Nicole Mitchell is a flutist, composer and bandleader. The founder of the critically acclaimed Black Earth Ensemble and Black Earth Strings, Ice Crystal and Sonic Projections, her compositions reach across sound worlds, integrating ideas with moments in jazz, gospel, experimental music, pop and African percussion to create “multidirectional music.” She has performed with George Lewis, Miya Masaoka, Lori Freedman, James Newton, Bill Dixon and Muhal Richard Abrams. As former co-president of the AACM’s Chicago Chapter, she works to raise respect and integrity for the improvised flute and to continue the exciting directions that the AACM has charted for decades.