OK Chorale Men's Barbershop Chorus Equipment Stolen

A local non-profit is scrambling for help because someone stole their trailer full of equipment.

The OK Chorale is a men's barbershop chorus that does a lot of community events and travels the nation performing. The group has been belting tunes for 76 years and the theft was to the tune of $10,000 dollars.

"We perform all around the state and go to various communities. We compete. That trailer has virtually been from coast to coast," said Wes Short, the OK Chorale President.

The group president said those words while standing where the trailer once sat at Overholser Elementary in Bethany. The group practices there every Monday and the trailer was there when they left this week.

Inside the trailer were 10 sets of risers that the 50-plus members stand on during performances.

"Between the trailer and the risers, $8,000-$10,000," explained Short.

Learn more about the OK Chorale.

They sang Thursday at the downtown Festival of the Arts without the platforms and they would like to replace the risers before having to perform again.

"I imagine we are going to have to be choking up money to replace this, so ticket sales is our main source of revenue," added Short.

Unfortunately, trailer thefts are extremely common. In Oklahoma City, for example, police said they work 700 trailer thefts a year, which breaks down to about 60 a month.

"Trailers are very easy to steal in a lot of cases and they're much more difficult to track for law enforcement," explained OCPD Capt. Dexter Nelson.

The OK Chorale is offering a $500 reward to get their trailer and risers back. Short said the risers are each stamped with the group's logo. They described the trailer as a 4-wheel grey trailer with a black top and their logo emblazoned all over the sides.

"It's like a rolling billboard the whole thing, so somebody probably saw it going down the road," said Short.

The chorale has performances on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Harding Fine Arts Academy located at 3333 N. Shartel Ave. in Oklahoma City. Short said the group was able to borrow risers for those performances. If you can help out or know where the trailer is, the group's number is (405) 848-SING.