Oct 4, 1927 - Jan 18, 2017

Singer extraordinaire Phyllis Noble was raised in Ames, IA. After graduating from Iowa State Teacher's College, she began her teaching career in Manning, IA, where she met and married the love of her life, Dean Noble. After moves to Omaha, Denver and Kansas City, they returned to Omaha in 1970. Phyllis taught for 18 years at Monroe Middle School. Phyllis received her master of music degree in vocal performance from the conservatory of music at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

She was a founding member of the Kansas City Chamber Chorale, the Nebraska Choral Arts Society, and Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum. A well-known Omaha singer, Phyllis was in frequent demand as a soloist and performer. She was for several years the alto soloist in the annual performance of The Messiah at the Orpheum. Other oratorio solo work included Handel's Israel In Egypt, Brahms' Alto Rhapsodie.

Theatre credits at the Omaha Community Playhouse include Sugar Babies, Cole, Fascinating Rhythm, Inherit The Wind, Teddy and Alice, and A Christmas Carol; performances at the Dundee Dinner Theatre included The Sound of Music, Fiddler On The Roof, Quilters, and A Little Night Music. Phyllis toured the West Coast in the Oct 4, 1927 - Jan 18, 2017
Singer extraordinaire Phyllis Noble was raised in Ames, IA. After graduating from Iowa State Teacher's College, she began her teaching career in Manning, IA, where she met and married the love of her life, Dean Noble. After moves to Omaha, Denver and Kansas City, they returned to Omaha in 1970. Phyllis taught for 18 years at Monroe Middle School. Phyllis received her master of music degree in vocal performance from the conservatory of music at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
She was a founding member of the Kansas City Chamber Chorale, the Nebraska Choral Arts Society, and Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum. A well-known Omaha singer, Phyllis was in frequent demand as a soloist and performer. She was for several years the alto soloist in the annual performance of The Messiah at the Orpheum. Other oratorio solo work included Handel's Israel In Egypt, Brahms' Alto Rhapsodie.
Theatre credits at the Omaha Community Playhouse include Sugar Babies, Cole, Fascinating Rhythm, Inherit The Wind, Teddy and Alice, and A Christmas Carol; performances at the Dundee Dinner Theatre included The Sound of Music, Fiddler On The Roof, Quilters, and A Little Night Music. Phyllis toured the West Coast in the Nebraska Theatre Caravan's A Christmas Carol. She was a member of Omaha's Cabaret Theatre, touring throughout the Midwest and producing three original, one-woman shows with the group.
Phyllis was a 57-year member of Dundee Presbyterian Church, where she served as artistic director of the Crescendo! Concert Series and 4-time interim minister of music.
She loved to travel, visiting every state in the US; Australia and New Zealand, England, Holland, Italy, Greece, France, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Paraguay, and Brazil (among others!).
Phyllis Noble was preceded in death by her husband, Dean; parents, Howard and Hazel Porter; brother, Eugene Porter; sister, Harriet Moore. She is survived by daughter, Rebecca Noble and son-in-law, Keith Allerton; sisters, Dorothy Vance, Loveland, CO, Lois (Richard) Roberts, Pembroke, MA; honorary daughters, Beth Asbjörnson, Camille Metoyer Moten, and Jenny Knutson; honorary son, Paul Tranisi.
A MEMORIAL SERVICE in celebration of Phyllis' life, will be held at Dundee Presbyterian Church on Friday, January 27, 1pm. In lieu of flowers, Memorials are suggested to the Hospice House, Omaha, NE.
Westlawn-Hillcrest Funeral Home 5701 Center Street 402-556-2500 www.westlawnhillcrest.comNebraska Theatre Caravan's A Christmas Carol. She was a member of Omaha's Cabaret Theatre, touring throughout the Midwest and producing three original, one-woman shows with the group.

Phyllis was a 57-year member of Dundee Presbyterian Church, where she served as artistic director of the Crescendo! Concert Series and 4-time interim minister of music.

