Artist biographies
Linnea Maas
Linnea was born in Minneapolis on the eleventh day of the eleventh month and was carried home during a snowstorm. She grew up in the small town of Mound and always drew. Her attraction to visual drama started early: when she was only 32 inches tall, she stood in the kitchen doorway and was shocked as Grandma removed all her teeth at once. This was the first vivid image that impressed itself on her memory; a prelude to a lifetime of visual thinking.
Later, leaning on the bark of a thin limb midway up her favorite maple tree, Linnea was touched by the tenderest breeze. It was filled with the sensation of perfection and she could feel it contained all the secrets of the alternate nature of the universe. The sensation of unutterable beauty has caused years of daydreaming and unremitting attempts at translating the elusive feelings into shapes communicating complexities bigger than words, a little picture guide to these unidentifiable but poignant emotions.
Linnea studied illustration at Washington University In St Louis and cultivated her current graphic style after taking a woodcut print class, where under the direction of a spontaneously combusting maniac she developed a penchant for triphop in the wee hours of the morning and putting thick outlines around objects in her drawings.
In 2004 the Robots invaded.
Currently, Linnea spends her time making art under a skylight in south Minneapolis. Her projects include acrylic and oil paintings, murals, commissions, virtual reality, and freelance illustrations. She ventures from the easel to the stage for action painting collaborations with rock bands, classical saxophonists, and electronic music DJs. Her previous projects include furniture design, botanical illustration, and a coloring book. Future goals include a giant Robot mural takeover, making pictures for children’s books, seeing Monet in every museum possible, and staring at the sky through moving branches.
Her thoughts are still all pictures, and she fills pages of sketchbooks with secret nonsense and meandering doodles, out of which evolve series of characters brimming with internal dialogue. Linnea paints them into pictures to nudge you to believe in her imagined reality where colors are twice as bright, love is infinitely more vivid, and the world is condensed into simple, crystallized pleasures, so just a smile ignites a connection to make any distance small.
Linnea was born in Minneapolis on the eleventh day of the eleventh month and was carried home during a snowstorm. She grew up in the small town of Mound and always drew. Her attraction to visual drama started early: when she was only 32 inches tall, she stood in the kitchen doorway and was shocked as Grandma removed all her teeth at once. This was the first vivid image that impressed itself on her memory; a prelude to a lifetime of visual thinking.
Later, leaning on the bark of a thin limb midway up her favorite maple tree, Linnea was touched by the tenderest breeze. It was filled with the sensation of perfection and she could feel it contained all the secrets of the alternate nature of the universe. The sensation of unutterable beauty has caused years of daydreaming and unremitting attempts at translating the elusive feelings into shapes communicating complexities bigger than words, a little picture guide to these unidentifiable but poignant emotions.
Linnea studied illustration at Washington University In St Louis and cultivated her current graphic style after taking a woodcut print class, where under the direction of a spontaneously combusting maniac she developed a penchant for triphop in the wee hours of the morning and putting thick outlines around objects in her drawings.
In 2004 the Robots invaded.
Currently, Linnea spends her time making art under a skylight in south Minneapolis. Her projects include acrylic and oil paintings, murals, commissions, virtual reality, and freelance illustrations. She ventures from the easel to the stage for action painting collaborations with rock bands, classical saxophonists, and electronic music DJs. Her previous projects include furniture design, botanical illustration, and a coloring book. Future goals include a giant Robot mural takeover, making pictures for children’s books, seeing Monet in every museum possible, and staring at the sky through moving branches.
Her thoughts are still all pictures, and she fills pages of sketchbooks with secret nonsense and meandering doodles, out of which evolve series of characters brimming with internal dialogue. Linnea paints them into pictures to nudge you to believe in her imagined reality where colors are twice as bright, love is infinitely more vivid, and the world is condensed into simple, crystallized pleasures, so just a smile ignites a connection to make any distance small.
Jennifer Bill
Dr. Jennifer Bill is dedicated to cultivating human connection through the arts. She believes that bringing people together to observe, listen, participate, and engage with art is fundamental to fostering meaningful connections and building community within humanity.
