Philip Miller (composer)
 |
Philip Miller | |
|---|---|
 Philip Miller composing | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Film score,electro-acoustic |
| Occupation | Composer |
| Website | philipmiller |
Philip Milleris a South African composer and sound artist based inCape Town.His work is multi-faceted, often developing from collaborative projects in theatre, film, video and sound installations.
Miller is currently[when?]an honorary fellow at ARC (The Research Initiative in Archive and Public Culture) at theUniversity of Cape Town.
Education
[edit]Philip Miller trained firstly as a lawyer at theUniversity of Cape Townand practised as a copyright lawyer. He studied music composition in South Africa with composersJeanne Zaidel-RudolphandPeter Klatzowat theUniversity of Cape Town Music School.He completed his postgraduate studies inElectro-Acousticmusic composition for film and television atBournemouth University.While doing so he studied with UK composerJoseph Horovitz.He then returned to South Africa to begin working full-time in music.
Collaboration with William Kentridge
[edit]
One of Miller's most significant collaborators is the internationally acclaimed artistWilliam Kentridge.His music to Kentridge's animated films and multimedia installations has been heard in some of the most prestigious museums, galleries and concert halls in the world, includingMoMA,SFMOMA,The Guggenheim Museums (bothNew YorkandBerlin),Tate Modern,London,La FeniceOpera House,Carnegie Halland in Australia at thePerth Festival.[1]
This collaboration dates back to 1993 when he wrote the score for Kentridge's filmFelix in Exile,[2]part of his celebrated Soho Eckstein series. This evolved into the live concert series9 Drawings for ProjectionandBlack Box/Chambre Noirtouring Australia, the UK, (Germany), Italy,Belgium,France and the US.
The lecture-opera productionRefuse the Hour,as well as the multimedia installation on which it is based,The Refusal of Time,[3]were presented atdOCUMENTA (13)inKasseland at theMetropolitan Museum of Artin New York.
2016 has seenTriumphs & Lamentsin Rome[4]which featured Miller's music for two processional marching bands with solo singers, choirs, musicians and dramatic live shadow play, all performed against the backdrop of Kentridge's 500-metre frieze along the banks of theTiber River.
A number of their collaborations are on tour in Europe in 2016, includingPaper Music,which makes its German premiere at theBerlin Festspielein July 2016 andThe Refusal of TimeatWhitechapel Galleryin London in September.[citation needed]Miller was a contributing composer for the 2016 Darmstadt International Summer Course for New Music.[5]
Original works
[edit]Miller's compositional process could be best described as one of re-assembly. These extracted sound and musical shards become refigured into a new sound world using layering and "sound collage" techniques. It often incorporates samples of "found sound" and recorded word texts which serve as counterpoint to the musical context in which they are embedded, intertwining both acoustic and electronic sound elements into his work.
His works reflect on his preoccupation with using sound as a means of exploring memory, states of trauma and the re-examination of historical archive in a sound world of his creation. These techniques and approach have been incorporated in his compositions.
Rewind: A Cantata for Voice, Tape and Testimony
[edit]Conceived and composed, in 2007, this became an award-winning choral work, based on the testimonies of theTruth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa.The cantata had its international debut in New York at theCelebrate Brooklyn!festival[6]and has been performed at theRoyal Festival Hall,London,Williams College62 Centre for Theatre and Dance, theMarket Theatre,Johannesburg,andBaxter Theatre,Cape Town.[1]
Dreams of Immortality
[edit]An exhibition of sculptures byDeborah Bellwhich showed at theEverard Read GalleryinJohannesburgandCape Townin 2015, which featured music and sound by Philip Miller: the chord of a single-stringed instrument, the call of a ram's horn, the sound of a violin or the chanting of aXhosasangoma.[7]
Anatomy of a Mining Accident
[edit]A small-chamber opera in which Miller explores the subterranean sound world of miners in South Africa. The focus of this work dealt with the subterranean sound world of local miners – exploring the use of localised mining language or dialect "fanakalo", apidginlanguage used in the mines – and how this reflects on the current mining crisis in South Africa and the tragic massacre of 38 miners atMarikanain 2013. Composed and created in 2014 in association withCape Town Operaand the vocal ensemble it played both inSwedenand in Cape Town.[8]
It was also installed as a sound and video installation at Wits Art Museum (WAM) as a public art project.[8]
Extracts from the Underground
[edit]The Art Museum of the University of the Witwatersrand(WAM) commissionedAnatomy of a Mining Accidentto be refigured as a sound and video installation on the walls outside the gallery with video projections by the film-makerCatherine Meyburgh.[8]
Looking for Kovno
[edit]Part of an installation at The Kaunas Biennial (2009) (Lithuania). It used recorded telephone conversations withHolocaustsurvivors, which were then incorporated into the recordings of a local Lithuanian choir learning to sing an oldYiddishfolk song which was popular at the time of the mass executions of Jews.
