Joseph Nolan has been hailed “as one of the great organists of our time” (ABC Radio National), “indisputably one of the world’s finest organists” (Limelight, Australia), “for his miraculous playing” (BBC Radio 3 Record Review), “for his towering technique, vivid virtuosity, and inspired interpretive insight’’ (Gramophone, UK), and “as the Australian counterpart of Cameron Carpenter here in the USA—an organist with absolutely phenomenal keyboard technique’’ (Fanfare, USA).
Joseph’s discography for Gramophone Label of the Year, Signum Records, is a Who’s Who of the world’s greatest organs and buildings, and includes St Sulpice, Paris, La Madeleine, Paris, St Etienne Du Mont, Paris, St Sernin Toulouse, St Francois de Sales, Lyon, St Bavo Haarlem, St Ouen Rouen, and Buckingham Palace.
Arguably best known for his recordings of the complete organ works of Widor, Joseph’s Widor cycle has been awarded two Gramophone Critics Choice, innumerable five-star reviews in the major music magazines, and benchmark status in Gramophone, New York’s The Criterion, MusicWeb International and ClassicalSource. The disks have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Pipedreams USA, Radio France, Radio Sweden, and ABC Classic, amongst others.
A much sought-after soloist with major orchestras, Joseph Nolan made his debut as soloist at Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (alongside star US mezzo-soprano Susan Graham) under their former chief conductor, David Robertson. The concerts received rave reviews in Limelight and The Sydney Morning Herald, who stated that “Nolan has an unequivocally refined ear and sensitivity to French repertoire... I have never heard the Sydney Opera House organ sound better”.
Joseph has also performed as a soloist with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra at St. Peter’s Cathedral, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra at Llewellyn Hall, the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra at Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra at QPAC, and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra at Perth Concert Hall. He has also appeared as a featured soloist on a national tour with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra alongside famed Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero and conductor Alexander Shelley.
An organ student of Professor Richard Popplewell at The Royal College of Music, London, Joseph won multiple prizes, including for most promising organ student. Awarded First Class Honors for his BMus final recital at the Temple Church, London, Joseph continued his postgraduate study with Marie Claire Alain in Paris, winning scholarships from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the Hattori Foundation.
Upon returning to London, Joseph was appointed to Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace, in 2004. Joseph has performed on numerous occasions at Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace, most notably giving the opening concert of the refurbished Grand Ballroom organ to a distinguished invited audience. Joseph was the first solo artist to be featured on disk playing the Grand Ballroom organ in Buckingham Palace, released on the Signum Records label in 2007.
Joseph was recruited as Master of Music at St George’s Cathedral, Perth, Western Australia by Dean Emeritus, Dr John Shepherd, in 2008. Founded by Joseph in 2009, the Cathedral Consort and Cathedral Concert Series are now firmly established as cultural jewels of Western Australia. The Australian and West Australian newspapers have described the Cathedral Consort’s performances as ‘‘elite and world class”.
Under Joseph’s leadership, The Cathedral Consort have performed at Perth Festival, for Musica Viva and collaborated with The Hilliard Ensemble, The Academy of Ancient Music, and The King's Singers. Gloria, a collaboration between WASO, St George’s Cathedral Consort, and contemporary dance group, Co3, conducted by Joseph, was awarded the 2023 Australian Performing Arts Mainstage award.
Most recently, Joseph conducted the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and St George’s Cathedral Consort at Perth Concert Hall during Holy Week in 2024. Australia’s national Arts Magazine, Limelight, awarded the concert a five-star review stating ‘‘Nolan must be an uncompromising taskmaster to have brought his ensemble to this level of singing”.
The Government of France awarded Joseph the medal of Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres for services to French music in 2016. An Honorary Fellow of the University of Western Australia, Joseph was awarded the university’s prestigious higher doctorate, the Doctor of Letters, in 2018. Joseph’s career has also been the subject of substantial interviews on Radio National (Australia) and in features within Gramophone, Choir and Organ, The Organ, The Age (Sydney), Classical Music, and The Australian.
Joseph Nolan is represented for general worldwide management by Mark Stephan Buhl Artists Management, Vienna.
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