The legacy of choral music legend Weston Noble is still being written, and this latest chapter is perhaps the most astonishing yet.   It includes a remarkable comeback from a fall he suffered in South Korea last year which resulted in a broken pelvis-  and another fall suffered at home several months ago which necessitated yet another hospitalization. (Both accidents have been covered in the media,  so I am not revealing private information here.)  Between these two mishaps,  he turned 91 years old.   Needless to say,  those kind of setbacks cast a rather serious cloud of doubt over whether or not the 2014 Weston Noble Alumni Choir would be able to convene as scheduled . . . or whether or not there would be any more Alumni Choirs in the years to come.

But like the phoenix rising from the ashes yet again,  Weston Noble is back.  And by the time the last notes of Friday night’s concert had died away,  it was almost as though the sands of time had miraculously flowed back up the hourglass.   I have been amazed by Mr. Noble’s capacity for rejuvenation in the face of formidable odds,  but never more so than in the way he sprang back from his latest difficulties.

Which is not to say that everything is as it was back in 1982, the year I graduated from Luther.  There are issues with both his hearing and eyesight that are a frustrating encumbrance to his work as a conductor.   There are issues involving focus and management of time that create some complications.   But the spark is absolutely undimmed,  and whatever magic wand he has been wielding all these years is still able to cast some spectacular spells.

I think one of the most remarkable things about this past week – and I’ve observed this in past Alumni Choirs as well – is that Mr. Noble does not grow more and more tired, more and more weary through the course of the week – though one would expect that to be the case.  It’s quite the opposite.  With each passing day,  he is younger and stronger and more joyous.  Yes, there are ways in which a long day of rehearsal depletes him- but that physical and mental depletion is more than offset by all that he gains from being in front of these beloved alumni,  making music.

I am also amazed at his determination not to take the easy road by trotting out a bunch of pieces that he’s known backwards and forwards for half a century – or that are fairly simple and straightforward.  He insists on putting some very difficult pieces into the mix,  like Memley’s “Ave Maria” or Zimmerman’s “PsalmKonzert,” and shows a remarkable ability to confront their challenges and help us to conquer them.   When it comes to wringing every last ounce of emotion out of a huge climax, he remains one of the best in the business.   And I’m not sure there is or has ever been a conductor any better at engendering the love of singing, or rekindling that love in the heart of someone who hasmaybe grown complacent about such a precious gift.  Weston has a way of making you so incredibly grateful for the gift of singing, whether you are singing under his direction or out in the audience enjoying it as a listener.

But as remarkable as Weston Noble himself is,  that is only half of the story . . . and the longer I am a part of the Alumni Choir, the more I am coming to understand this.  At least as inspiring as WN himself is the devotion and patience of the singers who come to Decorah to be part of this experience.  I’m not sure I would have fully appreciated this if it weren’t for Kathy Gentes,  Weston’s very close friend,  who has served as the choir’s accompanist for the last several years and who has done more than anyone (along with her husband George) to help Weston over these last few years.  Kathy has remarked a number of times about how much she loves to watch from her place at the piano as the members of the choir listen to Weston and try to respond to whatever direction he is giving us.  There are plenty of times when they have to be patient with him as he tries to sort something out, or struggles to find his place, or fixates on a short passage and rehearses it right into the ground.  It is truly beautiful how understanding people continue to be, even at the end of a long day …. willing to give him their best because they know that Weston is giving them his best.  And you should remember that the Alumni Choir includes a number of choir directors and music teachers among its ranks- people who know a lot about this business and who might be more prone than anyone to frustration and impatience.  But no,  it’s love and gratitude that flows back and it makes all the difference in the world!

Highlights?  It’s hard to even list them . . .  but certainly one great joy of the week was that one of Luther’s finest music alums,  Karen (Gesme) Brunssen,  a highly regarded voice professor at Northwestern University, came back to be a featured soloist on our two concerts – singing Grieg’s “Jeg elsker dig.” and “How can I keep from Singing,” among others things,  unleashing her gorgeous alto voice with ease and eloquence –  and then, at the end of the concert,  coming up to the front to join the choir for “O Lord God.”   Another neat moment in the concert was when we sang Zimmerman’s Psalmkonzert,  which the Nordic Choir had sung on one of its first European tours in the late 1960’s.  And the guy who sang the solo on that tour, way back when, was back to sing that same solo some 45 years later – by memory!  Bravo, Jack!  For me, a very special pleasure came with singing Kurt Bestor’s “Prayer of the Children,” under the direction of one of Luther’s current choral conductors,  Andrew Last.   Dr. Last happened to be a member of Nordic the year they sang this touching work for the very first time, and I was fortunate enough to have been in the audience for the concert Nordic sang that year up in Waukesha.  One of the years I filled in as Carthage Choir director, we did this piece – so all kinds of very precious memories were stirred as I finally got to actually sing this piece for the first time in my life.  (It was a huge help to Weston to have Professor Last helping out on this piece and in other ways through the week.  Also on hand to conduct a piece of her own was another Luther alum who is also one of Luther’s current choral conductors, Jennaya Robison.  She is a crackerjack musician.)   I was also thrilled to be able to finally sing for the first time a gorgeous and beloved chestnut of the Russian choral tradition,  “Salvation is Created.”   I was asked to sing second bass this year,  and on this particular piece there were plenty of incredibly low notes that I could only imagine singing,  but it was still neat to finally sing this piece and with such a fine group of rich, mature voices.  And for old time’s sake,  I was delighted that “John saw the Numbah,” an Alice Parker arrangement that I sang with Nordic way back when, was on the Alumni Choir’s program- along with Nordic’s long-time theme song “O Lord God.”    And if any current Carthage Choir members could have somehow taken in one of our concerts, they would have heard us sing the same gorgeous arrangement of “Danny Boy” that was an encore for the CC this past year.

This was actually the first year that I wasn’t either serving as accompanist or that the choir wasn’t singing one of my compositions – but it was kind of nice to be one more member of the choir and nothing more.  In some ways it made it easier for me both to fully immerse myself in the experience and to step back and observe / appreciate everything as it happened …  and especially to see how Weston’s sails seemed to fill with wind with each passing day.  It was a testimony to the regenerative power of music – and maybe even more to the regenerative power of devotion and friendship.    Because when we are there for each other – really there for each other – anything is possible.

One of the best moments of the week almost slipped my mind!  Towards the end of the concert at Luther,  Mr. Noble surprised all of us by choosing to conduct the last couple of pieces standing up, rather than sitting in the safety of the padded conductor’s chair up on the podium.   It’s hard to even describe how exciting it was for us to see this – and he actually looked far more comfortable and confident than he had before.   And after the concert, when we met for a few minutes back in the recital hall,  he told us (with a little wink in his eye) that he decided that the folks in the audience deserved to get a little taste of the old Weston Noble!  It was a delicious moment – and I would like to think that it was the love of that alumni choir, plus that of the audience gathered in the CFL,  which gave him the strength to do that.  I’ll say it again:  When we are there for each other – really there for each other – anything is possible.