Professor Alistair Noble

Professor Alistair Noble, appointed President of Nan Tien Institute (NTI) in 2025, is a creative and strategic leader whose executive experience spans the breadth of Australian higher education, including public (The Australian National University/ANU), private (Australian Institute of Music/AIM), and regional (University of New England/UNE) environments. He recently served as Head of School and Professor of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) at UNE (2020-2025). Previous roles have included Executive Dean at AIM (2018–2020) and Associate Dean at ANU (2010–2013).

An internationally recognised scholar in music analysis and an active creative arts practitioner, Professor Noble holds a PhD and a Master of Music degree from ANU. He is an award-winning PhD supervisor and his scholarly output includes the monograph, Composing Ambiguity: The Early Music of Morton Feldman (Ashgate/Routledge, 2013), which reviewers praised for providing foundational analysis for the field, offering ‘manifold original insights… based upon the investigation of primary sources’ (International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music). He has published widely, including scholarly reviews in Tempo (Cambridge University Press) and other journals, and essays for The Conversation. Noble is a strong advocate for Humanities, Arts, and Social Science disciplines and their critical importance in the Australian context (‘Burning Questions and the Creative Imaginary: Our Humanities in Australian Regional Communities’, Australian Humanities Review, February 2025).

In wider contributions to Australian communities, Professor Noble has served as NSW Vice-Chancellors’ Committee delegate to the Australian Music Examinations Board, as a member of the Board of Camerata Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, and as Chair of the Board of Arts North West, a NSW government-supported Regional Arts Development Organisation. He has a longstanding personal interest in Buddhism and strongly supports NTI’s values and the Institute’s aim to expand the positive impact of Buddhist philosophy in Australia through education, scholarship, and practical engagement.