UMBC Jazz Ensemble with Nicole Mitchell

The UMBC Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Matt Belzer performs with guest artist Nicole Miller for a fabulous evening of jazz. An award-winning creative flutist, conceptualist and composer, Miller emerged from Chicago’s creative music community in the 90s, was is the former first woman president of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). With an impressive 15 year run (2010–2024) as “Top Flutist of the Year” by both Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll and the Jazz Journalists Association, she is celebrated for her development of a unique improvisational language on the flute.

Born in Syracuse, NY, Nicole was influenced by her mother’s community work as an artist at the Folk Art Gallery of Syracuse, founded by Herb Williams. After moving to Chicago in her early twenties, these early experiences influenced her to become a member of the AACM and a cultural daughter of Haki R. Madhubuti while working at Third World Press. Mitchell’s music celebrates contemporary African American culture with a creative process informed by literature, narrative and a special interest in science fiction. For over 20 years, Nicole has utilized her art to create alternative worlds that “bridge the familiar with the unknown,” with her Black Earth Ensemble. Encompassing philosophy and a strong debt to the writings of Octavia E. Butler, Mitchell’s music invites intercultural collaboration, with works including Mandorla Awakening, Xenogenesis Suite, and Bamako Chicago Sound System. She also composes for contemporary ensembles of varied instrumentation and size while incorporating improvisation and a wide aesthetic expression. As a soloist, bandleader and improviser, she has repeatedly performed throughout Europe, Canada and the U.S. since the early 2000’s. Mitchell has been commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture, Chicago Symphony’s MusicNOW, the Fromm Music Foundation, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Art Institute of Chicago, the French American Jazz Exchange, Chamber Music America, and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). Mitchell is a Guggenheim fellow and a recipient of several awards, including Doris Duke Artist Award, the United States Artist Award, the Herb Alpert Award, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award. Nicole Mitchell is a Professor of Music at University of Virginia. Her first book, The Mandorla Letters was published in 2022 by Green Lantern and the University of Minnesota Press. Mitchell is honored to be Powell flutist since 2011.

$15 general admission, $10 seniors, $5 students. Please visit here to reserve seats.

Linehan Concert Hall, located in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building, is easy to visit, with plenty of free parking. Please visit here for directions and parking information.