Singer-songwriter excited to make return to the stage
Sonia Reid Noble back in the spotlight after years focused on family, writes Cam Fuller.
Sonia Reid Noble is ready for her close-up.
Aside from the odd gig, like singing the national anthem at Saskatchewan Roughriders games, the singer-songwriter hasn’t been in the public eye since moving to Saskatoon from Ontario six years ago while her husband earned a master’s degree in public policy. They also started a family here and now have two daughters, ages three and one.
Reid Noble started singing and playing piano in church and got her bachelor’s degree in music at Redeemer University College. She released her debut album in 2009. Here, she’s the worship director at her church and tutors a handful of private voice students.
“I’ve been not as busy as I’d like to be (performing), but different seasons in life, right? I have two toddlers now, so you can imagine how busy it is. But now we’re focusing back on Sonia, getting back into what I love, too,” she says.
Q What did you think of Saskatoon when you moved here?
A I’ll be honest with you, I’m still adjusting. We’ve made some really great friends, but culturally, it’s different. I’m very much a city girl — Hamilton, Toronto. Living in Hamilton all my life, I was right between Toronto and Buffalo, N.Y. It’s just a different lifestyle. But I’ve found things I can appreciate about Saskatoon, so it’s really grown on me. So now, having kids, I do have a greater appreciation for that here. Can’t lie to you, I’d love to see much more diversity, but that’s part of growth.
Q What has teaching taught you?
A Teaching has taught me that anyone can learn, that’s for sure. I’ve taught all ages and the truth is, especially with music, there’s an ability to find different
skills and different things about yourself in learning music. You don’t have to necessarily approach taking lessons as in ‘I have to become the best singer.’ The truth is, whatever you learn in the process is still going to enhance you; it’s still going to improve who you are as a person.
Q When did you get serious about music in your own life?
A When I went to university. I went to university to get a degree in psychology. I had these big plans about becoming a child psychologist and my minor was going to be music. I remember getting into my second year and it was becoming very apparent I wasn’t leaving with a degree in psychology. I left with a major in music and a minor in psych.
Q What do you think of getting back on the stage?
A I’m excited. I admit there is part of me that’s going ‘Can I do this?’ But when we had our Easter services at our church and I had to sing on Saturday night and again Sunday morning, there’s such a fulfilment in me being able to be that storyteller, that I’ll do whatever I have to do to be able to give the audience something they’ll never forget.
Q What’s your show going to be like?
A I’m doing definitely some jazz, I’m doing some R&B, some of that old-school gospel stuff that we don’t get to hear a lot these days, so it’s going to be fun. I’m really hoping that this is an opportunity to say, hey, Saskatoon and Saskatchewan, here I am.