Special Boy
[edit]Selected for the prestigiousSpier Contemporaryexhibition in South Africa, this used old tape recordings of his voice as a thirteen-year-old boy practising his speech for the customary coming of age ceremony, the [barmitzvah], juxtaposing these recordings with his adult voice as a gay man reflecting on questions of masculinity, sexuality and religion.[1]
Can You Hear That?
[edit]Reflections on the war inIraqfortenor,soprano,violin,viola,cello,clarinet,piano, andelectric pianoplayed byEnsemble PIpremiered in New York City in 2009.[1]
Music for Film and TV
[edit]Miller has worked with some of the most innovative filmmakers and visual artists internationally and from South Africa. He has composed music for the soundtracks to many local and international film and television productions. Recent film scores includeSteven Silver'sThe Bang Bang Club,[9]which was nominated for aGenie Awardin Canada;Black Butterflies,[10]which was awarded best film score at theSouth African Film and Television Awards(SAFTA). He was nominated for anEmmy Awardfor the score of HBO'sThe Girl[9]directed byJulian Jarrold,Martha and Marydirected byPhilip NoyceandBBC'sThe Borrowers.[10]Another award-winning score is for the multi-award-winning film:Miners Shot-Down,directed byRehad Desai.
He also composed the music for the first episode ofRoots,the series premiering onA+E StudiosHistory channel mid-2016. This historical portrait of American slavery is directed byPhillip Noyce(Salt,Patriot Games,The Bone Collector). The cast includesForest Whitaker,Anna Paquin,Laurence FishburneandJonathan Rhys Meyers.[11]
He won Best Original Music Score Award at theCanadian Screen Awardsin March 2016 forThe Book of Negroes[12]– a 2015 miniseries adaptation ofthe 2007 award-winning novelby Canadian writerLawrence Hill.The miniseries starsLouis Gossett Jr.andCuba Gooding Jr.
Awards
[edit]| Nomination | Ceremony | Notable contributors | Achievement | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book of Negroes(six-part series; BET/CBC)[12] | Canadian Screen Awards | Clement Virgo(Dir) | Winner: Best Original Music Score Award | 2016 |
| Mary and Martha(HBO; soundtrack) | *Wawela Awards | Winner: Best Soundtrack for Feature Film | 2014 | |
| The Girl(Wall to Wall Productions(HBO))[13] | Emmy Awards | Julian Jarrold(Dir) | Nominee: Best Soundtrack for Feature TV Film | 2013 |
| Black Butterflies(feature film soundtrack)[10] | * Wawela | Winner: Best Soundtrack for Feature Film | 2013 | |
| Black Butterflies(feature film soundtrack)[10] | * Wawela | Winner: Best Soundtrack: South African Film and Television Awards | 2013 | |
| The Bang Bang Club[14] | Genie Awards | Steven Silver(Dir) | Nominee: Best Soundtrack for a Feature Film | 2011 |
| Guguletu Seven[15] | Avanti | Lindy Wilson(Dir); Commissioned byNick Fraser(BBC) | Avanti Award in South Africa | 2000 |
* Wawela These awards celebrate South African music creators' accomplishments on the international and local stage over a particular defined period.
Albums
[edit]Miller has released several albums of his music which include:[1]
| Albums |
|---|
| The Refusal of Time |
| William Kentridge's9 Drawings for Projection |
| Black Box/Chambre Noire |
| The Thula Project,arrangements of traditional South African lullabies |
| South African Soundscapes |
| Shona Malanga |
These are available online in digital recordings or as CDs.
References
[edit]- ^abcde"After-performance talk with William Kentridge, Dada Masilo and Philip Miller".Onassis Cultural Centre.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^Martinez, Alanna (27 October 2014)."William Kentridge and Philip Miller Come Full Circle With 'Paper Music'".Observer Culture.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^"William Kentridge The Refusal of Time, dOCUMENTA (13), 2012".Lia Ruma.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^Gattinara, Federico Castelli; McGivern, Hannah (22 April 2016)."William Kentridge unveils 550-metre frieze along Rome's River Tiber".The Art Newspaper.Retrieved1 May2016.
- ^"Darmstadt Summer Course 2016: Main Focuses of the Program".Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^Smith, Steve (10 July 2007)."Bringing Life, Death and Sight to Sound".The New York Times.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^Sassen, Robin (10 May 2015)."Go no further: Deborah Bell's blithe skirting with gods".My View: The arts at large by Robyn Sassen.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^abcde Beer, Diane."A musical journey down the mineshafts".Goethe Institute.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^ab"Philip Miller: Biography".IMDb.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^abcdDurbach, Dave (29 May 2014)."Philip Miller".Music Africa.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^"Roots (2016 TV Mini-Series)".IMDb.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^abHertz, Barry (9 March 2016)."Book of Negroes big winner at Canadian Screen Awards".The Globe and Mail.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^"Congratulations to South Africa's Emmy Nominated composer Philip Miller".Sheer Publishing Africa.PublishAfrica.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^"Philip Miller nominated for a Genie Award".Sheer Publishing Africa.PublishAfrica.Retrieved8 June2016.
- ^"The Guguletu Seven".Lindy Wilson Productions.Retrieved8 June2016.
External links
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| National | |
| Other | |
