May 4, 2019 - Jeness Johnson (Cello/Composer)
Jeness Johnson was the principal cellist of my 2015 Southeast concert. Since then, she'd sent me info on many gigs. But what was interesting is, they were never traditional. Once, she was improvising music for a silent film, another time, playing with a singer.
We needed someone dynamic, encouraging, and brilliant.
No one walked in the studio door in 2019 knowing what to expect. I should probably include myself on that list. We were still ideating and experimenting.
Jeness called me in advance and pitched me ideas for class. They were inspiring, but she really didn't need to do that.
As I continue to mention, I need to have a competent seat at the table, but I really want every other mentor to know more than me and share.
Well, Jeness set the standard for Inception.
What didn't she do?
As an improvisor/composer, she taught the students what was important in improvisation, and forever inspired how they approached it.
"Don't worry about mistakes. Mistakes can be groundbreaking."
(As a side note, while in rehearsal months later for our concert, Jeness; the violin mentor, Emer; and the students were going to do a live improv. Luis happened to sit down midway through. When Jeness turned around after it was over, she was stunned that it was Luis. He did such a great job, that she thought it was Tommy Faragher.)
Jeness also played Jayleen and Luis' melodies on the cello. You can see this on the home page of the Inception website. In this moment, she changed the musical trajectories of the students' lives.
Suddenly we had landed on the model for Inception. Jeness remains one of my favorite musicians to work with ever when we have the opportunity.
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