Meet the WAMMERS - Jennifer Mills

Here follows a series of short profiles on each of our Words About Music participants.

And the first cab off the rank is Jennifer Mills. Enjoy!

Opening Doors

Jenni Mills has always wanted to be a musician. The issue now facing her is which type of musician she wants to become. Jenni is an accomplished cellist, but her VCA Masters’ thesis on creativity and improvisation for classical musicians opened up the world of reflection and writing on music.  As the only musician in her family and the daughter of an English teacher, words are nearly as important to Jenni as music. She hopes that WAM may provide a way for her to do both.

Cello was Jenni’s second instrument, behind violin, until she decided to audition on the former for university, and surprised herself by being accepted straight away. She now prefers the cello, though her wider experience makes her an extremely employable string teacher, a profession which helps to crystallise her playing ideas.

Jenni’s interests include Baroque cello and the music of the twentieth and current centuries. When studying Early Music at university, she was surprised at the liberal approach her teachers took to the way the music should be played. They offered frameworks, but then it was all about the line and the interpretation of the performer, interests that continue into her writing. Jenni also loves the work of Arvo Pärt, whose work will be played this year at NMC. Pärt’s rich transcendental music introduced Jenni to a deeper sense of his particular purpose.

This is not Jenni’s first experience of NMC. She participated as a violinist in 2005 and as a cellist in 2006. She expects that this year’s program, as a WAM participant, will be more challenging, as she seeks to expand her experience in writing to include interviewing and radio. Between Jenni’s playing and writing, many doors are open to her. Her decision now is which to enter.

By Anna Doukakis