a straight face when we’re performing,” Wormley says. “Ken’ll look at me funny, and I’ll want to start laughing.”

The attitude of fun and relaxation, however, does not downplay the member’s dedication to the group and the quality of its performances.

“We practiced probably 45 out of the 52 weeks last year, with the exception of holidays and other events, for an hour or a little more,” says bass Kendal Kline.

Tenor-countertenor Randy Compton, music librarian at WOI-AM radio, says their pieces range from old barber shop, glee club and holiday selections to sacred literature and spirituals in Latin and folk songs, with a Beatles arrangement thrown in.

“[With the songs] in English, it’s more difficult because people know when you screw up,” Kline says.

With the more traditional pieces and when dressed in their madrigal costumes, Wormley says they can offer a lot to the students.

“Our repertoire is new to a lot of students, and they find it interesting because it’s something they’ve never heard before,” Wormley says. “The variety of emotions that are expressed is interesting to a lot of people, not just students.”

Originally started in 1975, The Music Men have gone through several members and changes, but Compton says it’s always been about the love of the music.

Compton and Wormley are two of the founding members. For almost 30 years, these two men have watched their creation grow and mature.

They are all graduates of Iowa State and members of either the Iowa State Chamber Singers or the Iowa State Singers.

While there is a 24-year age gap between the youngest, Kline, 34, and Wormley, 60, age has not been a problem.

“I thought they were all really old when I first met them,” Kline says.

“Sam’s the same age as my dad.”

“But who does the youngest hang out with?” asks Wormley.

“The oldest,” Kline says.

Kline says The Music Men have worked to establish relationships as well as harmonies with each other.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had an argument,” Kline says. “We may pick at each other jokingly in practice but no arguments.”

As an undergraduate computer science major, baritone Randy Griffith says he wondered what would come of his love to sing without being a music major.

“I thought to myself, ‘This is fun and it’s a diversion, but I’m not going to make a career of it,'” he says.

After listening to his grandfather, Griffith realized music was something he could do for the rest of his life, regardless of his career.

“This is an outlet that many people could never have the opportunity to enjoy,” Wormley says. ” I feel really fortunate that I’ve found it.”