Nicole Mitchell Lecture

Jean Macduff Vaux Composer-in Residence
Thursday, February 3, 2022 | 7:00 PM PST
Presented by Mills College Music Department and the Center for Contemporary Music

Nicole Mitchell will talk about her work as a composer and creative flutist. She is this year’s Jean Macduff Vaux Composer-in-Residence at Mills College.

Nicole M. Mitchell is an award-winning creative flutist, composer, bandleader and educator. She initially emerged from Chicago’s innovative music scene in the late 90s, where she became a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and eventually served as the first woman president. Called the “greatest living jazz flutist of her generation” (Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader), Mitchell has repeatedly been awarded #1 Jazz Flutist by Downbeat magazine and the Jazz Journalists Association each year from 2010-2020.

Jean Macduff Vaux Composer‐in‐Residence

Jean Macduff Vaux (Class of 1933) was a Mills alumna who went on to earn a secondary teaching credential at the University of California at Berkeley. She lived a life of community service. During World War II, for example, she was a civilian volunteer with the 3rd Fighter Command and worked with the Red Cross. She was an active supporter of Mills' Alumnae Association and served as the National Branch Chair, over‐seeing thirty‐four branches in the 1950s. Jean and her husband Henry Vaux were founding members of the Cyrus and Susan Mills Society.

The Vaux family has established The Jean Macduff Vaux Composer‐in‐Residence Fund at Mills in Jean's memory. The endowed fund is used by the Music Department to invite distinguished composers to teach at Mills in residencies which culminate with concerts of their works. 

The Mills College Music Department is very grateful for the vision and generosity of the Vaux family.