David Alan Miller (born 1961) is a multi-Grammy Award-winning

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

conductor, and since 1992, music director of the

Albany Symphony Orchestra The Albany Symphony Orchestra is a professional symphony orchestra based in Albany, New York. Founded in 1930 as the People's Orchestra of Albany by Italian-born conductor John Carabella, the Albany Symphony is the oldest professional symphony o ...

. Miller served as assistant and associate conductor of the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

from 1987–92 and music director of the

New York Youth Symphony The New York Youth Symphony (NYYS), founded in 1963, is a tuition-free music organization for the youth in New York City, widely reputed to be one of the best of its kind in the nation and world. Its programs include its flagship Orchestra, Cha ...

from 1982-88. He is currently also Artistic Advisor to

The Little Orchestra Society :''Not to be confused by The Little Orchestra of London'' The Little Orchestra Society is an American orchestra based at 630 9th Avenue, Suite 807 in New York City. It was founded in 1947 by Thomas Scherman, who served as its conductor until his ...

in New York City.

Early career and education

Miller was raised in the

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area. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. He then earned a master's degree in orchestral conducting from

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

. Miller was appointed Assistant Conductor of the

in 1981 and then ascended to the music directorship the following year while he was still a student at Juilliard. He was also a two-term conducting fellow and, later, Associate Director at the

Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute The Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute was a summer training program held in Los Angeles, California for conservatory aged orchestral instrumentalists and conductors. It ran from 1982 to 1991 under the auspices of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. H ...

. In 1987, he was appointed Assistant Conductor of the

by Music Director

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

; he was promoted to Associate Conductor in 1990 and held that position for two years. During his tenure with the orchestra, he conducted subscription concerts, an acclaimed family concert series, "Green Umbrella" New Music Group concerts and community concerts, as well as regular programs at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

. In the fall of 1987, Miller replaced Previn on only 36-hours notice during a week of regular Philharmonic subscription concerts, earning glowing reviews.

Albany Symphony Orchestra

Miller has been music director and conductor of the Albany Symphony since 1992.Albany Symphony Orchestra official web site About web page
Accessed January 4, 2008. Under his leadership, the Albany Symphony has frequently premiered and performed significant works by living American composers.
Accessed January 4, 2008. During his tenure, the orchestra has become one of the busiest recording orchestras in the US, and has released more than 30 discs, mainly featuring new or recent American music. He instituted a major annual American Music Festival in 1998, with multiple events featuring new works over five days each May. In the summer of 2017, the orchestra celebrated the bicentennial of the Erie Canal with a one-of-a-kind boat and barge trip, collaborating with community performing groups on seven major world premiere compositions on consecutive nights in communities along the Canal. The trip garnered national attention, including an article in ''The New York Times''. In 2019, the orchestra's American Music Festival, "Sing Out, NY," celebrated New York State's major role in social justice movements, focused specifically on the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. In recognition of the orchestra's commitment to contemporary music and innovative programming, Miller and the Albany Symphony were twice invited to appear at "Spring For Music," an annual festival of America's most creative orchestras at New York City's Carnegie Hall. The orchestra was the only ensemble to perform more than once at this festival. Miller and the orchestra also appeared at "SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras" at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center in 2018. Miller established a family concert series shortly after his arrival at the Albany Symphony in 1992, and created a "Capital Heritage" commissioning series, for which the orchestra commissions and performs works inspired by New York Capital Region history. The works are performed "on location," in or at the locations that inspired them. "Capital Heritage" presentations have included performances inspired by Tiffany windows throughout the region, a day in the State Capital and a day at the Saratoga battlefield.

Dogs of Desire

Formed by Miller in 1994, Dogs of Desire is an eighteen-member contemporary music ensemble composed of principal members of the Albany Symphony and two female vocalists. The ensemble has commissioned over 150 new works from emerging American composers and gained a national reputation among young composers as a proving ground for emerging talent. Composers who have been commissioned by the Dogs of Desire include: Derek Bermel, Arthur Bloom, Dorothy Chang,

Jacob Cooper Jacob Alonzo Cooper, also known as Jacob Safari, is an American musician, remixer, record producer, songwriter, and occasional DJ. Cooper has been a drummer of the bands Wavves, The Mae Shi, Cold Showers, Har Mar Superstar, and previously had a ...

Michael Daugherty Michael Kevin Daugherty (born April 28, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and teacher. He is influenced by popular culture, Romanticism, and Postmodernism. Daugherty's notable works include his Superman comic book-inspired ''Metropolis Sym ...

, Kenneth Eberhard, Reena Esmail, Ted Hearne, David Lang, Loren Loiacono, Todd Levin, David Mallamud, Huang Ruo, Annika Socolofsky,

Michael Torke Michael Torke (; born September 22, 1961) is an American composer who writes music influenced by jazz and minimalism. Torke was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Wilson Elementary School, graduated from Wauwatosa East High School, an ...

and George Tsontakis. The Dogs and Miller have released CDs of works by Michael Daugherty on Argo and

NAXOS Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

, and by David Mallamud on Broadway Records.

Guest conducting

Frequently in demand as a guest conductor, Miller has worked with most of America's major orchestras, including the orchestras of Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, as well as the

New World Symphony New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, the

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Sym ...

and the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...

. He has also returned to the

on occasion to conduct them during their summer season at the

. Miller conducted the "Casual Classics" series for eight seasons with the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

. Additionally, Miller has appeared frequently throughout Europe, Australia and the Far East as a guest conductor.. Accessed 17 March 2015. Miller made his international debut with the RAI Orchestra in Turin, Italy, in the 1999-2000 season. He has also conducted major European orchestras in Berlin, Barcelona, Lisbon, London Prague, Dresden, Hanover, Halle and Mainz. He has appeared with the Adelaide Symphony, Melbourne Symphony

Hong Kong Philharmonic The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (Cantonese: 香港管弦樂團), commonly abbreviated as HKPO or HKPhil (Cantonese: 港樂), is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Si ...

