The Mill Ave Chamber Players

Savor the sound of the Mill Ave Chamber Players, a chamber music ensemble based out of Phoenix, Arizona. Rose French founded the group in 2008 with the help of an entrepreneurial grant from Arizona State University. French plays the French horn alongside Dr. Thomas Mark Breadon Jr. on the bassoon, Katherine Palmer on clarinet, Nikolaus Flickinger on oboe and Sabrina Hu on flute.

The ensemble released their debut self-titled album in 2014,  “What the Birds Said” in 2016 and “Impressions” in 2018. Before the pandemic, the Mill Ave Chamber Players performed about 50 concerts a year. 

Bassoonist Thomas Breadon Jr. composed both of the pieces performed in this episode, “Nocturne” and “Serene” from their third album, “Impressions.”

“The first movement was written for my mother,” Breadon Jr. said. “She gave me and my three brothers a very happy and carefree life. I wrote [Serene] about the carefree nature of the way that I grew up.” 

Breadon Jr. said he wrote “Nocturne” for his grandmother at her request. He hopes listeners connect to the mood the ensemble is trying to convey through its music. 

Catch the Mill Ave Chamber Players next live performance at Live at the Library in Glendale, Arizona on February 28 at 6:30 p.m. For more information on the ensemble and their music, check out their website at http://www.millavechamberplayers.com.