Weston Noble

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Weston Noble is an accomplished American music educator and conductor. As the Johnson Professor Emeritus of Music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, he is best known for his fifty-seven year tenure as conductor of The Nordic Choir from 1948 to 2005, direction of the Luther College Concert Band from 1948 to 1973, and as guest director for over 700 music festivals spanning four continents.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and education

Weston Henry Noble was born in 1922 on a farm just west of Riceville, Iowa, of English parentage. He was raised in the Free Methodist Church and received his early education in a one-room schoolhouse until the eighth grade, then attending Riceville High School. Like many young Iowans with an interest in music at that time, Noble played in the high school band, sang in the choir, and played clarinet solos at state contest. He first demonstrated his talents when taking piano lessons at the behest of his aunt, Ruby (Noble) Dunton, and came to master the clarinet and organ as well.

Though he originally intended to enroll at The University of Iowa, Noble, through the influence of his father, Merwin Henry Noble, enrolled at Luther College in 1939 at the age of 16. Majoring in history with studies in music, Noble quickly drew the attention of the music faculty because of his talents in conducting. In his second year he began leading rehearsals. He did his student teaching at nearby Decorah High School.

[edit] Military career

Due largely to the intense patriotism of World War II and anticipating an eventual call-up, Noble volunteered for military service and was called to active duty in February 1943, in the spring of his senior year. Nevertheless, arrangements were made for him and others to accelerate their studies and complete their final semester of study prior to commencement, and he graduated magna cum laude. Trained as a tank driver, he saw action in the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 and was part of the main Allied thrust into the heart of Nazi Germany in 1945. Noble "liberated" some items from Berlin, including a marble bust of Beethoven previously owned by Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring, which he mailed home.

[edit] Teaching

Discharged from military service, Noble returned to Iowa in 1946 and spent two years teaching high school in Luverne, where he directed the school's music program and taught courses in social studies. While in graduate school at the University of Michigan, his alma mater, Luther College, asked him to serve as interim director of the band and choir on a one-year faculty appointment. His appointment was extended to two years, and then became more permanent beginning in 1950. Noble directed the Concert Band from 1948-1973, and Nordic Choir from 1948-2005.

[edit] Musical activities

Noble is an internationally acclaimed conductor as well as a music educator. His distinguished career includes conducting more than 900 music festivals throughout the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe, Russia, and South America. The venues include Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles Music Center, Chicago Orchestra Hall, the Ordway Theater in St. Paul, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, and the Bolshoi, Kremlin and Tchaikovsky Halls in Moscow. He is the only director to have led all-state choruses, bands and orchestras in all fifty states.

In the spring of 2006, he conducted the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a national radio broadcast. He also received the Distinguished Service Award from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, making him the only non-Mormon to ever receive this award. In June 2006, he was once again the guest conductor at Guam's 3rd Annual Pacific Summer Music Festival. Most recently he guest conducted the JMU ACDA Choral Fest.

[edit] Legacy

Noble built the 72-voice Nordic Choir into one of the most elite a cappella college choirs in the United States. His Nordic Choir has performed throughout the United States and, indeed, much of the world. He has served as guest conductor at more than 900 music festivals around the world. And his love of music and his passion and energy for conducting are unmatched. But more than that, the faith he modeled will have an enduring effect on generations to come.

[edit] Awards

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../w/e/s/Weston_Noble_fd9b.html"