Conductor Joe Miller will present his first performance with the Westminster Choir Saturday, November 11 at 8 p.m. in Bristol Chapel on the campus of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton.

The highlight of the program will be Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, one of the choral repertory’s masterworks.  The choir will also perform Francis Poulenc’s Exultate Deo, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi’s Ave Maria, Trond Kverno’s Ave Maris Stella and J. S. Bach’s Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf.

Joe Miller was named director of choral activities at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in the spring after a three-year international search.  He succeeds Joseph Flummerfelt, who served for 33 years in that position, considered by many to be the nation’s most prestigious choral conducting appointment.

Before his appointment at Westminster, Joe Miller was director of choral studies, professor of music and voice area chair at Western Michigan University School of Music.   With the Western Michigan Chorale he received a number of awards, including the Silver Medal at the 2005 European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Varna, Bulgaria and the Grand Prize at the 2002 Robert Schumann International Choral Competition in Zwickau, Germany.  He has also served as director of choral and vocal activities at California State University, artistic director/conductor of the Stockton Chorale, and music director of the Mother Lode Music Festival.

He has conducted choirs in both national and international festivals, and he has served as guest conductor for numerous all-state and honors choirs.  A respected solo artist, he has performed with orchestras and in recital throughout the Midwest and in California.  In addition, he has served as music director at churches in Ohio and Tennessee. 

This past summer he was the keynote speaker at the Chorus Management Institute co-hosted by Chorus America and Westminster in Princeton.  “Choral music in the United States has seen unprecedented growth in the past several decades,” he said during his presentation. “The influence of our past leaders is part of our fabric, but we must seize this time to create a new vision based on the foundation that has been laid before us.  We must keep the traditions but be willing to change in order to build a vision for the future.”

Joe Miller earned a Master degree and a doctorate in choral conducting from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and voice from the University of Tennessee.

Setting the standard for choral excellence for 80 years, the Westminster Choir is composed of students at Westminster.  It has been the chorus-in-residence for the Spoleto Festival USA since 1977, performing both in concert and as the opera chorus.  The Choir was also the chorus-in-residence for the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, for 23 years.  In addition to this performance, the Choir's 2006-2007 season includes a concert tour of the South, performances in New York and Princeton and several performances at the 2007 Spoleto Festival U.S.A.  Recent seasons have also included tours of the United Kingdom, Korea and Taiwan, as well as a series of performances at the Colmar (France) International Music Festival.  Praised by The New York Times for its “full-bodied, incisive singing,” the Westminster Choir also forms the core of the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with the leading conductors and orchestras of our time.

Westminster Choir College of Rider University is at the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Walnut Lane in Princeton.  Admission to the concert is $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.  For tickets or to receive Westminster’s 2006-2007 season catalog, call the box office at 609-921-2663. 
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