"Solos by . . . flutist Nicole Millner were delightful."
- Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe
From a very early age, Nicole has been very involved in music. She began piano studies at the age of four, and at six, chose the flute as her second instrument. Starting in 5th grade, she began playing in the Minnesota Youth Symphonies, where she gained the valuable orchestral appreciation and experience that lead her to choose a life in music.
Ms. Millner has been an active member of the musical community for many years, playing with the Minnesota Youth Symphonies and the Greater Twin Cities Youth Orchestras, competing successfully on both flute and piano in Minnesota in various competitions, and soloing on flute or accompanying on organ or piano at her church while home in Minnesota. During her senior year at Boston University, she won the prestigious Pappoutsakis Flute Competition in Boston, which resulted in a solo recital in May 2006. In addition to her private studies, Ms. Millner has also played in masterclasses for Emmanual Pahud, Keith Underwood and Laurel Zucker. During her studies at Boston University and the Boston Conservatory, Ms. Millner performed a wide variety of music, from traditional symphonic and operatic literature to Broadway musicals. While at the Boston Conservatory, she often performed with the orchestra in Sander's Theatre at Harvard. Through Boston University, she performed numerous concerts in Boston's Symphony Hall as well as a concert in New York's world-renowned Carnegie Hall.
Ms. Millner has studied privately with Wendy Williams, Julia Bogorad, Marianne Gedigian and Elizabeth Ostling, as well as Raphael Leone of the Vienna Symphony during a semester in Austria and Immanuel Davis while studying post-secondary at the University of Minnesota. In May 2006, Ms. Millner completed her Bachelor of Music Performance at Boston University cum laude. In her final year at Boston University she began her studies with Geralyn Coticone and remained in Ms. Coticone's studio throughout her graduate studies. Ms. Millner graduated with a Master's Degree in Flute Performance from the Boston Conservatory in May 2008.
Ms. Millner currently resides in the Twin Cities where she freelances and teaches. In addition to performing on flute, she also frequently plays organ for Holy Family Catholic Church.
In addition to her musical training, Nicole has also studied the Alexander Technique and has a great amount of respect for it. She was first exposed to the ideas of Alexander during her studies with Wendy Williams and later studied formally with Debi Adams through the Boston Conservatory. The body awareness developed and honed through the Alexander Technique is infinitely useful for performing artists and Nicole incorporates these ideas in her own playing and feels that they are extremely important to pass on to her students.
Nicole also has a deep appreciation for language. She took full advantage of the opportunities provided by the College of Fine Arts being part of a larger university, and took a variety of linguistics classes, ranging from lost languages and their decipherment to historical linguistics to phonological disorders. In addition to the science of linguistics, Nicole has studied Portuguese, Russian, French and Latin, and also speaks German fluently.