ARTICLE: Noah Spargo - Jaspers Jottings

Noah Spargo: Making the Most Of It.

Since intermediate school, I had Noah pegged as one of the best musicians in my peer group. Starting out in brass bands at church, Noah developed a deep understanding for musical connection in a group environment very early on. This is what musicians call musicality and in the world of session work, it is the most valuable asset one can have. Noah's musicality has taken him all over the world to places like America, Japan, Australia, and every corner of New Zealand, playing percussion and brass for a variety of different disciplines. He has been involved in TV shows, music festivals, stage shows and nation wide tours just to name a few. Each time I’ve had the pleasure of working with Noah, our project runs smoothly with an atmosphere of professionalism, passion and teamwork. Since finishing the Commercial Music degree at Massey, Noah Spargo’s career has been on an upward trajectory. I’ve spoken to him about his experience at Massey and how he has made the most of the cards dealt.

Noah turned down a scholarship to MAINZ in favor of his spot in the first year of the Commercial Music degree. “I wanted to be pushed beyond the conventional thoughts of my instrument and music as a wider art form. I didn’t want to know how to play drums well, I wanted to know how to use drums as a compositional tool.” Massey was the school to offer a more avant garde approach to his instrument and Noah was very open to learning in this setting. With this mindset, he has made valuable connections through the course, developed creative production skills and opened opportunities for himself that he wouldn’t have previously been able to accept. However, Noah says that  it’s not just about sitting around and waiting for opportunities to fall in your lap, sometimes you have to go out and find them OR create them yourself. Using the facilities and resources at Massey, Noah has created a career for himself and set up a network of valuable contacts for years to come.

After university, Noah moved into working as a self employed contractor. Different opportunities would arise and he’d take them by the horns, building up an extensive portfolio, playing for artists he met in the course or applying his practical production skills to businesses moving online. “I’ve now significantly upskilled in that area and have major ongoing work…”

With the rounded skill set that Noah picked up at Massey, he has managed to keep his schedule busy and varied. “I might have back to back rehearsals in a day. [I’ll] find myself playing electronic indie pop in the morning and dramatic musical theater in the afternoon…The thing I love most about being a session musician is the necessity to adapt your playing style and musical approach to suit the given situation you find yourself in.”

This comes back to that musicality I mentioned before. Noah has worked hard to make himself a particularly hireable musician. It transcends his mere technical ability and defines how his contribution to a space positively affects the final result. His ability to fit into an environment like a cog in a well oiled machine is a quiet superpower that has led him to a diverse work life and well rounded perspective on music.

While Noah has used his time efficiently to maximize his opportunities at Massey, he does still reminisce about what could've been. “Something I didn’t realize I would miss so much now was the opportunity to just make music every day of the week and to be fully absorbed in a place where everyone breathes creativity…a giant collective pool of inspiration.” This is an important point because I don’t feel that enough people appreciate what we have here at Massey. Spending three years outside school, I too missed the musical community atmosphere which was a big drawing card for me to come back to school. It’s unfortunate that we have had a pandemic to live through but I feel a separation between our cohort and I wish the next years don’t follow suit. Where are the acoustic hallway jams? Why has my highschool year group produced more bands than us? I feel we all need to take a leaf (or olive branch) from Noah's book and make the most of the small amount of time we have left here.

Graduating from university seems like it’ll be daunting. For a lot of us, it’ll be the first time we stand on our own two feet and try to make a life out of fulfilling work. I, for one, am frightened of not finding work or being forgotten about but I know I need to turn that scared energy into excitement. Looking back at the last five years of Noah’s career, he has had an astonishing time traveling and playing music. However, these words from him brought me more comfort about my future. “At the time, I had no idea those opportunities would land in front of me, but that’s what excites me about the future. I have no idea where music is taking me, but my ambition is to do more.”

Written by Jasper West