Joe Miller

Recognized as a visionary conductor and creative artist, Joe Miller maintains an active performance schedule.  Miller currently serves as Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).  In addition to his work at CCM, Miller is artistic director of choral activities for the renowned Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina and since 2016 he has served as conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra Symphonic Choir.

Featured works of Miller’s 2024-25 season CCM include touring with the CCM Chamber Choir with Bach’s Singet dem Herrn, Mahler Symphony Nr. 2, Resurrection (Mark Gibson), Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem (Brett Scott), and a residency with renowned Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds.  Works with the Philadelphia Orchestra include Mahler, Symphony Nr. 3 (Yannick Nézet-Séguin), and Verdi Requiem (Ricardo Muti), and Handel, Messiah (Yannick Nézet-Séguin).  Miller will close the 2024-25 season with new works and projects for the Spoleto Festival USA.  Finally, last season marked the premier of MAESTRO a collaboration with Bradley Cooper and Netflix featuring the Philadelphia Symphonic Choir and the music of Leonard Bernstein.  The music has been released on Deutsche Grammaphon and the movie received a Best Picture Nomination for the Academy Awards.  

Miller made his conducting debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2021 conducting Handel’s Messiah.  Recent collaborations with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra have included premier performances of Kevin Puts’ The Hours with Renée Flemming, Kelli O’Hara and Jennifer Johnson.  The 2024 Philadelphia Symphonic Choir’s performances in Carnegie Hall and at Marion Anderson Hall celebrated Nathalie Stutzmann’s long collaboration as Principal Guest Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. 

After viewing a staged performance of Joby Talbot’s demanding Path of Miracles at the 2019 Spoleto Festival USA, D.C. Theatre Scene wrote, “Joe Miller is a fearless artist. His bold leadership and trust in these young singers enabled his choristers to forego the ‘stand and deliver,’ score-bound habits of their genre and ‘walk with him’ on this special journey. Not only did the singers need to memorize their parts, no mean feat, but follow his baton’s bid from any part of the auditorium and sing in any body position. Miller constantly challenged them in the process and inspired them to work confidently, well outside their comfort zone.”

Miller’s ensembles have performed throughout the world giving concert tours in Italy, Germany, Austria, France, England, China, and Spain, participating in the World Symposium on Choral Music in Barcelona.  His choirs have toured extensively throughout the United States performing for the American Choral Director’s Association National and Regional Conferences, and including groundbreaking performances of Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize winning Anthracite Fields at the historic Roebling WireWorks as part of Westminster’s Transforming Space project.

Miller has been praised for his recordings. American Record Guide wrote about, Frank Martin: Mass for Double Choir, “This is gorgeous singing … with perfect blend, intonation, diction, ensemble and musicality.” The Heart’s Reflection: Music of Daniel Elder was hailed by Minnesota Public Radio’s Classical Notes as “simply astounding.”  Miller’s debut recording with the Westminster Choir, Flower of Beauty, received four stars from Choir & Organ magazine and earned critical praise from American Record Guide, which described the Westminster Choir as “the gold standard for academic choirs in America.”

Miller has collaborated with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, earning him critical praise. After a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Cleveland Orchestra, The New York Times wrote about his choir’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Joe Miller’s Westminster Symphonic Choir was subtle when asked and powerful when turned loose.” Recent seasons have included performances with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle; The Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela and Gustavo Dudamel.

From 2006-20, Miller served as Professor of Conducting and director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.  Previous faculty appointments have included Western Michigan University and California State University, Stanislaus.  He received his DMA in Choral Conducting with a cognate in Voice from CCM in 1997. He received his MM in Choral Conducting from CCM in 1992. In 1987, he graduated cum laude from the University of Tennessee with a BS in Music Education and Voice.