Crista Miller

 

Much in demand as a solo artist, choral conductor, sacred musician, scholar, and teacher, Crista MILLER has performed in France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Sweden, and Canada. Most recently she appeared at the Svendbørg International Organ Festival, the inaugural Wolff Organ Conference at the University of North Texas, Washington National Cathedral, Goshen College, and live on WXXI radio.

Dr. Miller serves at the University of St. Thomas and Houston Baptist University. Her pedagogical interests include music theory, historic-based organ performance practice, liturgical music and the revival of "forgotten" sacred treasures, training the church musician, early music, and contemporary music. As Music Director and Cathedral Organist at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, she was responsible for the procurement of Martin Pasi's Opus 19 four-manual organ for the new co-cathedral building. Under her direction, Sacred Heart's Schola Cantorum performed the world premiere of works of Robert Dvorak (b. 1919), the Houston premiere of Pergolesi's Miserere in C Minor, and liturgical music for Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza's ceremonial receipt of the Pallium from Pope Benedict, with subsequent Italian tour venues of St. Peter's Basilica, St. Mary Major, and the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

Dr. Miller earned the DMA in organ performance and the Sacred Music Diploma at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, studying under Hans Davidsson. There she received the graduate award for the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI), a unique global project that will ultimately deliver about twenty historic-styled organs to the Rochester area. She also served as Assistant Organist at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, working under Peter DuBois. In 2004, she was one of twenty-eight organists, and the sole US citizen, chosen to participate in the Odense International Organ Competition and Festival in Denmark. In 2002, she was named one of seven semifinalists in the American Guild of Organists National Young Artists' Competition in Organ Playing and played at the National Convention in Philadelphia. Other notable performances include her world premiere of Michael Remson's Whistle Stop! at the 2003 EROI Festival, and US engagements in Buffalo's Slee Hall and St. Paul's Cathedral; and in New York, Texas, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oklahoma. In 2003, research on cultural influences in the organ works of Naji Hakim found Dr. Miller working with the composer in southern France. In addition, she earned the Master of Music degree from the University of Houston's Moores School of Music, where she was awarded second prizes in the Fort Wayne (Indiana) National Organ Competition and the San Antonio William Hall Competition while studying with Robert Bates. Previously, she earned the Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at Oklahoma State University, where she studied organ with Gerald Frank. Other teachers include Robert Brewer, Robert Jones, and Naji Hakim in Paris, France.

 

Recital Program (subject to change):

J. S. Bach (1685 - 1750)
Fantasia et Fuga in g, BWV 542
 
Petr Eben (1929 - 2007)
Musica Dominicalis (Nedelni hudba)
III. Moto Ostinato
 
Michael Remson (b. 1962)
Whistle Stop
 
Jean Langlais (1907 - 1991)
Cinq Soleils
II. Soleil du Midi 
 
Olivier Messiaen (1908 - 1992)
Messe de la Pentecôte
IV. Communion - Les oiseaux et les sources
V. Sortie - Le vent de l'Espirit 
 
Naji Hakim (b. 1955)
Ouverture Libanaise

 

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