Joseph Nolan (born 3 May 1974) is an English-born Australian
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...
and conductor.
Education
Joseph Nolan received a scholarship for the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...
in London, where he studied
organ with Professor
Richard Popplewell
Richard Popplewell LVO (18 October 1935 - 22 March 2016) was an English organist and composer who served at the Chapel Royal and St Michael's, Cornhill.
Works
His music was published by Banks.
Choral
* A vast cloud of love (words by Madeli ...
. During his time at the Royal College, he was awarded the Canon Bark Prize for most promising organ student. After receiving First Class Honours for his BMus final recital at the
Temple Church
The Temple Church is a Royal peculiar church in the City of London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. It was consecrated on 10 February 1185 by Patriarch Heraclius of J ...
in London, he continued his postgraduate studies for two years with
Marie-Claire Alain
Marie-Claire Geneviève Alain-Gommier (10 August 1926 – 26 February 2013) was a French organist, scholar and teacher best known for her prolific recording career, with 260 recordings, making her the most-recorded classical organist in the world ...
in Paris. While in Paris, he was supported by scholarships he obtained from the
Countess of Munster Musical Trust.
[
] and the Hattori Foundation.
[
] In London, he completed his studies with Dame
Gillian Weir
Dame Gillian Constance Weir (born 17 January 1941) is a New Zealand-British organist.
Biography
Weir was born in Martinborough, New Zealand, on 17 January 1941. Her parents were Clarice Mildred Foy ( Bignell) and Cecil Alexander Weir. She re ...
while being supported by the
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...
.
[
]
Career
In 2004, Nolan was appointed organist to the
Chapel Royal St. James's Palace.
[Strahle, Graham (20 July 2013)]
"Review: Charles-Marie Widor: The Organ Symphonies Vol 1 (Joseph Nolan)"
''The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' This allowed him to perform on numerous occasions at
Buckingham Palace, and it was here that he gave the opening concert on the refurbished organ in the Buckingham Palace Ballroom. He was also the first organist to make a commercial recording with this organ on the UK recording label
Signum Records
Signum Records, also known as Signum Classics, is a classical musical record label in the UK founded in 1997.
The label began with a project to make the first recording of the complete works of Thomas Tallis.
The artists for the Tallis recordin ...
.
[
] In 2008, Nolan was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers of
St George's Cathedral, Perth in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
.
[
] The Cathedral's consort is now described as "One of Australia's Best".
[
]
In addition to his cathedral duties, Nolan performs regularly in concert around Australia and in Europe. He has appeared with the
West Australian Symphony Orchestra
The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. Its principal concert venue is the Perth Concert Hall. WASO also gives concerts at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. , W ...
[
] and has performed solo in recital at the
Sydney Opera House as part of the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra's 2017 concert season.
[
] He has performed with several groups, including the King's Singers at the Bad Homberg International Festival,
[
] and with trumpeters
Alison Balsom
Alison Louise Balsom, Lady Mendes, (born 7 October 1978) is an English trumpet soloist, arranger, producer, and music educator. Balsom was awarded Artist of the Year at the 2013 Gramophone Awards and has won three Classic BRIT Awards and thre ...
,
Crispian Steele-Perkins
Crispian Steele-Perkins (born 18 December 1944) is an internationally acclaimed classical trumpeter who was educated at Copthorne Preparatory School, Marlborough College and the Guildhall School of Music.
Personal life
Steele-Perkins lives i ...
and
David Elton.
[
]
As a recording artist, Nolan is particularly known for his recordings of the complete organ works of
Charles-Marie Widor
Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the mid-Romantic era, most notable for his ten organ symphonies. His Toccata from the fifth organ symphony has become one of th ...
for Signum Records. These pieces were recorded at the French churches of
La Madeleine, Paris; St. Francois de Sales, Lyon; and
St. Sernin Toulouse and received two Editor's Choice awards in
Limelight Magazine, Australia.
