About

On Wednesday July 24th at 12:00 pm, join Musique Royale and St John’s Wednesday’s at Noon series to hear “From Berlin, Jazz”, a concert featuring saxophonist Nicola Miller, upright bass player Morten Larsen, and drummer Florian Fischer, performing at St John’s Anglican Church in Lunenburg (64 Townsend St). The three performers from Canada, Denmark and Germany began making music together while living in Berlin studying at the Jazz-Institute Berlin. Their program will feature a mix of jazz standards and free improvization. Original compositions from all band members will also appear in the programme. The band strives to create a sound that captures the vast, rural landscapes in Canada and connects it with the quirky and colourful vibrations of Berlin life. Admission is free, and a freewill offering supports the St John’s Music Program. Musique Royale is delighted to partner once again with the St John’s Wednesday’s at Noon series to feature the jazz trio in this historic setting.

About the Artists

Nicola Miller, saxophone

Nicola Miller is an jazz and experimental saxophonist and composer based on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Her strange tender playing is lyrical and yet stretches toward the avant-garde. She has studied with Frank Gratkowski - a mainstay of the European improvised music scene - Kirk Nurock and grammy nominated composer John Hollenbeck. She holds a master’s degree from UdK’s Jazz Institüt Berlin and has performed frequently in the Berlin improvised music and jazz communities. In Nova Scotia, Nicola has appeared alongside Nicole Rampersaud, Charlotte Hüg, Terri Hron, India Gailey, Tim Crofts, Glenn Patshca, Nick Halley and Nick D’Amato. Her upcoming album ‘Living Things’ experiments with collected sounds and reflections from the natural world interpreted by local musician Nicholas D’Amato, Toronto musicians Doug Tielli and Nick Fraser and her mentor - Frank Gratkowski.

Morten Larsen, upright bass

Morten Østerlund Larsen (born 1995) is an upright bass player emanating from Kolding, Denmark. He currently resides in Berlin, Germany. In summer 2023 he finished his Studies at the Jazz-Institute-Berlin, having studied with renowned teachers such as: Greg Cohen, Marc Muellbauer, Chris Dahlgren and Phil Donkin. During his studies, Morten received the DAAD Award for international students at the University of the Arts Berlin. With various projects he has had the opportunity to play concerts within Scandinavia, Germany, Poland and Slovenia. He has shared the stage with musicians such as: Thomas Fryland (DK), John Schröder (GER), Heinrich Köbberling (GER), Henrik Walsdorf (GER), Kirk Lightsey (US) and Mikkel Ploug (DK).

Florian Fischer, drums

Born in Fürth in 1993, Florian Fischer currently lives in Berlin. He studied jazz drums at the HfM Nuremberg and the Jazz Institute Berlin. Teachers included Prof. Hans Günter Brodmann, Prof. Greg Cohen, Frank Gratkowski, Prof. Heinrich Köbberling, Reggie Moore, Johannes Nied, Matthias Rosenbauer and Prof. Steffen Schorn. In various formations, Fischer travels nationally and internationally as a sideman, bandleader and workshop teacher. He also plays and writes regularly for German theaters. His artistic work ranges between the fields of contemporary music, improvised music, theater music, performance and modern jazz. He was awarded the Deutschlandstipendium and the Bruno Rother Jazz Prize in 2017. Fischer played and works e.g. with Loren Stillman, Silke Eberhard, Achim Kaufmann, Johannes Fink, Ignaz Schick, Thomas Fryland and Peter Fulda. His debut on HatHutrecords with „Die Unwucht“ received international attention.