David Noon

Faculty Emeritus

Composer, author, educator, DAVID NOON retired from Manhattan School of Music in 2011 after 30 years of service, including being Chairman of the Music History Department (1981-2007), Chairman of the Composition Department (1989-1998), and Dean of Academics (1998-2006). He was composer-artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (1996-1998). In 2007-2008, Noon was a visiting professor of musicology and composition at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, China.

David Noon was educated at Pomona College (BA in composition), New York University (MA in historical musicology), and Yale University (MMA & DMA in composition). At MSM, Dr. Noon specialized in teaching large lecture survey courses: his focus was Medieval & Renaissance music and music of the 20th century. He taught popular elective courses on Stravinsky, American Music, Venice, and the Year 1924, all of which presented public concerts often reviewed by the New York Times.

A prolific composer, Noon has written 267 works, including 12 string quartets, 3 piano concerti, and numerous works featuring percussion. As an author, he has written 20 books of historical fiction and historical mysteries, including 7 Nadia Boulanger mysteries. He has written two books of poetry and one stage work, Shadow Play.

Dr. Noon has been honored by ASCAP, BMI, Yale, the Aspen Festival, Chamber Music America, Pomona College, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Manhattan School of Music (Presidential Medal of Honor, 2006). In 2006, Ned Rorem wrote: “David Noon’s music is technically perfect in every shape and size.   But that would count for naught if it did not come alive. David Noon’s music breathes and bleeds—it is the real thing.”