Whether they are told through music, poetry, comedy, or performance art, it’s the story that matters most.
My final performance will be a semi-autobiographical story told through music,
poetry, and spoken word. It will explore trauma, identity, depression, and hope.
The story asks the questions:
How do you move on from a past that will not let you go?
How do you feel whole when you’ve been fragmented?
The performance will take the audience on a journey through conflicting emotions,
jump through different points in time, and conclude in tentative acceptance. It will not provide the listener/reader with answers, but will instead invite them to feel and reflect along with me.
Artist statement
24-year old Noah Elliott (they/them) is an emerging indie artist and poet from Utrecht, The Netherlands. Their work is a blend of intimate melodies, minimalistic arrangements, and introspective spoken word, creating raw and honest pieces that invite listeners into their world.
At the core of Noah's music is a commitment to honesty and vulnerability. Their work delves into themes of mental health and queer identity, exploring these topics with a raw authenticity. Noah hopes to create a safe and inclusive space for their audience. Drawing from personal experiences, they aim to provide comfort and recognition to listeners, much like the artists who inspired them. They found solace and recognition in the work of others, who could find
the words for them when they could not. Noah hopes to do this for others one day.
From an early age, Noah’s life was filled with books. It is no wonder they grew up with a passion for literature. “My parents' house feels like a library, there are books in every corner, on every chair and every table. I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember.” At 13, they fell in love with poetry after reading Emily Dickinson, who remains one of their inspirations to this day.
In Noah's creative process, inspiration blooms from stillness—the quiet moments spent looking out their bedroom window or wandering through an empty street. Themes emerge organically, driven by emotions or profound reflections on identity, mental health, and the human experience.
Known as ‘The Professor’ among friends, Noah loves to read, study, and analyze poetry and music. Their studies often fuel their creative process. “Currently I am fascinated by fragmentation, and how it helps us articulate what cannot be expressed with words. The fragmented nature of poetry, memory, and trauma interests me in particular.”
Ambitions
In five years, Noah hopes to have released their debut album, published a poetry collection or two, and live in an apartment with two cats. They see themselves teaching or coaching as well as maintaining their own creative practice. Most likely they will still regularly be joking about their therapist on stage, while also creating a space for collective grief and community.
Noah hopes to find more ways to combine their activism, their creative practice, and their academic pursuits.
In 2024-2025 Noah will pursue a masters degree in comparative literature and continue to develop their musical and poetic projects.
Learned during the studies
"This might sound rather obvious: the most important thing I've learned is to be an artist," Noah says. "I have always been creative and written music and poetry, I've always loved being on stage; but being an artist takes so much more than that. During my 4 years at Musician 3.0, especially during year 3 and 4, I have learned to take myself seriously, to stand behind my work, to believe in my knowledge and abilities. To be both compassionate and critical towards myself, my practice, and my work. For me, that is the difference between simply being someone who makes and being an artist."
List of publications / exhibitions / prices / concerts / shows etc.
This March, Noah released their sophomore EP "Even Still" with a release show at Moira, Utrecht. They ended the school year with a bang with their graduation performance If I Close My Eyes in EKKO in June.
In July 2022 they released the EP "I'm Still Breathing", which was inspired by their 1st year end-performance at 3.0.
Noah was also awarded the second prize at the 2021 Leiden Nobel Awards.
Even Still (EP)
"The EP is an exploration of connection, loneliness, and grief", Noah explains. "Much of it was written in the aftermath of the covid pandemic, during my early 20's... Loneliness was a big theme for me at that time, for all of us. But so was connection."
Even Still, produced by Rengert Eggink at Slowdown Studio, is Noah's first studio EP. Collaboration with different musicians and Rengert resulted in a completely new sound compared to the intimacy of I'm Still Breathing, which Noah recorded in the bedroom of their childhood home. "That was definitely a challenge for me," Noah adds, "to give such intimate personal work to other musicians and let them hold it, change it, nurture it... But I am very happy with how it turned out. I look forward being in the studio again."
Even Still is available on all major streaming services.
