Chip Miller

Dr. Willis Glen "Chip" Miller III is a recent transplant to New Mexico, having previously lived in Virginia, Washington, New York City, Colorado, Texas, and Wisconsin. He has been on the faculty of the Austin Waldorf School, Wayland Academy, and the Interlochen Center for the Arts. Former students from his classes in theory and piano technology are currently enrolled at the Oberlin Conservatory, the Juilliard School, and the Curtis Institute of Music. Chip began studying piano at the age of 4 in Richmond, Virginia. By age 11, he was invited to perform with the Williamsburg Sinfonia in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, where he played the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 five times as part of their children’s concert series. This experience ignited his love for the concerto repertoire; before graduating high school, he won five concerto competitions, performing Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 (I), Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (III), and Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Richmond Symphony. For his doctoral concerto requirements, he performed the daunting Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Winds (complete) with the University of Houston Symphonic Wind Ensemble. As a student, he participated in MTNA competitions, and was the winner of the collegiate level in Virginia three times, and the Southern Division (nine states) twice. While competing at the national level, he was approached by Nelita True and invited to study with her at Eastman, which he did for the completion of his Master's. From 2012 to 2016, Dr. Miller performed annually at St. John's College in Santa Fe, presenting programs that included the complete Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II (performed from memory), an all-Beethoven concert, and Key Color, which showcased 19th-century tuning techniques that enhance the unique emotional character of each keys. Last year, Dr. Miller created a program blending works by Bach with tangos by 20th-century Latin American composers. He performed this program on Albuquerque’s Chatter stage and in a live-streamed performance at Eastern New Mexico University. The full live recording, as well as the scores for the tangos (which he recently has come to believe that every musician should know) is available on his website. Dr. Miller has four recordings available through all major streaming platforms, including selections from Rachmaninoff’s Preludes, Chopin’s Études, William Bolcom’s Etudes and rags, Beethoven’s Sonatas, and a collection of his own compositions entitled Four Fugues on Unexpected Themes. His two recordings of the Goldberg Variations are also catalogued at Bach-Cantatas.com. Dr. Miller lives in Albuquerque with his wife, Katie, and their dog, Apollo, and runs his piano repair shop out of Corrales. He has two daughters, one son-in-law, and two granddogs.