Bryce Denney, OC ’97, and Kathryn Denney, OC ’95, met at Oberlin when Kathryn, a French horn major, needed a piano accompanist for her junior recital. She ran into him in the Dascomb Hall lounge and mentioned wanting a pianist for one of the pieces. Bryce offered himself as an option and the two rehearsed together until May 2. On May 3, they decided that this was a good pairing and they ought to stay together.

After Kathryn graduated, they spent some time apart. Later, having both ended up in the Boston area, they decided to get back together — it was so much easier with one another than with anyone else. United by similar aspirations, musical creativity, and the desire to help one another with their independent passions, they are similarly joined by their individuality and own livelihoods.

Music has always served as a unifier for the duo. In 2020, Bryce and Kathryn, as well as their two daughters, then aged 14 and 17, took to virtual performances with a Facebook Live recital. To their surprise, 600 or so people joined. The project evolved — it evolved into their driveway, and soon they were not the only performers. It evolved more, into a parking lot with a messiah singing to 160 cars and a piano in the back of a U-Haul. Soon, Bryce and Kathryn were director and producer, respectively, of a documentary project called The Drive to Sing.

The project was grander than just their partnership, where many other groups around the country, from Florida to Alaska, had also discovered the value of “car choirs.” Still, the project would not have come to fruition without the foundation provided by Bryce and Kathryn.

For the pair, Valentine’s Day is no different than any other day when the majority of their relationship is already characterized by mutual love and respect, making a devoted day unnecessary. All the same, they’ll probably go out to dinner.