Holly Norman is a drummer, percussionist, songwriter and composer based in Perth, Western Australia. An alumnus of the University of Miami and WA Academy of Performing Arts, Holly is a serial collaborator, blending her classical and jazz backgrounds to platform storytelling and narrative in her playing and writing. As a wellbeing practitioner she has designed and presented therapeutic programs for Arts Wellbeing Collective (Arts Centre Melbourne), Support Act and Orchestra Victoria. Holly has appeared as a guest artist with The Cat Empire, the Australian String Quartet, and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. She is a contributing author for ArtsHub and Dingo Jazz and has appeared as a guest lecturer at Monash University and the WA Academy of Performing Arts. She lives in Perth, Australia with her three year-old daughter.
London Jazz News: What is the best advice you received about balancing/juggling motherhood and career?
Holly Norman: The best advice I have received was from Australian-based saxophone player Gemma Farrell and it was actually through this very interview series! Gemma said “don’t compare yourself to musicians who don’t have kids. Do what you can, when you can. And enjoy your kids.” I can’t think of a better, more succinct and more compassionate piece of advice than that.
LJN: What information or advice do you wish you’d received but didn’t (and had to learn through trial and error or on the go)?
HN: I wish I’d known how much my relationship with music and with my primary instrument would change in the early years of mothering. My ability to focus and practice is obviously completely different to what it was pre-child. It’s definitely required trial and error for me to redefine my relationship with music. I would consider myself a much better and more involved listener now and I lean more into writing and composition. I think this has happened out of necessity as I just have less time available to spend on my instrument. It’s been a really interesting evolution.
LJN: Your top tip(s) for other mothers in jazz:
HN: The only other people on this planet who will truly understand your mental load are other creative mothers. So, build yourself a strong community of other like-minded women/gnb folks who are creatively motivated, because these are the people who will lift you up when you’re having a nightmare week with a sick child, you’re behind on your workload/have a thousand gigs and feel like you’re not at your ‘best’.
LJN: Baby/child gear tips for travel/touring/gigging:
HN: I’m a covid mum so never toured or travelled with a young baby! But I have played shows with my daughter in the audience and the best tool in my toolkit has been the ability to block out her complaints about mum being on stage and not giving her attention!
LJN: Best general travel/gigging/tour-with-child advice:
HN: Involve your child as much as possible, within reason of course. They want to be a part of your life. Share music with them – it will lighten your own heart and your workload.
LJN: What has surprised you about becoming a parent and remaining engaged with your professional activities and ambitions?
HN: The absolute best thing about becoming a parent for me has been sharing music with my daughter. We have dance parties that verge on raves whilst listening to every kind of music under the sun. So I suppose it’s really opened my eyes and ears to the appeal of different kinds of music from a different and more playful perspective.
LJN: What boundaries have you set for yourself as a mother in jazz (could be related to travel/touring, riders, personal parameters, child care decisions, etc.)?
HN: I don’t get back to people straight away if I’m with my child. I also don’t use my phone for work texts/calls/correspondence while my daughter is around. I also don’t like to do too many back-to-backs on the weekends e.g. a late night Friday and Saturday. It means I turn down more opportunities but I’m conscious of rationing my energy.
Holly’s new EP Matilda was released on 10 March 2023. The release is a musical coming-of-age for Holly, in which she explores the creative constraint of the duo medium working with a different musical collaborator on each of the EP’s six songs. Matilda Bay tells the story of her longing to return to Western Australia after becoming a mother during the Melbourne lockdowns, and her eventual homecoming. The six compositions are stylistically diverse, ranging from folk-pop ballads to instrumental jazz, contemporary tone poems, and electro-pop.
Mothers in Jazz was started by vocalist Nicky Schrire. The initiative aims to create an online resource for working jazz musicians with children, those contemplating parenthood, and jazz industry figures who work with and hire musicians who are parents. The insight of the musicians interviewed for this series provides valuable emotional, philosophical and logistical information and support that is easily accessible to all. “Mothers In Jazz” shines a light on the very specific role of being both a mother and a performing jazz musician.
