Eimear Noone discusses the intensity of a career built on passion
Passion is something we all crave in life or career and, when it comes to conducting an orchestra, Kilconnell woman Eimear Noone has got that in spades, writes Jessica Thompson.
Look at any photograph of Eimear in her element before an orchestra and you’ll see the facial expression of a woman who absolutely loves what she does.
“I’m scared of which facial expressions they catch me in the middle of,” she laughs, when this observation is put to her. Arms flying, eyes focused and hair flowing, she’s certainly a sight to behold when she’s in action. Throw in some of the incredible outfits she wears and she could be a sorceress in one of the video games for which she composes.
“The way I describe it is it’s like being inside the music in 3D,” Eimear explains. “And it’s also like being inside time, because you see it coming ahead of you. You see it going past you. It’s an amazing experience. It’s almost an overwhelming amount of stimulus coming at you at once. It’s the closest I can get to Virtual Reality in real life. If you add my imagination to what’s happening in real life, it’s kind of like a fantasia sort of experience.”
It’s not often you see a woman conducting an orchestra. In fact, that line of work is still largely dominated by men. But with her passion and her flare for the dramatic, it’s really no surprise that Eimear was chosen to be the first woman to ever conduct the orchestra at the Oscars.
“I have to commend the producers, Stephanie Allain and Lynette Howell Taylor, for creating that space for me,” she says. “They’re two incredible women. They’re amazing producers and when they’re having their moment in the sun, they’re reaching back to pull somebody else up – like me – and then I have my arm out for someone else and that’s a chain of events that they’ve set in motion. That’s a great positive and I think it’s a wonderful example of the spirit of the women of the arts and entertainment industry – in Los Angeles and globally.
“I think that the ‘me too’ movement had to happen and now we’re in a place where we’re reaching out and pulling each other up and creating a very positive, professional chain. So it’s normalising the optics of seeing women in these positions – seeing women producing the Oscars, seeing women winning awards and seeing women conducting the orchestra.”
She’s making a name for herself but you certainly won’t see this Galway woman getting on any kind of high horse. In fact, when she gets the opportunity, she’s keen to work with and support other Irish creatives. She was there to cheer on Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, who was nominated for Best Actress for her role in Little Women. She also wore a spectacular design created by Dublin-based Claire Garvey on the night.
“I absolutely love working with Irish creatives. It’s always my favourite because there’s a creative shorthand. I can’t really explain it… you have the same frame of reference,” she says.
“You have the same cultural experience. You’ve grown up with the same pop culture. You saw the same films and TV shows, played the same video games, went to the same concerts, had the same type of educational background and it’s just easier to get in the creative flow with people,” she says.
“I can’t believe Galway city is less than 80,000 people. Galway is such a cultural heavy hitter. That’s a tiny town in the United States – there are a lot of tiny towns in the US that aren’t nearly as culturally effective around the world.”
That’s just Galway city though. Add in the talent from rural Galway and the county’s cultural effect increases hugely. Even Kilconnell and the surrounding areas have produced some incredible talent.
“Paddy Fahy is from the village of Kilconnell. We lost him about two years ago at the age of 102. He was the most lauded composer of traditional Irish music alive at the time,” Eimear explains.
“And then three miles one way is Aughrim where Oscar-winner Danny Boyle’s people are from. And then the other side is where Philip Tracey is from, so that’s three miles in either direction, so I’m just trying to keep up!
“When you grow up with beauty around you and changing seasons, it’s hard not to be creative. Most Irish people are creative. We’re only 4.6m people just in the Republic and we punch way above our weight. And then when you add our friends in Northern Ireland, god almighty, there are just so many doing so many incredible things for a small number.”
Eimear is known for composing the scores for video games such as World of Warcraft and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword but is currently working with her husband, Craig Stuart Garfinkle, and her brother, Eamon Noone, on the score for Oops 2 – a fantastic animation feature with Galway-based producer Moe Honan who she says is “a force of nature”.
“I’m so impressed by her. She is amazing. She’s pulled in a German director, animators from Ireland and all over Europe, producers from all over Europe, all sorts of composers,” Eimear explained.
Recording for that score began literally days after the Oscars performance, which means Eimear was on a plane back to Ireland and working through the jet lag in no time at all.
“Jet lag is not my friend. It doesn’t get easier. I just rely on caffeine and adrenaline, basically. I tried to give up coffee for a hot minute but then I realised that you can’t do this career without caffeine, so forget that,” she laughs.
“At some point, I think I’ll have my adrenal gland removed, dried, framed and put over my desk. It’s intense.”
Intense it may be, but if anyone can handle it, Eimear can. She made history at the Oscars this year and is an inspiration to women both at home and around the world.