She loved to travel, visiting every state in the US; Australia and New Zealand, England, Holland, Italy, Greece, France, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Paraguay, and Brazil (among others!).

Phyllis Noble was preceded in death by her husband, Dean; parents, Howard and Hazel Porter; brother, Eugene Porter; sister, Harriet Moore. She is survived by daughter, Rebecca Noble and son-in-law, Keith Allerton; sisters, Dorothy Vance, Loveland, CO, Lois (Richard) Roberts, Pembroke, MA; honorary daughters, Beth Asbjörnson, Camille Metoyer Moten, and Jenny Knutson; honorary son, Paul Tranisi.

A MEMORIAL SERVICE in celebration of Phyllis' life, will be held at Dundee Presbyterian Church on Friday, January 27, 1pm. In lieu of flowers, Memorials are suggested to the Hospice House, Omaha, NE.

Westlawn-Hillcrest Funeral Home 5701 Center Street 402-556-2500 www.westlawnhillcrest.com

'Her voice was an amazing instrument': Omahan Phyllis Noble, a part of many regional performance groups, dies at 89

By Kim Carpenter / World-Herald staff writer

Her voice soared across Omaha concert halls and stages for decades. Talented alto Phyllis Noble was a dominant presence both onstage and behind the scenes, well-known to audiences for her impressive versatility and beloved by fellow singers who counted her as an instructor, a collaborator and a friend.

Noble died Wednesday at the Josie Harper Hospice House after a series of falls. She was 89.

She was raised in Ames, Iowa, and received her undergraduate degree from the Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) and a master of music degree in vocal performance from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She began her lengthy teaching career in Manning, Iowa, and after moving to Omaha in 1970 with her husband, Dean, taught at Monroe Middle School for 18 years.

She was dedicated to bringing music directly to the public and was a founding member of vocal groups such as the Kansas City Chamber Chorale and the Nebraska Choral Arts Society as well as the Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum, which made its debut in 1988 at St. Cecilia Cathedral in honor of the parish’s centennial.

A 57-year member of Dundee Presbyterian Church, she served as artistic director of the Crescendo! Concert Series and as four-time interim minister of music.

Noble performed regularly at venues such as the Omaha Community Playhouse and the Dundee Dinner Theatre, toured the West Coast in the Nebraska Theatre Caravan’s “A Christmas Carol” and toured throughout the Midwest with Cabaret Theatre of Omaha, producing three original, one-woman shows with the group.

“Music was her life,” said daughter Rebecca Noble, owner of the Cabaret Theatre. “She wanted everyone to experience it as much as possible.”

Baritone Paul Tranisi, creative services director at KMBC-TV in Kansas City, sang with Soli Deo Cantorum in the 1990s and studied voice under Phyllis Noble, who considered him her “honorary son.”

“Her voice was an amazing instrument, but she also had a kind soul,” he said. “She was gentle, receiving and nonjudgmental. A life like that might physically end, but the spirit lives on. Everyone who had contact with Phyllis will feel blessed by those memories.”

One of Noble’s signature performances was as the alto soloist in Handel’s “Messiah” at the Orpheum Theater, a part Noble sang for years. “It was such a thrill for her to be on stage at the Orpheum and to perform the solo,” remembered her daughter. “It was an amazing experience for her.”

Almeda Berkey, conductor, lyric soprano and keyboardist with Mannheim Steamroller, co-founded Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum with Noble and continues to direct its artistic endeavors.

“There was never a time Phyllis didn’t reduce me to tears in a solo,” Berkey said. “She sang Cole Porter like she knew him. Her intonation was always spot-on, she had a deep love and incredible reverence that came through her music, and she gave us all her joy so we could experience the beauty and joy of sound. Her talent was so enormous, and her spirit was even greater.”

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Dundee Presbyterian Church, 5312 Underwood Ave.