Nolan Gibbons

**Nolan Gibbons** (July 12, 2005 - August 18, 2020) was an American actor, singer and songwriter

## Early Life

Gibbons was born on July 12, 2005 in Boston, Massachsetts to Warren and Sheila (Arnestam) Gibbons.

As a Sippican School student he reported for the Cub Reporters, a prolific student news media team. At Old Rochester Regional High School Nolan earned the Excellence in Chorus award for his first year.

Online, Nolan wrote that his goal was to one day attend Berklee College of Music

## Career

By the age of 5, he was in constant motion, dancing, singing and teaching himself piano. He began singing locally at age 9 with the community service and music troupe, The Showstoppers. By the age of 10, Gibbons, started to write original music about Love, Life and Lost

In 2017, at the age of 12, Nolan won New England’s Got Talent by performing an a cappella version of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which he arranged and produced himself.

At time of his death, he was working on an original album of songs he had been writing, recording, and producing himself. His parents will honor his plans by releasing his original music.

### 2018 - 2020: Acapop! Kids, Kelly Clarkson Show and America's Got Talent

In Summer 2018, Nolan was cast as the main vocal percussionist of Acapop! KIDS, a national all-kids a cappella group formed by the founders and members of the Grammy Award-winning group, Pentatonix.

Through Acapop! KIDS, Nolan travelled frequently to New York, Dallas, and Los Angeles to record and film music videos, which have amassed over 50 million views on YouTube. The highlight of his Acapop experience was an appearance on the Kelly Clarkson Show in January 2020

In September 2020, two weeks after Nolan's passing, in his memory, Acapop! KIDS put together a memorial video of Nolan's audition song, "*This City*". In 2022, Acapop! Kids audition to America's Got Talent, honoring Nolan. The episode aired on July 12, 2022. His parents were present on the audience.

### 2019-2020: A Cappella Academy, Nolan Gibbons Scholarship

He first applied in 2018, when he was not quite old enough ,12, which led to him getting an email from Ben Bram asking him to audition for Acapop! Kids. In 2019 and 2020 he sang in the renowned A Cappella Academy camp in Los Angeles—”the best 10 days of my entire life”—performing and composing with people and music he dearly loved.

In November 2020, in his memory, A Cappella Academy put together a memorial video of Nolan's audition song, "*You Will Be Found".* The A Cappella Academy created the *Nolan Gibbons Scholarship* witch helps campers joined camp and experience their love for music, the way Nolan always did.

## Death

On August 18, 2020, Nolan passed unexpectedly in his sleep. After an extensive autopsy and toxicology examination, Nolan’s official cause of death was classified as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). The day before Nolan went to sleep, with no symptoms, no complaints of not feeling well, no indication that anything might be wrong.

## Discography

### Albums

 A Cappella Academy 2019
 A Cappella Academy 2020
 2021

## Legacy

In his memory, Nolan's parents established in 2022, *Nolan Gibbons Memorial Fund,* which seeks to empower and support performing artists through grants and scholarships in support of their creative pursuits and passions the way the Nolan did.

Also they created the *NolanFest* is a free public music festival for performing artists to share their love and passion for music, the way the fund's namesake, Nolan Gibbons, always did.

## References

1. ↑ Help send Nolan to A Cappella Academy 2019
2. ↑ Ben Bram reaction on Nolan Gibbons' passing
3. ↑ Nolan Fergus Gibbons
4. ↑ A Cappella Academy pay Tribute to a former camper
5. ↑ Nolan Gibbons Memorial Found