Title: Professor Emeritus
Degree: M.M., University of Michigan

Weston Noble, 94, of Decorah, Iowa, passed away peacefully Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016 in Decorah.

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Weston Noble was a highly accomplished and honored American music educator and conductor. Mr. Noble had a fifty-seven year tenure as a conductor and teacher at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. He received acclaim from across the country and the world as the conductor of the Luther College Nordic Choir from 1948 to 2005, the Luther College Concert Band from 1948 to 1973, and as guest director for over 900 all-state bands, orchestras, choirs, and festivals across four continents.

Mr. Noble was a charter member of the American Choral Directors Association and an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association. In 1994 the North Central Division of the American Choral Directors Association established the Weston H. Noble Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Choral Art. Mr. Noble was the first to be honored by this award.

Because of his outstanding contributions to choral music, Mr. Noble was the recipient of the Robert Lawson Shaw Award given by the American Choral Directors Association. Due to his outstanding contributions to instrumental music, he was awarded the 2008 Midwest Clinic Medal of Honor, given by the International Convention of Band and Orchestra Directors. In the field of music education the National Federation of State High School Associations recognized him as the Outstanding Music Educator of the United States. Also in the field of music education/industry, the National Association for Music Education awarded him the Lowell Mason Fellow Award. He is also listed in the World Biographical Hall of Fame and Marquis’ Who’s Who in the World 2009.

Mr. Noble held five honorary doctorate degrees: Augustana College (South Dakota), St. Olaf College, Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Carthage College, and Wartburg College. He was awarded the St. Olav’s Medal from King Harald V of Norway for his contributions to Norwegian-American relations.

In 2009 he conducted the International Schools Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with participants from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Indonesia. He is the resident conductor of the Pacific Summer Music Festival of Guam. In December 2010 Mr. Noble conducted Handel’s Messiah in Seoul, Korea, returning to Korea in 2013 to conduct the Korea National Choir.