|
The American pianist, piano technician, and music teacher, Willis Glen "Chip" Miller III, grew up in Richmond, Virginia. His mother (and first teacher) was an oboist, singer, and pianist; his father was a clarinetist - the two met in music school at East Carolina. After studying for six summers at the Interlochen Music Festival, he obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and Orchestral Conducting from Virginia Commonwealth University2 (1992-1996); his Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Choral Conducting from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester (1996-1997); and his DMA degree in Piano Performance and Orchestral Conductin from the University of Houston Moores School of Music (1997-2001). His teachers have included Nelita True, Horacio Gutiérrez, Ruth Tomfohrde, Wesley Ball, Tayloe Harding, and Landon Bilyeu.
Willis Glen Miller enjoyed a twenty-year career in music and technology that included roles as a concert pianist, piano technician, teacher, software developer, and business intelligence leader. Since the publication of his doctoral dissertation in 2001, his work in recovering the history of piano tuning and temperament has been regarded as "seminal" and "required reading" in subsequent publications at Academia.edu. In 2010, his research in performance practice and temperament considerations was re-published at unequaltemperament.com, providing online training material for piano tuners and technicians around the world.
A second-generation Interlochen alumnus, Willis Glen Miller began attending the Arts Camp in 1987. That same year, he was the highest-awarded American at the Young Keyboard Artist Internal Competition in his age division. Receiving the Outstanding Musician Award in Interlochen's three age divisions, he was the first Camp student to present a complete solo recital, and is the only student with a four-time winner in the Camp's Concerto Competition. Entering college at age 16, he became the first musician to be the winner three years in a row at the Music Teacher National Association Competition's Wurlitzer division, and the youngest participant at the Igor Stravinsky International Piano Competition.
In 1992, Willis Glen Miller developed tendonitis in his right arm and was partially debilitated for two years. During that time, he concentrated on works for the left hand alone, and eventually recovered through physical and technical changes, given to him through his teacher-heritage to Johannes Brahms. His recovery led to performances and recordings for solo piano on both equal- and unequal-tempered instruments: Abendmusik für Klavier (2010); Key Color (2014); J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (2016); and Four Fugues on Unexpected Themes (2013), showcasing his own compositions in his favorite texture. His performance history includes marathon-like presentations from memory in counterpoint, including fugue-only recitals, and J.S. Bach's entire second book of the Well-Tempered Clavier (BWV 870-893).
Willis Glen Miller has worked as Senior Consultant at Triact in Austin, Texas (June 2006-August 2008); Faculty / IT Director at Austin Waldorf School in Austin, Texas (2008-2011); Data Architect at MyEdu in Austin, Texas (May 2011-November 2012); Database Administrator at NextGen Healthcare in Austin, Texas (February 2013-August 2014); Resident faculty at Wayland Academ in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Instructor of traditional and computer music (August 2014-August 2015); Senior Data Engineer at Civitas Learning in Austin, Texas (November 2016-May 2017); Piano Technician at Nuernberger Piano Company in New York City (August 1992-May 2018), caring for over six hundred instruments in public and private spaces, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Manhattan School of Music, Columbia University, and New York University.
Since May 2018, Willis Glen Miller is Resident Piano Technician and Faculty, Interlochen Arts Academy and Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. He is also an instructor in musicianship, theory, and piano technology at Interlochen Arts Academy. He is also the lead piano technician for the Interlochen Summer Arts Festival, coordinating the care of 340 pianos, harpsichords, digital keyboards, and historical keyboard instruments.
As a digital artist, Willis Glen Miller has brought music theory, piano literature, and web development together in online tools for the University of Houston, myEdu.com, Civitas Learning, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the California College Community System. His online training material in piano tuning, along with recordings and 432 interactive musical examples, is on the web at theartofpianotuning.com. He is a member of the Piano Technicians Guild in Northern Michigan. Since August 2015, he is Independent Business Owner of Colormusik in New York City. Colormusik is the world's first full-color music publisher. He tunes and performs in New York, Washington DC, Richmond, Virginia, Denver, Colorado, and Austin, Texas. |
