Tess Miller
Flute, Flute Forum (Adult Ensemble)
Tess Miller, DMA, is a freelance performer, flute instructor, and clinician from the mid-Michigan area. In 2004, Dr. Miller received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University where she studied with Richard Sherman. Her dissertation dealt with the causes of music performance anxiety and how musicians can improve or enhance their performance skills through journal writing. She has been invited to present her ideas at various colleges and conferences throughout the country including the College Music Society Great Lakes Chapter Conference, the Central Michigan University Flute Day, the University of Southern Mississippi Flute Day, and the Michigan State University Flute Weekend among other colleges and universities.
Dr. Miller is an avid chamber musician. As a member of the Red Cedar Wind Trio, she performed as a semi-finalist at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition. Her quartet, the Great Lakes Art Music Ensemble, released a CD on the White Pine Record Label. This disc, The Latin Dance Project,consists of newly composed and arranged music for two flutes, guitar, and percussion and was nominated for three WYCE Jammies Awards in 2011. GLAM has been invited to perform on the MAJIC Chamber Music Series in Grand Rapids, MI, The WYCE Jammies Showcase, and the 2008 National Flute Association Convention. Dr. Miller is also a member of the Everon Duo (flute and percussion), and Extreme Duality (flute and double bass), an ensemble that has premiered new compositions specifically written for this dynamic duo pairing.
In addition to chamber music performance, Dr. Miller is also a distinguished orchestral musician. She currently plays second flute with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and is an active freelance performer with other Michigan orchestras. Miller has performed as a featured soloist with the MSU Philharmonic Orchestra, the MSU Symphony Band, the Meridian Concert Band, the Albion College Band and Orchestra, the Alma College Orchestra, and the Mott Community College Band.
In the summers, Dr. Miller has performed for the Mackinac Island Community Foundation Summer Concert Series for which she was Co-founder and Co-Artistic Director. She has also taught at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Interlochen Arts Camp. Most recently, Dr. Miller worked as Managing Director of the Mackinac Island Flute Festival, which celebrated its inaugural year in the summer of 2011. In 2014, She created, developed, and directed an innovative project called Telephone: An Artistic Response Chain on Mackinac Island, featuring the works of Mackinac Artists.
Dr. Miller has taught at Central Michigan University as a sabbatical replacement and at Hillsdale College as a maternity-leave replacement. She is currently Adjunct Flute Instructor at Albion and Olivet Colleges and Visiting Professor of Music at Alma College and maintains an active private studio at the Michigan State University Community Music School where she enjoys teaching all ages and all levels. In addition to her teaching, she is a new music and CD reviewer for The Flutist Quarterly. Dr. Miller recently became a Certified Music Practitioner (CMP) through the Music for Healing and Transition Program which trained her how to provide live, prescribed music at the bedside of the ill and dying. She lives in St. Johns, MI with composer husband Scott R. Harding and daughter Roslyn.