, Singapore Symphony, National Orchestra of Taiwan, and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra; led the

Australian Youth Orchestra The Australian Youth Orchestra (''AYO''), formerly Youth Music Australia, is an Australian organisation for young musicians. History The Australian Youth Orchestra has its origins in the music camps founded by John Bishop and Ruth Alexander i ...

on its European tour; and conducted the

Asian Youth Orchestra The Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) is a youth orchestra composed of musicians from several Asian countries. It was founded by Yehudi Menuhin and Richard Pontzious in 1987, and its first concert took place in August 1990, conducted by Menuhin. Current ...

on a major tour of the Far East that included concerts in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. In Canada, he has conducted the National Arts Center Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony.

Awards

Miller's recordings have been nominated for a total of six Grammy awards, winning two Grammys, and he has been personally nominated for a total of five. He has also won a number of awards for his innovative programming and his commitment to performing and premiering modern and contemporary American works. In 1999, Miller won ASCAP's first-ever Leonard Bernstein Award for Outstanding Educational Programming, and in 2001, he won the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Morton Gould Award for Innovative Programming. In 2003, he received

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's Ditson Conductor's Award. This award is "the oldest award honoring conductors for their commitment to American music, (and) was established in 1945 by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia. Past recipients include

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954 in Queens, New York) is an American conductor. Biography Falletta was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. She was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard S ...

, Michael Tilson Thomas and

James DePreist James Anderson DePreist (November 21, 1936 – February 8, 2013) was an American conductor. DePreist was one of the first African-American conductors on the world stage. He was the director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at T ...

." In 2013, Miller won the John R. Edwards award for the nation's strongest commitment to new American music. Miller received a Grammy Award in January, 2014 along with percussionist Dame

Evelyn Glennie Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015. Early life Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The in ...

for their recording of

John Corigliano John Paul Corigliano Jr. (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. His scores, now numbering over one hundred, have won him the Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, an ...

's ''Conjurer'' with the Albany Symphony in the

Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo The Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo was first awarded during the annual Grammy Awards ceremony in 2012. It combines the previous categories for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) The Grammy Award The G ...

category. Miller was nominated for a Grammy Award in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

along with soprano Talise Trevigne for their recording of Christopher Rouse's '' Kabir Padavali'' with the Albany Symphony in the

Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by man ...

category. Miller was also nominated for a Grammy Award in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

for his ''Harbison, Ruggles & Stucky: Orchestral Works'' disc recorded with the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic in the

Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

category. He was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

along with violinist

Tessa Lark Tessa Lark is an American concert violinist from Kentucky. Early life Lark was born and raised in Richmond, Kentucky. She started violin training at age six through the Suzuki method. Her musical career began performing and recording with her ...

for their recording of

's ''Sky, Concerto for Violin'' with the Albany Symphony in the

category. Miller jointly won a

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

along with violist Richard O'Neill for their recording of

Christopher Theofanidis Christopher Theofanidis (born December 18, 1967, in Dallas, Texas) is an American composer whose works have been performed by leading orchestras from around the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Mosco ...

's ''Concerto For Viola And Chamber Orchestra'' with the Albany Symphony in the

category.

Recordings

Miller has led many commercial recordings with the Albany Symphony and other ensembles. His extensive discography includes recordings of the works of Todd Levin with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

, music by

, Kamran Ince, and

for

London/Decca This is a list of phonograph manufacturers. The phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone, record player or turntable, is a device introduced in 1877 for the mechanical recording and reproduction of sound. Phonograph manufactur ...

, and of

, Christopher Rouse,

, and Luis Tinoco for

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

. His recordings with the Albany Symphony include discs devoted to the music of

John Harbison John Harris Harbison (born December 20, 1938) is an American composer, known for his symphonies, operas, and large choral works. Life John Harris Harbison was born on December 20, 1938, in Orange, New Jersey, to the historian Elmore Harris Harbi ...

, Michael Torke,

Roy Harris Roy Ellsworth Harris (February 12, 1898 – October 1, 1979) was an American composer. He wrote music on American subjects, and is best known for his Symphony No. 3. Life Harris was born in Chandler, Oklahoma on February 12, 1898. His ancestr ...

, Morton Gould, Don Gillis,

Peter Mennin Peter Mennin (born Mennini) (May 17, 1923 in Erie, Pennsylvania – June 17, 1983 in New York City) was a prominent American composer, teacher and administrator. In 1958, he was named Director of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, and i ...

, and

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own wo ...

on the

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record labe ...

label. Miller's recordings with other ensembles include his

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group. Its Latin name ''harm ...

disc of

Mel Powell Mel Powell (born Melvin Epstein) (February 12, 1923 – April 24, 1998) was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, and the founding dean of the music department at the California Institute of the Arts. He served as a music educator for over ...

's Pulitzer-Prize winning "Duplicates" with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as projects with the

Gulbenkian Orchestra The Gulbenkian Orchestra ( pt, Orquestra Gulbenkian) is a Portuguese symphony orchestra based in Lisbon. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Grande Auditório'' (Grand Auditorium) of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The orchestra, which was f ...

of Lisbon and the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic.

References

External links

Albany Symphony Orchestra's homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, David Alan 1961 births American male conductors (music) Living people Musicians from Albany, New York Musicians from Los Angeles Classical musicians from California Classical musicians from New York (state) Grammy Award winners 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians