David Alan Miller (born 1961) is a multi-Grammy Award-winning American symphony orchestra conductor, and since 1992, music director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra. Miller served as assistant and associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1987–92 and music director of the New York Youth Symphony from 1982-88. He is currently also Artistic Advisor to The Little Orchestra Society in New York City.
Early career and education
Miller was raised in the Los Angeles area. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He then earned a master's degree in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School. Miller was appointed Assistant Conductor of the New York Youth Symphony in 1981 and then ascended to the music directorship the following year while he was still a student at Juilliard. He was also a two-term conducting fellow and, later, Associate Director at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute.
In 1987, he was appointed Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic by Music Director André Previn; he was promoted to Associate Conductor in 1990 and held that position for two years. During his tenure with the orchestra, he conducted subscription concerts, an acclaimed family concert series, "Green Umbrella" New Music Group concerts and community concerts, as well as regular programs at the Hollywood Bowl. In the fall of 1987, Miller replaced Previn on only 36-hours notice during a week of regular Philharmonic subscription concerts, earning glowing reviews.
Albany Symphony Orchestra
Miller has been music director and conductor of the Albany Symphony since 1992. Under his leadership, the Albany Symphony has frequently premiered and performed significant works by living American composers. During his tenure, the orchestra has become one of the busiest recording orchestras in the US, and has released more than 30 discs, mainly featuring new or recent American music. He instituted a major annual American Music Festival in 1998, with multiple events featuring new works over five days each May. In the summer of 2017, the orchestra celebrated the bicentennial of the Erie Canal with a one-of-a-kind boat and barge trip, collaborating with community performing groups on seven major world premiere compositions on consecutive nights in communities along the Canal. The trip garnered national attention, including an article in The New York Times. In 2019, the orchestra's American Music Festival, "Sing Out, NY," celebrated New York State's major role in social justice movements, focused specifically on the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. In recognition of the orchestra's commitment to contemporary music and innovative programming, Miller and the Albany Symphony were twice invited to appear at "Spring For Music," an annual festival of America's most creative orchestras at New York City's Carnegie Hall. The orchestra was the only ensemble to perform more than once at this festival. Miller and the orchestra also appeared at "SHIFT: A Festival of American Orchestras" at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center in 2018. Miller established a family concert series shortly after his arrival at the Albany Symphony in 1992, and created a "Capital Heritage" commissioning series, for which the orchestra commissions and performs works inspired by New York Capital Region history. The works are performed "on location," in or at the locations that inspired them. "Capital Heritage" presentations have included performances inspired by Tiffany windows throughout the region, a day in the State Capital and a day at the Saratoga battlefield.
Dogs of Desire
Formed by Miller in 1994, Dogs of Desire is an eighteen-member contemporary music ensemble composed of principal members of the Albany Symphony and two female vocalists. The ensemble has commissioned over 150 new works from emerging American composers and gained a national reputation among young composers as a proving ground for emerging talent. Composers who have been commissioned by the Dogs of Desire include: Derek Bermel, Arthur Bloom, Dorothy Chang, Jacob Cooper, Michael Daugherty, Kenneth Eberhard, Reena Esmail, Ted Hearne, David Lang, Loren Loiacono, Todd Levin, David Mallamud, Huang Ruo, Annika Socolofsky, Michael Torke and George Tsontakis. The Dogs and Miller have released CDs of works by Michael Daugherty on Argo and NAXOS, and by David Mallamud on Broadway Records.