A multifaceted musician and educator, Dr. Bill, has performed in Asia, throughout Europe, and the United States. Her poignant performance style captivates audiences around the globe. Her musical journey includes performing saxophone solo and chamber music with a variety of groups including BRUSH|REED, Pharos Quartet, J.E.Y., and the BiND Ensemble. As a conductor she currently leads the Boston University Concert Band and is an active clinician. Dr. Bill is a Selmer Artist.
A versatile saxophonist, Dr. Bill performs as a soloist and a chamber musician, collaborating with a diverse group of artists including vocalists, violists, clarinetists, cellists, flutists, violinists, pre-recorded media, percussionists, pianists, wind quintet, and dancers. For over a decade, she has engaged in an innovative exploration of the aural-visual in partnership with visual artist Linnea Maas, giving rise to the distinctive endeavor known as BRUSH|REED. BRUSH|REED has performed in Hong Kong, Scotland, and throughout the USA. Dr. Bill's dedication to the saxophone has manifested in her involvement in numerous world premieres, including the recent works 5 fragments in 3 by Ketty Nez, Mending Time by Martin Bresnick, Transcend by Michael Couper as part of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres, Thinking in Four Places by Justin Casinghino, Faustus: a SaxOpera by John Plant as part of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres, Greenwich Village Portraits by David Amram as part of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres, and Fantasia on the Theme of Plum Blossom by Shih-Hui Chen as part of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres. She has been a guest soloist with the Boston University Wind Ensemble, the BUTI Wind Ensemble, the Hong Kong Wind Ensemble, the Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble, and the Northeastern University Wind Ensemble. She has performed at national and world conferences including the World Saxophone Congress, the North American Saxophone Alliance national conference, and the North American Saxophone Alliance regional conference. Her debut solo album with pianist Yoshiko Kline, Divergent Reflections, was released in 2019. Dr. Bill’s solo and chamber recordings can be heard on Albany, Azure, and Couchemar labels.
As a conductor, Dr. Bill is an active clinician throughout New England and since 2010 has led the Boston University Concert Band. She previously directed the Providence College Symphonic Winds from 2009-2017. Dr. Bill has conducted the NYSBDA honor band, the NYSCAME/SCMEA All-County Honor Band, has led the BU Concert Band in a tour of Ireland with performances in Dublin, Galway, Killarney, and Macroom, was a guest conductor with the Hong Kong Wind Ensemble, and led the PC Symphonic Winds in a tour of Italy with performances in Napoli, Maiori, and Monte Porzio Cantone (Roma).
A dedicated educator, Dr. Bill has given saxophone masterclasses and band clinics at universities in China, Hong Kong, Scotland, and throughout the United States. In the university classroom, she has taught numerous music history, music theory, and entrepreneurial courses. In an effort to bring free open educational resources (OER) textbooks to students in music appreciation courses, Dr. Bill co-authored The Art of Music: Music Appreciation with an Equity Lens, as part of the Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens (ROTEL) Project.
Dr. Bill is currently faculty at Boston University (saxophone, chamber music, director of concert band), performance faculty at Boston College (saxophone), applied faculty at Rhode Island College (saxophone), adjunct professor of saxophone at Stonehill College, and part time faculty at Fitchburg State University. At the Boston University Tanglewood Institute she is the program director and saxophone faculty for the wind ensemble as well as the co-director of the saxophone workshop .
Away from academia, Dr. Bill is dedicated to empowering artists. Dr. Bill is the sole organizer, director, and officer of Music Performance & Education, Inc., a non-profit that provides financial assistance to artists. She serves on the board of directors for World-Wide Concurrent Premieres and Commissioning Funds, Inc., a commission consortium that empowers solo performers, chamber musicians and large ensembles, and all on every level from community, college or professional levels, with the ability to commission works without massive fund-raising efforts by the individual or the organization. Dr. Bill has also been a volunteer mentor for the organization Teach to Learn and for the North American Saxophone Alliance's Committee on Gender Equity.
Dr. Jennifer Bill is dedicated to cultivating human connection through the arts. She believes that bringing people together to observe, listen, participate, and engage with art is fundamental to fostering meaningful connections and building community within humanity.
