The one and only Weston Noble – one of the living legends of choral music – is back at Carthage for what promises to be yet another moving, memorable visit . . . except that by now it doesn’t feel right to call him a visitor. He is a part of our family, and he feels that way as much as we do. Ever since the 2007-2008 school year, when he came to serve as interim director of the Carthage Choir, he has forged a very deep and affectionate bond with us that shows no signs of abating. I actually wondered if that powerful relationship would begin to cool when the last of the students who sang under Mr. Noble back in ’07-’08 had graduated and moved on . . . but thanks to his return visits every subsequent spring, the love affair, if anything, is deepening. Carthage students continue to welcome him back like a conquering hero, and he in turn can’t help but be touched by their devotion, admiration and love. And I should add that I know he is also deeply touched by the gracious welcome which he is afforded by Carthage’s choral directors, Eduardo Garcia-Novelli, Peter Dennee, and Dimitri Shapovalov, who are as excited as anyone to have him back in our midst.
This morning on WGTD’s morning show, I replayed the interview which I recorded with Mr. Noble back in the spring of 2008- and as I listened to it, the excitement of that extraordinary year came flooding back to me. . . how what began as an invitation for him to come to Carthage for the first six weeks of the school year (roughly through homecoming) ended up being stretched through the whole first semester and ultimately through the whole school year. . . how Mr. Noble seemed to grow younger and stronger with each passing day, as though being at Carthage for that extended period of time, setting down roots as it were, was the best thing that could have happened to him, giving him a new lease on life after two years of not particularly happy semi-retirement. . . and how his vitality, enthusiasm and affection worked wonders to replenish the battered morale of the choir, whose previous director had left so abruptly and without explanation. It was Mr. Noble who helped those students feel like singing again in what was the first step of a spectacular artistic upswing for the choir that continues to this day.
So from my point of view is anything different about this visit? Not much, except that nothing Mr. Noble is doing with the Carthage Choir this time around requires piano accompaniment, which sort of relegates me to the sidelines. (He had told me over the phone a few weeks ago that he wanted to add my arrangement of “Amazing Grace” to the concert lineup, but evidently forgot – and I’m just too squeamish to bring it up.) But it wasn’t so bad not to be on the piano bench today, because that meant that I could be at the back of the choir room, surveying the entire scene and drinking in the magic spell which he still casts like no one else I’ve ever seen.
Think about it. When his next birthday rolls around in November, there will be NINETY candles on the cake. He was born when Warren G. Harding was president. Movies were still silent. The new technological phenomenon that was all the rage was something called radio. And George Gershwin was two years away from writing Rhapsody in Blue, the piece that would make him famous. My mind reels when I think of all of the ways that the world has changed over the last 89 years. And through all of that, Weston Noble has managed what strikes me as a fiendishly difficult feat. . . of being anchored in the foundation of all that is most dear to him – yet also free and unbound as he embraces everything new in this world. He has to be the least old-fashioned 89-year-old I have ever known (with the possible exception of Betty White!) and yet part of what makes him so special is how he is a living connection with a bygone era. I just adore that about the man. . . that he is 89 years old, yet walks with the sprightly step of someone who just turned 19 and who can hardly wait for the next adventure to begin.
Please note: The choir concert for which Weston Noble is the honored guest conductor is this Sunday afternoon, April 29th, at 3:00 in Carthage’s Siebert Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public.
pictured above: Weston Noble in the midst of today’s rehearsal with the Carthage Choir. I snapped a lot of pictures, but I especially love this shot because it really shows his remarkable vigor. (Believe me, I would not want to challenge him in an arm wrestling contest. No way!)