Cam Millar
Composer/Musician: Maida on Maida in the Universe
Note: Trombone and the tone in the universe as both B FLAT….. appropriate for the Maida on Maida in the Universe work.
Cam Millar has had a diverse and active career as a trombonist and composer. A native of Canada , Cam has been a member of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Banff Centre Opera Orchestra, the O’Jays in Atlantic City, Rosemary Clooney in Calgary, Doc Severinson in Edmonton, as well as having had the opportunity to play in concert with the Count Basie Orchestra in Calgary and record for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. For six years, he co-led a jazz quintet which performed at various Canadian jazz festivals and has played with several contemporary music groups in Vancouver and elsewhere, performing such repertory as Berio’s “Sequenza V” for solo trombone, Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat,” and Stravinsky’s “Octet for Winds” at the Banff Centre. The last several years have seen Cam keeping busy creating music for dance choreographers, independent filmmakers, ice skating artists and various musical ensembles. Commissioned works for choreographers
Heather Harrington, JoAnna Mendl Shaw, Maida Withers, Kitty Clark, Sharon Mansur and Moira North have been heard at Dance Theatre Workshop (NY), Wave Hill (NY), Merce Cunningham Studios (NY), Mt. Holyoke College (MA), The Yard (MA), Goose Route Dance Festival (WV), George Washington Univ. (DC), Jack Guidone Theater (DC), Shelburn Museum (VT) and Sky Rink/Chelsea Piers (NY) In 1998, he was awarded a New York State Council on the Arts composer commissioning grant to write “Rodin Suite,” a ballet for the Ice Theatre of New York based on the life and work of sculptor Auguste Rodin. He has performed on the ice with his trombone (and skates!) in works by JoAnna Mendl Shaw and David Dorfman. His recent film compositions include music for “Home,” a film by Elizabeth Downer of New York’s Kitchen Cinema Productions (recently selected for screening at the prestigious American Native Indian Film Festival in San Francisco) and two film scores for the National Park Service. A recent resident of Shepherdstown, WV, Cam is currently enrolled as a graduate student in music composition/studio composition at SUNY Purchase College, NY, and is honored to be collaborating with
Maida Withers for the second time.
2nd Bio:
Cam Millar has composed music for dance choreographers JoAnna Mendl Shaw (NYC), Heather Harrington (NYC), Sharon Mansur (DC), Kitty Clark (DC, WV) and others in Canada and the US. His music has been heard at Wave Hill, The Yard, Merce Cunningham studios, 92nd Y, Dance Theater Workshop, BAX, Mt. Holyoke College, and the Goose Route Dance Festival in Shepherdstown, WV. Cam received a music commission grant from the New York State Council of the Arts in order to compose a large scale work for the Ice Theater of New York and choreographer Moira North. In Summer 2002 he planned to compose for equestrian riders and dancers for JoAnna Mendl Shaw’s Dancing With Horses project in Vermont. Work also includes two scores composed for National Park Service films. As a trombonist, Cam has previously performed with the Ice Theatre of New York (on the ice!) with his trombone in David Dorfman’s Choose, Loose as well as skating and playing in his own solo work entitled Upon Lake Cocytus. He has performed in the DC International Improvisation Festival, the Goose Route Dance Festival, and has extensive professional experience in the classical, jazz, and commercial fields of music in both Canada and the US.