Weston Noble: 1922–2016

Since Weston Noble passed away on December 21, 2016, at the age of 94, many have shared stories about the legacy of this musical giant. My experience with Weston Noble is slightly different. I not only had the privilege of singing for him at Luther College in the Nordic Choir, but I also spent the last nine and a half years living in the same community as him. In our community, I am the choral director at Decorah High School and director of an adult community choir, The Decorah Chorale.

Being a student of Mr. Noble’s was exciting. In choir, you were always ready for a question to be directed your way. The questions he would ask were to help us engage our imaginations. “Why did the composer set this in a triple meter?” “What color do you see in this passage?” “Why does the melody line go up here?” In rehearsal, it was less often about the technique required to sing the piece and more about bringing out the emotion. When calling on us in rehearsal he wouldn’t call us by name, but rather call on us by our hometown, for you see, he spent hours and hours each year calling and writing hundreds of prospective high school students. He first knew us as people from a certain town. It was easier for him, and it helped the choir learn more about our fellow singers. It was common in rehearsal for Mr. Noble to choose a student to stand and sing a phrase. He would even ask a quartet or octet to sing in front of the choir and demonstrate phrasing. This gave the other voices in the choir a chance to learn by listening. I remember one November, as we were preparing Carl Schalk’s “Before the Marvel Of This Night” for Juletide Festival, he asked me to stand and sing the melody line the men were learning to phrase. Even though I was a bass, I felt confident singing the high F required. However, as I sang the passage with Nordic Choir listening, my voice cracked on the high note. I was embarrassed, but Mr. Noble ignored the voice crack and focused on making me feel good about the phrasing I demonstrated. It was always his goal to make us feel good no matter what.

Mr. Noble’s love for choral music and the history of its development in the United States was joyfully shared in choral conducting and choral methods courses. Weston had great respect for the traditions of Fred Waring, John Finley Williamson and the Westminster Choir, the St. Olaf Choir and F. Melius Christiansen, and his hero, Robert Shaw. From these influential people, Weston had a singular knowledge of their practices. Hearing his first-hand accounts was a unique experience for us as students. In fact, talking about Robert Shaw was almost a daily occurrence, as his influence on Mr. Noble was the most profound of all. This passion taught us to respect the traditions that have come before us. From them, we learned to form our ideal choral sound for which to aspire.

Being on choir tour with Weston Noble and Nordic Choir was like nothing else I have experienced. The amount of respect Mr. Noble received as he walked onto stage at each concert was incredible – often standing ovations before we even sang a note. I sang with him during his forty-ninth and fiftieth years of teaching at Luther, and his reputation preceded him greatly. We were so proud to be his choir and to be led by this musical giant. Behind the scenes, Mr. Noble could be quite silly, going along with our tour shenanigans of daily awards given at our pre-concert dinner. One of those awards was the “Bus-head Award,” given to the person who had the messiest hair after taking a nap on the bus. One night Mr. Noble had the “honor” of receiving this award. The award was a special red plastic helmet he had to wear the next day and later present with a song or skit that cajoled the next recipient. He understood that the choir experience was more than performing excellent concerts. The bonding of the singers was very important. It unified what we could achieve as a performing unit, and it took us beyond the music and text on the page.

As I transitioned into my teaching career, Weston continued to mentor me. He often told me to go to graduate school and keep learning. He was the best example of someone who was a lifelong learner and wanted that to be his students’ goal. You would often see him taking notes at various ACDA conferences, trying to better himself as a teacher. After several years of teaching, I went to graduate school. Following those two years of graduate school, I landed in Decorah, home of Luther College and Weston Noble, teaching at the high school. I remember the trepidation of having Weston at my high school choral concerts in my early years. However, I am not sure why I was so nervous as he was always complimentary and encouraging. He even came and worked with one of my choirs a few years later. During the clinic, my students were starry-eyed and later told me they understood why this man is special – it only took a forty-five minute rehearsal. During that clinic, Weston stood next to me as I conducted the choir and would stop me and ask me questions such as, “Why did I stop you?” “What should you have shown the choir with your gesture to make that line musical?” “Why are you looking down at your music during the piano introduction? Connect eyes with the students.” I don’t think he was there to work with the choir; I think he was there to work with me! The singers loved seeing me be the one who was the student. We all had fun with it, but I was pretty exposed in front of the choir! Throughout his later years he continually preached vulnerability with your choir and this was a good example of that.

Weston was a gentle soul, but when he wanted something he was insistent. I remember a few years ago he called to apologize after he missed a concert at Decorah High School. He was upset that he must not have read the newspaper close enough to catch the press release. I had to confess that I had forgotten to publicize the concert in the local media. He let me know that he wanted to be there and that I need to let the community know in the future. From then on I made sure I did not make that mistake again!

Two weeks before Weston passed in December, he attended my concert with the Decorah Chorale. He told me a week before that he would be there, but on the night of our concert it was snowing quite a bit. I feared Weston would try to come in the questionable weather. Yes, indeed, as soon as I walked in I saw him near the front of the church with a big smile on his face. Following the concert, as was typical, he waited for me to come see him at his seat so he could talk with me and give me a hug. This time was extra special. It was almost as if he knew this would be the last concert of mine he would attend. He gave me a very long embrace and had a few tears running down his face. Weston told me he was so proud of me and that he led the standing ovation, something he said he rarely ever does. Our time ended with another strong embrace. I will treasure this final moment for the rest of my life.

I will remember Weston Noble as the ultimate cheerleader for Luther College, his former students, the Decorah community, and for me. Thank you, Weston, for impacting my life in ways I will never fully realize. Your legacy lives on in the thousands of lives changed forever by your presence.