We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Miller Hammel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.
Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I think the best advice I can give is to keep your eyes open to all sorts of possibilities when turning your creative work into a career. I came to California with the idea that I would be a professional studio singer. I had no idea that my education and my love to tell stories could allow me to have such a special career being an advocate for the music I love.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am the morning host of Classical California KUSC, LA’s classical music station and one of the top rated public radio stations in the country. Through my work at Classical California, I’ve been able to share my love for classical music as both a fan and as someone who has worked as a professional singer for many years. I’ve also been able to be a spokesperson for the world of video game music, which is a corner of the musical world that is finally starting to get the attention it deserves.
In October 2023, Classical California launched Arcade, a 24/7 streaming channel which highlights video game music from across the decades, blended with classical music used in gaming. It’s a way for me to show to the general classical music audience that there is no wall between these genres. That video game music is the classical music of today, that it has every right to be on a program in a major concert hall alongside the great works of Bach and Beethoven. I’m thankful that Classical California took the leap on this project, and we’ve been overjoyed at the listeners’ responses.
I’ve heard from older classical music fans, ones that say they would never pick up a video game, share stories about how the music has piqued their imaginations or built a bridge between them and a younger member of their family. One woman told me that it created a common ground between her and her stepson when they started playing a game together after he worked with her to fix her computer. And this is what good music should always do – build connections and make you feel something.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I moved across the country to California to start a career in music, while keeping a day job to pay rent and bills. I was let go from my position with a local foundation quite suddenly and I was worried about how I was going to make ends meet on just my musical work. When I found a temp job radio, even though it wasn’t full time, I knew I loved the medium enough to stick with it and manage my finances.
I worked hard and learned as much as I could so I could eventually earn a full-time position as a behind the scenes administrative worker at another local public radio station. It wasn’t easy, and it was still many years down the road before I would become an on-air host. But I believed I could do it, I knew I could. I kept persevering, even when others would tell me it was an impossible task. I am so happy that I did. I cannot imagine being in a more perfect place for my combination of strengths.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I hear so often that the general public believes classical music is dying. My goal is to prove that it isn’t. Classical music, like all music, is constantly evolving. Part of that evolution is accepting that soundtrack music (film, television, video games) is a healthy part of modern classical music. If Handel and Mozart were working today, they would be working in the soundtrack medium.
My mission is also to give voice to the artists that create and perform the music we love, whether it was written three weeks ago or 300 years ago. Rachmaninoff, Boulogne, and Telemann dealt with many of the vices and challenges that our modern audience does. Depression, finances, prejudice. And knowing these stories makes the composers more human. They are not just people wearing powdering wigs in oil paintings. They had complicated, colorful lives that deserve to be explored. You never know what you could learn from them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kusc.org/hosts/jennifer-miller-hammel
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenmillerradio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferMillerKUSC
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenmillerradio/
- Other: https://classicalcalifornia.org/kusc/streams/arcade
Image Credits
Courtesy of Classical California