Weston Noble, giant of American choral music, dies at 94

With a gentle voice and an incisive ear, conductor Weston Noble taught countless young people the joy of making music. The revered choral director and music educator traveled the world to spread the gospel of gorgeous sound, but he always returned home to Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Noble died in Decorah last month at age 94, surrounded by Christmas music.

He spent 57 years as a conductor and teacher at Luther, where he directed the concert band from 1948 to 1973 and the Nordic Choir from 1948 to 2005. He was guest director for more than 900 all-state choirs, bands and orchestras, and led music festivals on four continents. Yet he also spent many Saturday mornings picking up trash on campus. He said it was good exercise and useful, too.

Born on a farm in Riceville, Iowa, Noble graduated from high school at 16 and enrolled at nearby Luther College, majoring in history. He was called to active duty in 1943 and saw action as a tank driver in the Battle of the Bulge, reaching Berlin with the 750th Tank Battalion in 1945.

His Nordic Choir toured in more than 20 countries and 34 states and made about one recording a year, becoming one of the elite U.S. a cappella groups. The choir is known for its clear yet rich tone, with a place for every size of voice and a strong sense of community — choir members hold hands throughout performances.

Noble knew how to place each voice into an aural puzzle, moving singers around with a "Preus, down two" (he taught several generations of students) or "Onalaska, up one" (he knew where each singer was from) until he heard exactly the right sound.

Nancy Lee, director of fine arts at Washburn High School in Minneapolis and a 1982 Luther graduate, remembers the beautiful blend of vowels perfectly aligned and the vibrant balance of Noble's groups. "The music had to live, and therefore it had to have a pulse," she said of his directing. Lee's program, and those of his many students, reflects Noble's belief that the arts are for everyone, and for the whole person, mind, body, spirit, voice — "that's when the magic happens, when everyone is important."

And his practical advice on arts recruiting sticks with her: "Go out and get the quarterback," because once he joins up, others will follow.

Noble himself recruited thousands of students and founded the Dorian music camps and festivals for high school students. He sought out standout young musicians with the persistence of a Big Ten athletic director, mailing out stacks of postcards and making thousands of phone calls.

Andrew Last, a former student of Noble's and recently appointed conductor of the Nordic Choir, said that while his teacher's footprint on campus is visible, with a building and hall named for him, his more important legacy is the 1,000 student musicians from every corner of Luther's campus. Last recently recalled his first day singing with Nordic: "I cried when we sang that first piece; I didn't know what was happening."

Last strives to pass on that experience now, to students and audiences, by delving past what's written on the page and becoming vulnerable to the students and the music.

"Vulnerability really is the secret to life itself," Noble said in a 2015 interview with MPR. "And music allows vulnerability to come so beautifully. … And when you reach a certain point of vulnerability and so forth, that's when you enter the garden of trust. Isn't that a gorgeous thing to say? You've entered the garden of trust."

His passion for music worked like a magnet. He directed packed performances of Handel's "Messiah" at Luther for 56 years, with student soloists and a chorus pushing a thousand, open to anyone. Each fall, posters went up that read, "Weston wants YOU to sing in the Messiah." Noble prized the opportunity that Luther gives non-majors to participate in high-level music on campus. He liked to tell the story of a football player who ran up to him after singing in a "Messiah" performance and shouted, "What happened to me up there? I've never felt like this before."

Noble is survived by a brother, Lowell Noble of Riceville, and twin siblings Joe and Jo Ann Noble of Greenville, Ill.

Private services have been held; Luther College will hold a music-filled celebration of his life at 1 p.m. May 13.

Catherine Preus • 612-673-1788