New assistant conductor takes podium for Columbus Symphony

Since his debut with a local music organization , second-generation conductor Elias Miller has even more in common with his baton-wielding father.

Miller is the new assistant conductor of the Columbus Symphony , a group his father, David Alan Miller, has guest-conducted, most recently in February 2023. The 30-year-old led Columbus Symphony at its first Young People’s Concert of the 2024-25 season Oct. 2.

As assistant conductor, Miller will help with concert prep and play an integral role in Columbus Symphony’s educational programs. He’ll be responsible for conceptualizing, rehearsing and leading the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra, Young People’s Concerts, in-school concerts and family concerts.

Miller earned degrees from Harvard and the University of Michigan and completed his postgraduate studies at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.

Despite his relative youth, Miller’s reputation as a first-rate conductor is widespread from having worked with orchestras across the U.S., including the New York Philharmonic, the Nashville Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Albany Symphony, the group his father directs.

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Last year, Miller appeared at Carnegie Hall for the first time, guest-conducting the New York International Symphony Orchestra.

Other ensembles he has conducted in the past include the Pro Arte Orchestra in Vienna; the University of Michigan's Philharmonia Orchestra; the Ann Arbor Camerata; the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra Chamber Players; and the Chromos Collaborative Orchestra, among numerous others.

Miller has worked extensively conducting operas, including leading the Harvard Early Music Society in several premieres of operatic works between 2016 and 2019.

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On the other side of the podium, Miller is a respected pianist and cellist who has played solo recitals in the U.S. and Europe and served as a vocal coach and rehearsal pianist for many operatic productions.

He lists among his teachers and mentors Mark Stringer, Scott Yoo, Kenneth Kiesler, Federico Cortese and — unsurprisingly — David Alan Miller.

bpaschal@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New assistant conductor takes podium for Columbus Symphony