Two-time Grammy-winner adds Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame to accolades

Albany Symphony Orchestra Director, Composer and Conductor, David Alan Miller draws inspiration

ALBANY—David Alan Miller has led the Albany Symphony Orchestra to new heights for over three decades.  

A Los Angeles native, the ASO music director and conductor has brought the orchestra to international recognition, releasing more than 30 albums and winning two Grammys.

Miller will join the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame as part of the sixth inductee class March 25 at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs. For tickets to the ceremony, visit atuph.org.

“We’re putting out ideally two recordings a year. And that really grew out of our passionate interest in fostering and nurturing the voices of composers,” Miller said.

The seven-time Grammy nominee has established a reputation as one of the leading American conductors of his generation. Miller believes the innovation of new music and featuring new composers a vital part of his career.

“We just love to discover new voices. And I believe, and I think everybody at the orchestra believes, that the way for our art form to continue to prosper and to develop and to stay vital is through the discovery and through the voices of new creative artists,” Miller said.

“That’s part of the reason why on virtually all of our concerts, we feature young emerging composers, new works.”

In 1994, he founded Dogs of Desire, an 18-member ensemble that has commissioned over 150 new works from emerging American composers.

Frequently in demand as a guest conductor, Miller has worked with most of America’s major orchestras, including those in Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, as well as the New World Symphony, the Boston Pops and the New York City Ballet.

In addition, he has appeared frequently throughout Europe, the UK, Australia and the Far East as a guest conductor. Since 2019, Miller has served as artistic advisor to the Little Orchestra Society in New York City.  He also currently serves as artistic advisor to the Sarasota Orchestra.

But even with traveling world-wide, Miller is still “very happy to be based here with our beautiful Albany Symphony.”

Miller holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School.

Prior to his appointment in Albany, Miller was associate conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and from 1982 to 1988, he was music director of the New York Youth Symphony, earning considerable acclaim for his work with that ensemble.

“I am kind of doing all the things I want to do…. with the orchestra, I have a lot of things that I’m hoping we can continue to experience and explore,” Miller said.

The ceremony is open to the public and includes musical performances, a social hour, videos on the musical career of each inductee and acceptance speeches. Tickets are on sale now through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday or online by visiting atuph.org.

Universal Preservation Hall and Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame are a part of Proctors Collaborative.