Group History (short version!)
People often ask us how the Chromatics got started. It's a complicated story, but here's a brief summary:
Back in 1993, a group called the OK Chorale was formed at NASA'S Goddard Space Flight Center by Anne Raugh and Steve Leete. The OK Chorale was 12 members strong and sang mostly doo-wop tunes, standards, and classics from Sesame Street. None of the current Chromatics were in the group at its inception, but Padi Boyd and Karen Smale joined in 1993, followed by Alan Smale and Deb Nixon in 1994.
After numerous further changes in personnel, including the departure of co-founder Anne Raugh, the group decided to refocus and reinvent itself as The Chromatics. The Chromatics were incorporated in 1995, and have been performing continuously under that name ever since.
By 1996 we gained John Meyer, and the membership of the group stabilized at 9 people for several years. In 1998 we released our first CD, "First Light", and our second CD, "AstroCappella". In 1999 we lost two more members, including our second co-founder Steve Leete. 2000 saw the release of our holiday CD, "Unwrapped", and in 2001 we issued our runaway best-seller, the educational and entertaining "AstroCappella 2.0".
In April 2002 we had our final personnel changes, in which we lost an alto (Lisa) and a tenor (Paul) and acquired a new tenor, Barry Mahaffey, who to this day we still refer to as "the new guy"(!). We have been the same six-member mixed vocal band ever since - one of the most stable a cappella groups we know! Since Barry's arrival we've released three CDs, the eclectic "Mixed Messages" in 2003, a CD of Chromatics originals, "Committed", in 2007, and our latest holiday collection, "Wassailicious", in 2010. As the title of our CD of originals implies, we're committed to our music and our current lineup, and look forward to many more gigs and fun times together!