What is your name and what do
you do for a living?
I’m Noah Griffin. I am a
vocal artist who performs
American Standards for a living
specializing in Cole Porter.
Tell me a little about yourself.
Where are you from, where did
you grow up and what was your
childhood like?
I was born in San Francisco.
I grew up in the Richmond
District, north of Golden Gate
Park. I had an ideal childhood. I
was born to parents who were
both educators, who stressed
learning and values. As both
were civil rights pioneers, they
infused me with a strong sense
of social justice and public
service.
What is your fondest childhood
memory?
I was 7 when I auditioned for
the San Francisco Boy’s Chorus.
Though under the normal entry
age, I was accepted. The next
five years opened up a vast
world of musical experiences. We
performed at Disneyland, shared
the stage with Nat Cole, Johnny
Ray, Leontyne Price and Paul
Robeson. We sang with the San
Francisco Cosmopolitan Opera
in Carmen, Turandot, and Tosca.
I soloed in La Boheme. Pretty
heady stuff for a young kid.
Why did you decide to become
an artist?
It was either let it out of me
or die. I suffered a paralyzing
Noah with the San Francisco Boy’s Chorus at age 7.
stroke, in part due to spending a
lifetime of living with a repressed
dream. Once I followed my
dream, my spirit soared. I’ve
never been happier or felt as
fulfilled, both as an artist and
as a human being. Longfellow
has written: “All are architects
of fate/Standing within these
walls of time/Some with massive
deeds and great/And some with
ornaments of rhyme/Nothing
useless is or low/ Each thing in
its place is best/And what seems
but idle show/Strengthens and
supports the rest.”
How are you different than you
were 20 years ago?
I’m living the life I originally
planned. The desire to entertain
is too often a dream dashed
or differed. Dashed because it
isn’t practical. Differed because
as such, it is put off so long
it submerges into a world of
might-have-been. I was working
in politics and government. It fed
my pocketbook but not my soul.
You do what you have to do to
support your family. If you’re
lucky, you keep the pilot light
of your dreams lit. One day you
take those dreams off the back
burner, and they become real.
Through the help and guidance
of my wife Meredith, I now make
a life and a living singing. I’m
able to bring the music I love
to generations who might not
otherwise know of it. That brings
me a great deal of satisfaction.
What art have you worked
on and what is your favorite
artform and why?
Vocal art. My mother called
singing glorified speech. As such
it is my way of communicating
with the world.
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Marin Arts & Culture