Alexander L. Miller’s imaginative music draws upon his years of experience as assistant principal oboist with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. The broad spectrum of his orchestral scores have covered subjects as varied as emojis, film noir, nineteenth-century French literature, Balinese gamelan music, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington, fireworks displays, a remix of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” and the translation of visual encaustic art into a clarinet concerto.
His music has been hailed as “engaging and energetic” (Modesto Bee), “stunning” (American Harp Society) and anything from “magnificent,” “haunting” and “imaginative” to “intricate” and “sly and whimsical” (Grand Rapids Press). A senior critic at the San Antonio Express-News wrote that his “vibrant, propulsive” music “recalled in some ways the best mid-20th century American symphonists.” After more than a dozen premieres by the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Grand Rapids Press now calls him “assistant principal oboist by title, composer-in-residence by default.” He was recently featured in Symphony Magazine in an article about the growing trend of orchestral performer-composers.
His music has been performed across the country, from Carnegie Hall to California, by the symphonies of Baltimore, Grand Rapids, Albany, Rapides, Arkansas, Alabama, Lake Forest, Modesto, San Antonio, Santa Barbara and others, and has received commissions from the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Modesto Symphony, the San Antonio Symphony, Washington D.C.’s VERGE ensemble, the Western Brass Quintet, the Cabrillo Music Festival, and the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra.
His “Let Freedom Ring” (1998) for orchestra and narrator was selected for performance at the opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2003, with President Clinton narrating. Other narrators of this frequently-performed work have included James Earl Jones, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte and William Warfield.
Miller is a member of Ensemble Montage, an edgy chamber group dedicated to performing the myriad challenging works of the past century. He is also oboist for the Wünderwind Quintet, a group that travels to local schools and teaches children about woodwind instruments and the basic elements of building music.
He holds two degrees in oboe performance from The Juilliard School, B.M. (1990) and M.M. (1992). While completing his studies he worked as a music theory teaching assistant and played substitute and stage band oboe with the Metropolitan Opera. He never pursued formal composition training.
In late 2009 Miller was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor called a craniopharyngioma. He underwent two brain surgeries followed by a year of rehabilitation. Returning to his life as a performing musician and composer is what he considers his greatest achievement, and he blogs about his experiences as a patient regularly. He is married to Grand Rapids Symphony violist Mary Jane Miller, and his other interests include puzzles, aviation, modern art, wine collecting and mushroom hunting.