CCM doctoral student appointed as May Festival Conducting Fellow

First-year DMA student Andrew Miller is the 12th fellow in the history of the program

The Cincinnati May Festival has announced the appointment of Andrew Miller, a first-year DMA student in CCM’s renowned choral conducting program, as its Conducting Fellow for the 2024-25 season. Miller, who will serve as the assistant conductor for the May Festival Chorus this year, recently completed his master’s degree at the University of Louisville. 

Andrew Miller.

Andrew Miller.

Since 2013, the Cincinnati May Festival has partnered with CCM’s choral conducting department each year to select a Fellow from the doctor of musical arts (DMA) class. The unique partnership was established through the generous support of Ginger Warner, a University of Cincinnati trustee and Director Emeritus of the May Festival Board of Directors.

Miller will directly assist Director of Choruses Matthew Swanson and Associate Director of Choruses Jason Alexander Holmes with leading the May Festival Chorus as well as all operations of a major symphonic choral organization, including artistic planning, budgeting and finance, philanthropy, marketing and community engagement. Following his graduation from the University of Louisville, Miller directed the choir and class guitar programs at Covington Catholic High School in Northern Kentucky and currently serves as Director of Music at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Cincinnati.

“I am delighted to continue my work with the May Festival Chorus as the next Choral Conducting Fellow,” said Miller. “I have seen firsthand the impact that this world-renowned organization can have in our community. The May Festival Chorus is synonymous with dynamic, heartfelt excellence in performance, and I look forward to supporting that mission in my new role.”

“We are thrilled that Andrew Miller has accepted the May Festival Conducting Fellowship for the 2024-25 season. In addition to his skills as a conductor, singer and educator, Andrew has deep ties to our region and our community. I look forward to all that he will bring to our organization in the year ahead,” said May Festival Director of Choruses and Interim Executive Director Matthew Swanson.

Andrew Miller is the twelfth May Festival Choral Conducting Fellow in the history of the program. Previous fellows now lead various youth, academic, community, church and professional choral programs, throughout Greater Cincinnati and around the world.

About Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller is a Cincinnati-based conductor, tenor and instrumental instructor. A three-year member of the May Festival Chorus, he is excited to serve as the May Festival Conducting Fellow for the 2024-25 season.

In addition to his work as a choral singer with the May Festival Chorus and Vocal Arts Ensemble, Miller maintains an active performing schedule as a conductor and clinician. He most recently directed the choir and class guitar programs at Covington Catholic High School in Northern Kentucky, a tenure highlighted by collaborations with several area universities and a performing tour to Carnegie Hall in New York City. He also serves as Director of Music at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Cincinnati. 

Prior to Miller’s work in Cincinnati he served as the director of the University of Louisville Singing Cardsmen, completing his Master of Music degree in choral conducting under the direction of Dr. Kent Hatteberg. During Miller’s studies in Louisville, he served as an assistant for all university choruses, presenting an eclectic Requiem Mass as his conducting recital, including a world premiere by Louisville composer Blake Wilson.

Miller completed his undergraduate degree in music education at the University of Kentucky in 2015 under the direction of Dr. Jefferson Johnson and Dr. Lori Hetzel and will begin his doctoral studies in choral conducting at CCM in the Fall of 2024. 

About the May Festival

“One of the Best Classical Music Festivals in the U.S. and Canada” (BBC Music Magazine, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024) and recognized as a leader in increasing diversity, equity, inclusion and access in the choral world (Chorus America, 2022), the Cincinnati May Festival is distinguished by its unique community-based structure and standard of extraordinary artistic excellence. Founded in 1873, the annual May Festival is the oldest choral festival in the Western Hemisphere. Many important choral works have received their world and American premieres at the May Festival in the past 150 years, including Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana, Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi, and Robert Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses. Anchored by the May Festival Chorus and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the May Festival hosts an international array of guest artists in dynamic productions annually.

About CCM Choral Studies

CCM's Department of Choral Studies is dedicated to creating a new kind of choral conductor who is capable of standing in any environment to inspire new generations of musicians and audience members. As one of the most established conductor training programs in the world, CCM prepares leaders and entrepreneurs who will envision a new wave of performance and pedagogy that values transformative musical experiences.

CCM's Master of Music and Doctor of Music Arts programs provide professional-level experiences in rehearsals and performances, developing musicianship and technique, and acquiring knowledge of styles, performance practices and repertoire.

MM and DMA graduates of CCM's Choral Studies programs are conducting and administrating highly successful professional, collegiate, symphonic, secondary, children's and church choir programs throughout the world.

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