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Noelle Fabian Dragon (B.M. '10) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.

Regardless of what program a student enrolls in, Meadows’ wide array of courses and programs allow them to pursue creative interests outside the realm of their specific major or degree. Though Noelle Fabian Dragon was double majoring in music education and saxophone performance, she had the opportunity to take classes across a variety of artistic disciplines.

“Because [Meadows] was so small and close knit, I really got to spend time chasing adjacent artistic pursuits,” explains Dragon, who took advantage of the supportive environment. “I was a music major but spent a lot of time with the theatre department students, taking voice lessons, participating in sketching class while on a study abroad program in Paris, and working on a film project thanks to a Meadows exploration grant.”

Dragon knew early on that a traditional career was not for her, and her foundation as an interdisciplinary performer and artist allowed her to pursue a more creative professional path. Over the years, she has performed with various professional bands (Dallas Winds), artists (Brittany Howard, Junius Meyvant), and orchestras (Fort Worth Symphony, Pacific Symphony), even landing a gig in the pit orchestra of a touring Broadway production of How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Interested in continuing her musicianship in a bigger market, Dragon put out feelers in NYC and LA, eventually earning a woodwind position with The Disneyland Band in Anaheim, where she would perform on the saxophone in varying shows around the park.

After an active decade in the front-facing performance sector, Dragon has recently focused her talents on recording and voice-acting. She has voiced commercials for companies like Hershey, Norton, and the Texas Department of Transportation, and video game work for games like Dynasty Warriors. Outside of her performance-related endeavors Dragon is also an entrepreneur, building apps and digital tools that fill a need in the music market.

“The things I learned in the Music Education program at Meadows have become the cornerstone of much of my entrepreneurial work,” says Dragon. “My professors were fantastic at creating educators who were truly inspired, myself included; I love serving and creating for young musicians.”

In 2017, she created an interactive sight-reading iOS app called “The Monster Musician Reader” that gamifies note reading, an endeavor supported by her previous Meadows professors Sarah Allen and Lynne Jackson who served as advisors for the project.

Currently, she is building out the brand , a series of interactive board books that colorfully introduces music fundamentals to children ages 2-5, with her business partner Jason Levi. As evidenced by her varied yet incredibly successful career, by tapping into the skills she established during her time at Meadows the sky is truly the limit for Dragon in her future musical and entrepreneurial endeavors, whatever they may be.