Player Portrait

Charles Noble

Viola

First season with the Oregon Symphony:

1995-1996

Most influential teacher(s):

I was fortunate to have two: Joyce Ramee, who introduced me to the viola and its possibilities; and Roberto Diaz, who showed me that the way to being a great musician also involves being a great person.

Earliest musical memory:

My father’s recording of Mozart’s “Magic Flute” playing on his phonograph when I was 4 years old, and Mr. Rogers singing “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

"I first knew I would make music my career when ... "

I switched from violin to viola in my junior year of college…it was the beginning of something special.

"Other than performing music, I've always thought it might be fun to be a ... "

Writer or architect. I can’t get too far from the creative process.

Favorite composer and/or period?

Bela Bartok. His music has it all: meticulous construction, enormous pathos, great rhythmic vitality, and storytelling. Period? Right now. We may be in the most fertile period of musical composition since the time of Haydn and Mozart. Fin de siecle periods are always like that. It’s a very exciting time to be a musician or an audience member.

What does this photograph say about your life?

My wife Heather and I have so much fun together, and music is a major thread that has bound our lives together from our first meeting in a string quartet in Baltimore six years ago. We’re at the beginning of a life-long journey together, a journey based upon love, respect, and having fun.

What do you enjoy most about performing?

The act of re-creating and re-interpreting great pieces of music from simple notes on a page. You’re literally bringing the thoughts of a person who may be long dead back to life. It’s a process that will never cease to amaze me.

Other than playing great music, what do you see as the Symphony's most important role?

To keep musical culture, which is the hallmark of all great civilizations, alive in a society which seems bound and determined to destroy anything with profundity and longevity.

What is your favorite part of being a member of the Oregon Symphony?

Being a part of a group of people who all care deeply about what they do. As musicians we’ve got very different ideas about what’s best, which can cause friction and disagreement, but we’re all passionate about what we do, and that’s the common denominator that counts.

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