Some of you may recognize those words as the opening line a familiar Lutheran hymn- I thought it might be an interesting way to begin talking about what is bound to be one of the most profound and moving experiences of my professional life. Weston Noble is here- the brilliant choral conductor under whose baton I sang for four years at Luther- one of the most highly esteemed names in American choral music and a figure who is beloved beyond measure. He is at Carthage for the fall semester as a very special guest conductor of the Carthage Choir- and those of us who have known about this for the last couple of months are still pinching ourselves that such a thing could possibly be true. But here he is, in the flesh- and already working his unique magic with our students.
The original plan was that he was going to drive himself from Decorah to Kenosha- which made those of us planning all of this very nervous. (He is 85 years old and still driving, but navigating his way through both Madison and Milwaukee could have been very challenging.) Fortunately, a dear friend of his who lives down in Schaumburg, IL has on numerous occasions arranged for a pilot friend (with his own plane) to fly Mr. Noble in and out of Decorah on special excursions – and she arranged it again. We ran into a snafu or two when the plans changed without us knowing about it on this end, but we eventually found each other in time to have a quick and wonderful Italian dinner at Cortese’s before sailing down to Carthage just time time for the 7 pm rehearsal with the choir. Actually, there was a comical / scary several minutes right at 7 when none of us knew exactly where Mr. Noble was. His friend had dropped him off with directions on how to get to the choir room, but he didn’t quite manage to get there – and none of us resumed breathing until he had been found and escorted down to the choir room, safe and sound.
And that’s when the real magic began. Mr. Noble had about 24 singers waiting for him in the choir room- almost perfectly balanced S A T B – and they were perfectly attentive ladies and gentlemen. Some of them certainly knew who Weston Noble is from having seen him in action or having heard about him from their own choir directors; others only knew OF him from what they had been told when the announcement came about his appointment. But I think for everyone there it only took a few moments for them to sense that they were in the presence of a true master. Mr. Noble retains his striking way of connecting with college students- his sneaky sense of humor- his warmth- his drive- his energy- and those ears with which he manages to hear every detail so remarkably well. He also leads rehearsal with the same mixture of methodical care and quick- footed flow that is so key to his magic. (Most methodical directors tend to bog down in details after awhile. Most quick directors tend to be a bit sloppy. He avoids both those pitfalls like no one else I’ve ever seen – and you end up feeling like not a single second of rehearsal was wasted. That’s a very valuable attribute when you’re working with collegians.) For most of the rehearsal, the only thing that seemed to reflect his advanced years was poorer eyesight than I remembered- but then Dr. Ripley showed up with Mr. Noble’s glasses (which he must have left someplace) and I suddenly realized why he had been struggling a bit to read the score. In the end, Weston Noble is about as ageless as an 85-year-old can possibly be, and I think we are embarking on what promises to be an unforgettable adventure.
And for me, this is a tremendously exciting experience of coming full circle. Never did I dream that Mr. Noble and I would be musical collaborators again, but here we are- – – a full 25 years after I graduated from Luther- a full forty years since my mother became his first secretary and he first became a special friend of our family. Never in my wildest dreams would I have written such a script, but here it is- – – Weston Noble and I are colleagues at the same college. Wonder of Wonders. . . Miracle of Miracles.
pictured: This is the moment when Dr. Jim Ripley, our department chair, is escorting Weston Noble down the ramp and into the choir room. . . and an exciting chapter for Carthage begins.