CCM student wins ACT Entertainment's grandMA3 Programming Competition
Nate Miller won the grand prize in 2024 contest
UC College-Conservatory of Music Lighting Design and Technology student Nate Miller was selected by the ACT Academy as the grand prize winner for the 2024 grandMA3 Programming Contest, where designers created virtual lighting shows using grandMA3 software. For his submission, Miller created a light show to accompany Daft Punk's "The Game Has Changed" from Tron: Legacy.
Nate Miller's lighting design in CCM's Cohen Family Studio Theater. Photo/provided.
Winners not only received hardware and software for themselves but also for their academic institutions. As a result of Miller's success, CCM will soon boast a new MA3 on PC Command Wing XT and MA3 Viz Key for students to use in lighting design classes and to design lighting for CCM’s staged productions. This is in addition to the MA3 Command Wing and MA3 Viz Key CCM received in 2022 after student Eli Suarez was the runner-up winner in the Programming Contest.
Miller has worked numerous events in cooperation with independent theater companies, educational organizations and I.A.T.S.E. as a lighting designer, programmer, technician and rigger. While programming at Footlighters Theater, he won an Orchid Award for the programming of Bonnie and Clyde. He works with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.S.T.E) where he has set up concerts, shows and operas. Under I.A.T.S.E., he was a Season Electrician, Programmer and Spot One for the Cincinnati Opera Company for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. During those seasons, he worked on 10 productions, 4 of which were world premieres. One of the world premieres (Castor and Patience) was nominated for an International Opera Award. Learn more about Miller on his professional website.
Cincinnati audiences can see Miller's work at an upcoming production at CCM! Miller is the Production Electrician on Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, presented as part of the college's opera series on March 6-8 in Patricia Corbett Theater.
About CCM Lighting Design and Technology
CCM Lighting Design and Technology’s BFA and MFA programs are guided by a hands-on, experiential philosophy and holistic approach to the entire entertainment industry. We offer students real production opportunities, access to industry standard technology and professional connections through exciting faculty, guests and alumni.
CCM is home multiple performance disciplines: plays, musicals, dance and opera form our active and varied production season. Student opportunities also include film projects like CCM Idea Lab and other collaborations with CCM's Media Production Division. We also have large format projects both in class and out, led by faculty with broad industry knowledge in multiple disciplines like concerts, TV and corporate events. Our opportunities are not just for lighting designers; they are also for programmers, technicians, innovators, media designers and creatives across the entertainment industry.
Featured image at the top: Provided by Nate Miller.
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