John Miller is a musician and bassoonist. Miller received his early musical training at the

Peabody Conservatory The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He also holds a BS degree in humanities and engineering from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

and was awarded a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

grant for music study in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. While in Boston, he founded the Bubonic Bassoon Quartet and made the premier recording of the Hummel Bassoon Concerto, released along with the

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

Concerto on Cambridge Records. Miller assumed the position of principal bassoon of 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 ...

in 1971, when he also joined the music faculty of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

. Since then, he has continued his solo career, performing numerous times with the

, as well as many other orchestras. He has also presented master classes and recitals at many of the world's major conservatories and music schools. In 2015, John Miller retired from his position with the Minnesota Orchestra after 44 years. As a farewell, the orchestra programmed a concerto for two bassoons, each movement performed with a different member of the bassoon section. For more than 20 years, Miller was a member of the American Reed Trio. Among his solo recordings are four

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

s by

Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...

and the

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

and

Wanhal Johann Baptist Wanhal (12 May 1739 – 20 August 1813) was a Czech Republic, Czech classical music composer. He was born in Nechanice, Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemia, and died in Vienna. His music was well respected by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Sc ...

bassoon concertos, all conducted by

Sir Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English violinist and "one of the world's greatest conducting, conductors". Gramophone (magazine), Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another com ...

on two Pro Arte discs. He was featured in the 1968 Cambridge Records release of Hummel's ''Bassoon Concerto in F''. His teachers have included Louis Skinner,

Arthur Weisberg Arthur Weisberg (April 4, 1931 – January 17, 2009) was an American clarinetist, bassoonist, conductor, composer and author. Biography Weisberg was born in New York City. He attended The High School of Music & Art, majoring in bassoon and s ...

, Stanley Petrulis,

Sherman Walt Sherman Abbot Walt (August 22, 1923 – October 26, 1989) was one of the foremost American bassoonists of the 20th century. Born in Virginia, Minnesota, he served in the U.S. Army in World War II, winning a Bronze Star; after his discharge from the ...

, Stephen Maxym, and Thom de Klerk. One of Miller's educational activities, the Nordic Bassoon Symposium, begun in 1984 as the John Miller Bassoon Symposium, has attracted an international mix of hundreds of professional, student, and amateur bassoonists.

References

External links

minnesotaorchestra.org
Living people American classical bassoonists University of Minnesota faculty 1942 births {{US-woodwind-musician-stub