Noah Kasper

Noah was a local jazz infused rock musician. He became well known in Victoria because he was only the second person in Canada to survive a rare four-organ transplant. Only about 40 such transplants have been done worldwide. He would only live four more years and his health throughout would remain fragile. He continued to write music up until the very end.

The guitar you see in the picture was built after his death following the wishes of Noah. The guitar is painted in his blood. He got the idea from the movie, The Red Violin. It sounds kind of weird I know but he was very young and I imagine the idea of living on through a guitar was what appealed to him. The guitar was for sale in a local store and last Wednesday morning it was stolen along with two other guitars. They don't think the thief had any idea of the significance of the red guitar. The thief or thieves just grabbed three guitars hanging side by side and left much more expensive guitars behind.

His life was never an easy one. Noah and I first crossed paths in a small, scruffy town in Saskatchewan. I was a teacher at his school and he was in grade four. When I think of Noah I always think of a line from a Joan Armatrading song, "Be yourself, be more like I tell you." Noah was crucified in that town.

One noon hour he came to me with a song he had written but did not know how to take the melody from his head and onto paper. He sang, I wrote out the notes. He then came back asking me if I would fill in the music. So I wrote out a rather grand piece for such a simple melody. He was very specific about what he wanted. "Make sure you use every key. Don't miss any of them out. I want lots and lots of runs. Oh, and a really loud part." It was pretty funny and at times exasperating. Just try collaborating with a kid in grade four sometime! They're tough. The piece ended up being a kind of theme and variations to get in everything he wanted.

I ended up playing the piece at a friend's wedding. The friend had been Noah's classroom teacher and it seemed rather fitting. I don't think he ever knew that.

I'm going to end with a quote by his father, "That's a very personal and almost spiritual guitar. I just wonder if that's something a thief wants to take on."