[
] Nolan completed recording Widor's Organ Symphonies with the release of Volume 5 in February 2016, featuring the ''Symphony gothique, Op.70'' and ''Symphony romane, Op.73'' which received five-star reviews in Limelight Magazine
[
] and in the UK magazine
Choir & Organ
Rhinegold Publishing is an independent publisher of music magazines, music yearbooks and education resources, founded in 1977. Among Rhinegold's publications are '' Choir & Organ'' and ''Classical Music Magazine
''Classical Music'' is a tra ...
,
[
] and later a nomination for Limelight Magazine's 2016 instrumental recording of the year.
[
] In June 2017 Nolan embarked on a cycle of complete performances of the Widor Symphonies - 10 symphonies in 7 days - in Melbourne,
[
] and the following month released a sixth disc of Widor's other works for solo organ which was a 2017 Critics' Choice in
Gramophone Magazine
''Gramophone'' is a magazine published monthly in London, devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie who continued to edit the magazine until 1961. It was ac ...
.
[
] His most recent release for Signum in January 2018 was recorded at
St. Etienne du Mont, Paris and features, amongst other works, the world premiere recording of
David Briggs' ''Le Tombeau de Duruflé''. It was awarded Limelight Magazine's Recording of the Month in March 2018.
[
]
In April 2016, Nolan was made a Chevalier (Knight) in the
Order of French Arts and Letters for his services to French Music.
[
] He was also appointed (in 2013) as an Honorary Research Fellow of the
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...
[
] Conservatorium of Music in recognition for his musical accomplishments in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, Australia and abroad. In March 2018 the University awarded Joseph their prestigious higher doctorate, the
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...
.
[
]
He became an Australian citizen in 2012.
["Nolan Honoured by French Government", '' Limelight'', June 2016, p. 13]
Discography
* Supernova (2001),
Ripon Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, i ...
, Herald AV HAVPCD274
* Widor: Organ Symphonies Nos. 1&2 (2004),
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King and locally nicknamed "Paddy's Wigwam", is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Li ...
, ASV Records ASV1165
* Widor ''Organ Symphony No.4'', Guilmant ''Organ Sonata'', Roger-Ducasse ''Pastorale in F'',
Church of St. Ouen, Rouen, ASV Records ASV1175
* Toccare Incandescent (2007),
Coventry Cathedral, Herald AV HAVPCD329
* The Organ of Buckingham Palace Ballroom (2008),
Buckingham Palace Ballroom, Signum Records SIGCD114
* The Organ of Saint Sulpice, Paris (2009),
Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris
, image = Paris Saint-Sulpice Fassade 4-5 A.jpg
, image_size =
, pushpin map = Paris
, pushpin label position =
, coordinates =
, location = Place Saint-Sulpice 6th arrond ...
, Signum Records SIGCD167
* Widor: The Organ Symphonies, Vol. 1 (2012),
La Madeleine, Paris, Signum Records SIGCD292
* Organ Collection (2012), various, Signum Records SIGCD302
* Widor: The Organ Symphonies, Vol. 2 (2013), La Madeleine, Paris, Signum Records SIGCD319
* Widor: The Organ Symphonies, Vol. 3 (2013), La Madeleine, Paris, Signum Records SIGCD334
* Widor: The Organ Symphonies, Vol. 4 (2014), La Madeleine, Paris, Signum Records SIGCD337
* Widor: The Organ Symphonies, Vol. 5 (2016), La Madeleine, Paris and
St. Sernin Toulouse, Signum Records SIGCD347
* Widor: Solo Organ Works (2017),
St. Sernin Toulouse and St. Francois de Sales, Lyon, Signum Records SIGCD438
* Midnight at St Etienne du Mont (2018),
St. Etienne du Mont, Paris, Signum Records SIGCD470
References
External links
Joseph Nolan, Organist – St George's Cathedral, Perth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, Joseph
English classical organists
British male organists
Australian classical organists
Living people
1974 births
Alumni of the Royal College of Music
English emigrants to Australia
Naturalised citizens of Australia
21st-century organists
21st-century British male musicians
Male classical organists