A multifaceted musician and educator, Dr. Bill, has performed in Asia, throughout Europe, and the United States. Her poignant performance style captivates audiences around the globe. Her musical journey includes performing saxophone solo and chamber music with a variety of groups including BRUSH|REED, Pharos Quartet, J.E.Y., and the BiND Ensemble. As a conductor she currently leads the Boston University Concert Band and is an active clinician. Dr. Bill is a Selmer Artist.
A versatile saxophonist, Dr. Bill performs as a soloist and a chamber musician, collaborating with a diverse group of artists including vocalists, violists, clarinetists, cellists, flutists, violinists, pre-recorded media, percussionists, pianists, wind quintet, and dancers. For over a decade, she has engaged in an innovative exploration of the aural-visual in partnership with visual artist Linnea Maas, giving rise to the distinctive endeavor known as BRUSH|REED. BRUSH|REED has performed in Hong Kong, Scotland, and throughout the USA. Dr. Bill's dedication to the saxophone has manifested in her involvement in numerous world premieres, including the recent works 5 fragments in 3 by Ketty Nez, Mending Time by Martin Bresnick, Transcend by Michael Couper as part of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres, Thinking in Four Places by Justin Casinghino, Faustus: a SaxOpera by John Plant as part of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres, Greenwich Village Portraits by David Amram as part of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres, and Fantasia on the Theme of Plum Blossom by Shih-Hui Chen as part of World-Wide Concurrent Premieres. She has been a guest soloist with the Boston University Wind Ensemble, the BUTI Wind Ensemble, the Hong Kong Wind Ensemble, the Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble, and the Northeastern University Wind Ensemble. She has performed at national and world conferences including the World Saxophone Congress, the North American Saxophone Alliance national conference, and the North American Saxophone Alliance regional conference. Her debut solo album with pianist Yoshiko Kline, Divergent Reflections, was released in 2019. Dr. Bill’s solo and chamber recordings can be heard on Albany, Azure, and Couchemar labels.
As a conductor, Dr. Bill is an active clinician throughout New England and since 2010 has led the Boston University Concert Band. She previously directed the Providence College Symphonic Winds from 2009-2017. Dr. Bill has conducted the NYSBDA honor band, the NYSCAME/SCMEA All-County Honor Band, has led the BU Concert Band in a tour of Ireland with performances in Dublin, Galway, Killarney, and Macroom, was a guest conductor with the Hong Kong Wind Ensemble, and led the PC Symphonic Winds in a tour of Italy with performances in Napoli, Maiori, and Monte Porzio Cantone (Roma).
A dedicated educator, Dr. Bill has given saxophone masterclasses and band clinics at universities in China, Hong Kong, Scotland, and throughout the United States. In the university classroom, she has taught numerous music history, music theory, and entrepreneurial courses. In an effort to bring free open educational resources (OER) textbooks to students in music appreciation courses, Dr. Bill co-authored The Art of Music: Music Appreciation with an Equity Lens, as part of the Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens (ROTEL) Project.
Dr. Bill is currently faculty at Boston University (saxophone, chamber music, director of concert band), performance faculty at Boston College (saxophone), applied faculty at Rhode Island College (saxophone), adjunct professor of saxophone at Stonehill College, and part time faculty at Fitchburg State University. At the Boston University Tanglewood Institute she is the program director and saxophone faculty for the wind ensemble as well as the co-director of the saxophone workshop .
Away from academia, Dr. Bill is dedicated to empowering artists. Dr. Bill is the sole organizer, director, and officer of Music Performance & Education, Inc., a non-profit that provides financial assistance to artists. She serves on the board of directors for World-Wide Concurrent Premieres and Commissioning Funds, Inc., a commission consortium that empowers solo performers, chamber musicians and large ensembles, and all on every level from community, college or professional levels, with the ability to commission works without massive fund-raising efforts by the individual or the organization. Dr. Bill has also been a volunteer mentor for the organization Teach to Learn and for the North American Saxophone Alliance's Committee on Gender Equity.
