Facts and History

About The Notables

The Notables is a vocal troupe that performs in the greater Los Angeles area.  We are a non-profit organization (with 501(c)(3) status) that is dedicated to the performance of vocal literature.  Our mission statement is "To provide a service of vocal entertainment to the community and to provide an opportunity for qualified singers to participate in an organization dedicated to the vocal arts."

The Notables debuted in 1980 as a choir club for Hughes Aircraft Company.  The following year, Randall Schwalbe assumed the post of music and artistic director.  The choir met twice weekly during the lunch hour at St John’s Lutheran Church, preparing a 45-minute choral concert performed in late March, mid-June and mid-December.  Taking a break during the summer months, certain members would prepare solos and ensemble numbers to be performed in mid-September in a recital format.  All of these concerts were performed for employees in the R1 Auditorium, a Hughes Aircraft building in El Segundo.  Occasionally, the choir would be hired to sing a functions such as formal military banquets, church events, biannually at the El Segundo Joslyn Center, the National Anthem at Dodger Stadium, and the Christmas Eve Holiday Affair at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Due to corporate reorganization, the organization became an independent vocal troupe in 1997.  Now The Notables perform one or two formal shows each year in the South Bay area and seasonal concerts in El Segundo.

The Notables have also changed their focus from exclusive formal choral presentations to an eclectic approach dictated by the type of music programmed.  For example, a fully staged version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (the original version) and fully-costumed and -orchestrated 90-minute excursion back to 1968 (‘60s Love-In) are mainstays in the repertoire as well as staged excerpts from Les Misérables and Evita.  Each performance is typically supported by a small group of instrumentalists who form the orchestra.  Everything from piano, keyboards, bass, drums, guitars, banjos, flutes, trombone, violin, and even ukulele is often heard as part of the mix.

In 2006 Randall Schwalbe retired as director of The Notables, and Paula Kelley assumed the duties of musical director.

List of Past Performances

 
Copyright 2004-2007 The Notables. All rights reserved.