Arthur Nobile, Jr. or "Arty" is a dynamic young musician. He has been characterized as combining the improvisational genius of abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock and the magnetic aura of Virgil Fox. Arty is described in organ virtuoso Diane Bish's biography as "...the most notable example of one that has been directly affected by the works and presentations of The Joy of Music" (the international television program of Bish). He is acclaimed by his peers and audiences alike for his energetic playing, possessed of a youthful muscularity, and for his bold improvisational style.
Nobile's talents waxed through his friendship with Diane Bish. They were brought together by a mutual affection for the great 117 rank, 7,000 pipe Ruffatti organ of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As Bish represents greatness to an earlier generation, Arty Nobile exemplifies the next generation of virtuosi, who attempt to cultivate and foster consideration for the integrity of an important art.
As part of his undergraduate studies, Nobile did a comparative sound study of pipe organs in ten of the most significant worship spaces in the United States. These include St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York; The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California; The Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Baltimore, Maryland; Coral Ridge Church, and St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. The study of each included a performance on the organ and comprehensive evaluation of acoustic qualities.
Unlike his contemporaries, Arty Nobile, Jr. did not follow the traditional regimen of conservatory studies. His unique background and personality do not lend themselves to a simple curriculum in performance. While an undergraduate at Seton Hill College in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, his academic interests included medieval women mystics, the architecture of Philip Johnson, the art of Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, and the pedagogy of Nadia Boulanger.
While still a student, Arty composed Canterbury Sketch—a highly improvisational musical interpretation of the personalities of 10 pilgrims from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. His studies concluded with a thesis on spirituality entitled "Fuga Mundi", and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art History.
He is both a scholar and a performer.
In the album notes which accompany Arty's CD entitled Fresco, Dr. Fred Moleck, editor of GIA Quarterly, writes:
"In the history of Western Music there are waves of creativity which fall within a tight time frame. These waves are made by two or three generations of creative musicians whose distinct musical style and language have been easily recognized and named. For example, the international style of Renaissance polyphony, the Viennese symphonists, and the French Impressionists are three of the most obvious. Another wave is breaking around us, and it has yet to be named. What I have in mind is today's generation of organist: virtuosi who do more than point back to the great Titans of the French improvisationists of the 19th and 20th centuries."
"The young organists of today recapture the fire and lightning of the organ symphonies and fantasies which thundered through the great Gothic cathedrals and churches of France. Now these musicians forge together the Romantic penchant for 'spectaculo' with the 20th century's concern for form and balance. Such a performer in this recent battalion of fireworks is Arty Nobile, Jr."