CCM Clarinet student wins position with Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra

Originally from Lafayette, Indiana, Miller is a student of Pavel Vinnitsky, CCM Associate Professor of Clarinet. He received his master’s degree from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music in Pittsburgh, and undergraduate degrees in clarinet performance and music composition from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Winning a job with an orchestra can be intense, and usually involves a process known as blind auditions. Candidates are concealed from the audition panel by a screen, and play the same excerpts as dozens of other applicants who try out for the position. “Evansville was my 13th professional audition — lucky me,” Miller says. With auditioning, as in any other skill, practice makes perfect. “I’m finally learning to embrace the screen — not fear it,” he adds.

As a clarinetist, Miller has performed with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Symphony in C (Camden, New Jersey). Additionally, he has performed with the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Oregon Bach Festival and the Sulzbach-Rosenerg Music Festival. Also an active composer, Miller’s original music has been performed by ensembles in various cities across the United States and Portugal. 

Though only in his second semester, Miller says his time at CCM has been “chock-full of standout experiences,” including playing in the pit for the fall opera, Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmélites, performing Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Symphony with CCM Philharmonia and “getting a real workout” in the wide-ranging repertoire of CCM's Musica Nova ensemble. Though he’s won an audition, Miller is eager to continue his clarinet studies at CCM while playing professionally: “Each lesson with Professor Vinnitsky has brought out something exciting in my playing that I can’t wait to get into the practice room to continue developing.”