Joseph Nolan (born 3 May 1974) is an English-born Australian

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and conductor.

Education

Joseph Nolan received a scholarship for the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) 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 pe ...

in London, where he studied organ with Professor Richard Popplewell. 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, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...

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 worl ...

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 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 daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'' This allowed him to perform on numerous occasions at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

, 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. In 2008, Nolan was appointed Organist and Master of the Choristers of

St George's Cathedral, Perth St George's Cathedral is the principal Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican church in the city of Perth, Western Australia, and the cathedra, mother-church of the Anglican Diocese of Perth. It is located on St Georges Terrace, Perth, St Georg ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. 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 and has performed solo in recital at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

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, Crispian Steele-Perkins and David Elton. As a recording artist, Nolan is particularly known for his recordings of the complete organ works of Charles-Marie Widor for Signum Records. These pieces were recorded at the French churches of

La Madeleine, Paris The Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (, ), or less formally, La Madeleine (), is a Catholic parish church on Place de la Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was planned by Louis XV as the focal point of the new Rue Royal, leading t ...

; 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, 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. 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 University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

Conservatorium of Music in recognition for his musical accomplishments in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, 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 '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

. He became an Australian citizen in 2012."Nolan Honoured by French Government", ''

Limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a non-electric type of stage lighting that was once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illum ...

'', June 2016, p. 13

Discography

* Supernova (2001), Ripon Cathedral, 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 cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...

, 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 The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

, 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, Signum Records SIGCD167 * Widor: The Organ Symphonies, Vol. 1 (2012),

, 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 Australian classical organists Living people 1974 births Alumni of the Royal College of Music English emigrants to Australia Naturalised citizens of Australia 21st-century English organists 21st-century British male musicians British male classical organists