R. J. Miller › Texts

An internationally touted master of orchestration, RJ Miller has enjoyed a richly diverse musical career. He has composed, orchestrated, conducted, and produced contemporary classical recordings with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the St. Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic Orchestra; produced critically acclaimed CDs by Placido Domingo, José Carreras, Russian Violin Virtuoso Grigori Sedukh, and the St. Petersburg Hutchins Violin Octet; served as Executive Producer and Mastering Producer on the Grammy® Nominated CD How Great Thou Art by Country Music Superstar, Willie Nelson; arranged, orchestrated & performed on multiple Jazz and New Age CDs that have reached the Billboard Magazine "Top 20"; composed, orchestrated and produced film scores for the digital re-release of the original The Last of the Mohicans (National Film Preservation Board Award/VSDA "Gold Award" Nominee), The Birth of a Nation (VSDA "Gold Award" Winner/National Film Preservation Board Award), The Lost World (National Film Preservation Board Award/ASIFA "Annie Award" Nominee), Felix the Cat (VSDA "Gold Award" Nominee), and Winsor McCay: Animation Legend (ASIFA "Annie Award" Winner); orchestrated and conducted documentary, movie and sports soundtracks for television which have aired on The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, TCM, NBC, ABC, AMC, National Geographic Explorer, ESPN, and the international broadcasts of the 1999 World Cup Championship and the 2002 Winter Olympics; orchestrated four Broadway plays, including Burn This (directed by and starring John Malkovich). A portion of his score to the digital reissue of the original The Lost World appears in the documentary The Making of Jurassic Park (hosted by James Earl Jones and distributed worldwide by MCA/Universal Pictures).

RJ is the author of Practical Orchestration: A Guide to Contemporary Musicians and Ensembles (currently under contract with Routledge Publishing/Taylor & Francis Group), Clock Master: A Comprehensive Manual for Synchronizing Musical Compositions to Film and Video, The Notation Translation Manual (a technical reference manual for recording engineers that converts musical notation into milliseconds for use with digital delays and reverbs), Basic Music Technology (an on-line course manual for The Metropolitan State University of Denver - covering music software technologies, MIDI, digital editing, graphics, and music-oriented web site design), Music Technology for Educators (an on-line course manual for music education majors at The Metropolitan State University of Denver - covering music software technologies, data base/spreadsheet applications, classroom presentation technologies, MIDI, digital editing, graphics, and music educational oriented web site design), Arranging and Orchestration (an on-line course manual for composition students at The Metropolitan State University of Denver), Arranging and Orchestration for Music Educators (an on-line course manual for music education students at The Metropolitan State University of Denver), the Summer Scholars Technology Workshop (an online course manual for summer scholar students at The Metropolitan State University of Denver - covering web browsers, Metroconnect, Blackboard technologies, file management, word processing, data base/spreadsheet applications, and classroom presentation technologies), is currently completing a manual for music education majors entitled Recording in the Academic Environment, has an additional book (Elements of Notation in the Age of Computer Technology) in pre-production, and has created and instituted the instructional design for the omnibus class entitled Scoring for Film and Television (MUS 390B).

RJ is an active voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammys®), a member of ASCAP, a member of the Society of Composers, Inc., a member of the College Music Society, and Founder & President of Appassionata Music Publishing. At The Metropolitan State University of Denver, Professor Miller's instructional responsibilities include Arranging and Orchestration, Music Technology for Educators, Basic Music Technology, Introduction to Music, and he serves as the Department Coordinator of Music Technology. Additionally, he teaches a section on creating music for games in the Survey of Computer Games class (TechComm department). In selected classes/seminars, he lectures on scoring for film & television, CD production, licensing agencies/royalties, recording & publishing, industry associations, ethical music entrepreneurship, and music oriented web site design. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has selected him to serve on several judging committees for the Grammy Awards® (a confidentiality agreement with NARAS precludes the disclosure of the specific categories).

RJ's former positions include Founder & President of Fahrenheit Records and Celsius Records, Executive Vice President of Finer Arts Records and F2 Entertainment, General Manager and Executive Producer of Forté Records, Music Director/Composer on the television series "The Master's Peace Theater" (KWHD-TV), Interim President of the New Violin Family Association, Master Copyist for the jazz publishing company, Outrageous Mother, Inc., and he has provided audio production services to KWGN-TV, KHOW-AM and KHIH-FM.

With over 40 years of professional experience, his credits (as composer, orchestrator, arranger, conductor, performer, musicologist, producer and/or executive producer) appear on over 300 CDs/albums, laserdiscs, DVDs, CDVs, videos, film and television productions. In addition to his technical reference manuals, course manuals, and text books, his published works include nine volumes of works for piano, four symphonic suites, a symphonic poem and 32 single movement works for symphony orchestra, over 100 selections for instruments of the New Violin Family, and well over 200 works for string quartets, wind ensemble/symphonic band, flute orchestra, pops orchestra, brass ensembles, woodwind ensembles, jazz ensembles, percussion ensembles, synthesizer ensembles, and other small ensembles of various genres and instrumentation.

Other useless trivia:
Exploiting an extensive background in math and physics, R.J. spent two years as a Quality Control Analyst for a NASA sub-contractor (analyzing elements of the guidance systems for the C4 anti-ballistic missile system and the Space Shuttle solid-fuel boosters) while attending graduate school.

--www.msudenver.edu/