Joan Nordell was President of Emmanuel Music from 2003 to 2010, leading the organization through times of unprecedented challenge and change. Joan was a force of nature indefatigable in her energetic devotion to doing whatever it took to bring Emmanuel Music to new successes. Everyone who worked with Joan knew that she was unflagging and unstoppable.

“One of the hallmarks of our fifty-year history of presenting cantatas is that Bach’s music is a ‘living laboratory.’ These are not museum pieces. They can be, and we need to be incredibly informed and understand the context. But they resonate with the performer, with the listener, in a way that is real right now for where each individual is on their own journey, either musically or emotionally or spiritually.”

-Ryan Turner, Artistic Director