About

William Miller (born May 20, 1948 in London,Ontario) is a Canadian composer and performer.  He lives in Stratford, Ontario with his wife, Margaret McGreevy.

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Mr. Miller began studying composition while still in high school with Dr. Peter Clements at the University of Western Ontario. He later obtained a B.Mus degree (1973) at U.W.O., studying composition with Arsenio Giron, Michael Longton,  and Jean Anderson, and piano with Dr. Damjana Bratuz. He later obtained a Master of Music degree at McGill University (1976) where he studied with Alcides Lanza, Bruce Mather, and Bengt Hambraeus.  He later received a Quebec scholarship to study electronic music at the Paris Conservatoire, with Guy Reibel and Pierre Schaeffer.

He has received commissions from various ensembles including The Hamilton Philharmonic and Orchestra London.

His music has been heard on CBC radio as well as on radio in France and Spain.  He has composed music for orchestra, chamber opera, song cycle and chamber music.

Recent works include:

  • The Stronger, chamber opera
  • The Assassination of D’Arcy McGee, chamber opera
  • Seppia Suite, for solo violin
  • Henry Hudson, chamber opera

Career Highlights

In the 1970s, Miller’s piece Au Bord de la Forêt was commissioned and performed by Orchestra London (Canada) under conductor Clifford Evens. Miller wrote the electro-acoustic piece Pagaille in 1978, later heard on Spanish radio.  It is archived by the Concordia electro-acoustic Composers’ Group at Concordia University.

Miller is the composer of Pour flûte seule, which is included in Pierre-André Valade’s 1990 book Flûte et Créations, a compilation from fifteen composers of various musical aesthetics on the topic of the contemporary flute.

Miller composed the music for operas Henry Hudson,  Voice of an Angel,  A Stronger Thought of Love (The Donnelly Legacy) and The Assassination of Thomas D’Arcy McGee with the poet and fellow Stratford resident Charles Mountford. The production of Henry Hudson featured baritone, Vanya Abrahams, as the titular sea explorer and navigator. A Stronger Thought of Love, (The Donnelly Legacy) an opera based on the story of the Black Donnellys, was staged at the Stratford Central United Church in 2005. It featured soprano Catherine Gardner and baritone Mark Gardner, accompanied by alumni of the St. Mary’s Children’s Choir and a chamber orchestra under the direction of Sean Kim.

In 2008, Orpheus Productions Stratford produced Miller’s chamber opera Henry Hudson as well as his Seppia Suite for Solo Violin for the Spotlight weekend in Stratford with support from the Ontario Ministry of Culture and the Ontario Arts Council.  In 2011, Miller was a guest composer featured at the Stratford-based “MMMM Composers in Concert” series. Miller’s pieces Nocturne (for violin and piano) and The River Avon (for violin, cello and piano) were performed. Miller played the violin for both pieces.

In 2008, Miller’s Seppia Suite for Solo Violin was commissioned and performed by Gwen Thompson in Vancouver. He composed The Stronger: A One Act Chamber Opera, also known as The Rival, in 2014. It is based on the August Strindberg play The Stronger. The premiere production featured soprano, Catherine Gardner.