Interview: Composer Jordan Nobles, Winner of 2024 Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music
“I write songs. Not for a living, but because my brain works that way. Sometimes the germ of a new song comes to me when I’m out in the wide world – especially when I’m hiking. And I’m in good company: the Hebrides inspired Mendelssohn. Travels in America gave Dvořák a bounty of grist for his musical mill. And JUNO Award-winning composer Jordan Nobles drew inspiration for Kanata for Large Choir, the winning 2024 Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music, from his travels through the Canadian landscape.
Jordan Nobles
“The experience of being in those spaces, the rivers, lakes, coastline, and mountains firsthand, deeply informs my creative process,” Nobles told me. “It’s in the quiet moments of reflection after hiking a trail or standing by the ocean that musical ideas begin to form. I absorb the sounds, the textures, and the atmosphere of a place, and those impressions come back with me when composing.”
And the landscape is more than a backdrop, he said. “It’s an active element in the work. This piece is, in a sense, a musical translation of my journey across Canada, but one that unfolds in the mind and in sound rather than on paper while traveling.”
Music reflecting wide open spaces is nothing new for Nobles, who is known for “spatial” music, often meant to be performed in specific acoustical locations and with musicians surrounding the audience…”
