Q&A with Charlotte Miles

In 25 words, who is Charlotte Miles?

Cellist, daughter, friend; lover of kimchi, Sally Rooney novels, and documentaries about aviation disasters. Temporary German, lifelong Aussie, full-time cheeky monkey.

What drew you to the cello, and was there a specific moment or experience when you knew it was the instrument you wanted to pursue professionally?

My mother, a mathematics professor by trade, is also an amateur cellist. As children, we emulate those we love the most, and when I attempted to play a violin between my legs at age four, I think everyone knew I was serious about wanting to try the real thing! By the time I had to consider what I wanted to be when I grew up, I realised I’d known all along, thanks to some truly inspiring childhood lessons from Rachel Atkinson, Judy Dempster and especially David Berlin.

String quartet repertoire has such range, from classical to contemporary pieces. Is there a piece you’re particularly looking forward to playing with the quartet, and what makes it special to you?

These three quartets form such a colourful triumvirate – they’re a real kaleidoscope of jest and joy, brutality and beauty. It’s a program to soothe and energise the human soul, and to lay bare its uncomfortable truths in between. I’m particularly looking forward to the three slow movements, and their different kinds of loveliness: the gorgeous inevitability of Haydn’s Largo, the hypnotic minimalism of Mustonen’s Grave, and the quaint nostalgia of Grieg’s Romanze. The latter holds a special place in my heart, partly because it’s such precious and tender music, and partly because it’s a movement I used to perform with my first-year ANAM quartet. It’s always so musically and personally fascinating to return to a piece after several intervening years – like measuring your height against a wall, you see how much you’ve grown.

Audiences always love hearing backstage insights! Could you share a favourite or funny memory from a past performance or something unique about your pre-concert routine?

A few months ago, before an improvisation concert in the south of France, my colleagues and I did some guided breath-holding exercises to relax, recentre, and enter a more creative space. But we forgot that we’d left the lights on, and that the backstage area was glass-walled, so the audience walking past to take their seats grew quite concerned when they saw six unbreathing, unblinking people lying on the ground…

What do you enjoy doing outside of music? Are there any hobbies or interests that help you stay balanced and inspired?

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a very early riser, and I’ve been blessed with a stunning deciduous forest right on my Weimar doorstep, so an early-morning forest walk is often a beautiful breath of fresh air with which to greet the day. On lazier mornings, I’ll start my day curled up in bed with a good book, which is differently but equally inspiring. When I’m not with Jojo (my cello), I love pushing the boundaries of my chilli tolerance with my meals, enjoying chai lattes with dear friends, guessing every country in the world by its street signs in an online game named Geoguessr, watching arthouse films, calling my loved ones in Australia, reading voraciously, and cooking with Oscar Peterson on in the background. I guess I live mostly to eat, to love, and to listen.