Douglas Miller

... I have been playing and performing on the piano keyboard for over fifty years. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in a traditional Latin American family, I am inclined to explore indigenous art forms as well as sounds found in nature.

My most influential educators have been:

* Elsa Rahlpach ~ circa 1954 - 1957 ~ Classically trained pianist and educator. Elsa was my first piano teacher after my mother. I remember vividly walking through a cemetery after elementary school to Miss Rahlpach's house for classes once a week. It was here that I learned about middle C, the rudiments of reading music, and most of my scales.

* Theran Mills ~ circa 1959 - 1964 ~ Pianist, music theorist, and electronic piano educator. Theran was responsible for showing me the intricacies of musical theory and complex chord structures. He also introduced me to the Wurlitzer electronic piano. Theran, as an active member of MTNA, initiated me into the world of live performance. The musical theory education I garnered would later serve me well while working with numerous contemporary musicians and composers.

* F. Ming Chang ~ circa 1964 - 1970 ~ Professor Emeritus in Music, Seton Hall University. Ming, or as his friends called him, Fred, is a remarkable pianist who instilled in me a vital understanding of musical dynamics. Our study of the range, quality, and density of sound through classical piano literature provided me with the passion I have today for expressive dynamics in performance.

* Norman Schnell ~ circa 1977 - 1978 ~ jazz musician, educator, and pianist for Gene Krupa and His Orchestra. After several years of flailing around, hopelessly lost in the contemporary music scene, my mother suggested that I study with one of her fellow Duke University alumni. Norm and I hit it off immediately. Every week I was given a jazz standard from which I was to freely improvise several choruses. Most of these standards I hadn't heard before, so this was the first time I was able to closely hear and study jazz voicings.

* Lillette Jenkins Wisner ~ circa 1983 - 1984 ~ concert pianist, composer and vocalist. Still frustrated by my inability to find a musical direction, I took a job as pianist for a youth choir in a regional A.M.E church. In dire need of acquiring "gospel chops," I was fortunate enough to study with one of the music industry’s most active and talented piano players for almost a year and a half. I question whether I fully mastered the gospel piano style, but I did end up working in that church and several of its choirs for over eight years.

* Laurie Altman ~ circa 2000 ~ composer, pianist, recording artist, and teacher. Around 1995 I had finally isolated myself from contemporary music long enough to spend some time seriously exploring improvisation. I found I still hadn't acquired the rudimentary theory and skills to get through a four-hour solo piano engagement. I really was in need of a new way of looking at melody and chord structure. To this day I refer to my class notes with Laurie, and if I have any improvisational ability at all, it is to him I owe the credit.

Gear

Kurzweil