Haverford students often trudge through December. Three unremitting five-day weeks filled with assessments separate anxious students from Winter Break. For the Notables, these relentless winter weeks are filled with constant performances.
Upper school music teacher and Notables Director Mr. Don Holdren commented on the group’s unique charm, during and outside of the holiday season.
“What I think is special about the Notables at any time is when the group really works together and plays off each other. There’s this electric energy present,” Mr. Holdren said. “It’s fun when you have a group of seventeen guys who are locked in with one another, and who are working for the shared goal: to perform for an audience. When this happens, the sum is so much greater than all of the parts. I think the Notables are especially good at doing that.”
The Notables perform at a variety of different venues: for large audiences, for their peers, and for small, tightly-knit communities. Among the most memorable performances are the modest, charming ones.
“I prefer the smaller performances, where we’re really close with the audience,” Mr. Holdren said. “For example, the performance that we sang [for the Daughters of the American Revolution]. They appreciated it so much.”
The Notables perform so often during the holiday season becasue they provide service to small groups of people who are delighted to hear a group of young men sing holiday songs just a few feet in front of them.
The Notables also embody service.
“Especially at this time of year, we have a special purpose to do what we do.”
Mr. Donald Holdren
“We get to help the service board and we get to help the school with the toy drive for Toys for Tots,” Mr. Holdren said. “Here’s a tangible example of why we’re doing what we’re doing: so we can help to give back.”
A classic of the Notables’ holiday routine is the Reunion Concert, which builds and strengthens connections between the current group and previous generations. Mr. Holdren thinks the reunion concert occupies a unique position compared to other performances.
“That concert is unique in that it’s not really a concert for other people. It’s for us, for Haverford, for the Notables; it’s a chance to reconnect with guys from previous years and for them to see how things are going. It’s always great to see them back and to make music with them.”
The purpose of the holiday season is to have fun, and the Notables accomplish precisely that.
“Especially at this time of year,” Mr. Holdren said, “we have a special purpose to do what we do.”
