About John
Previously Head of School of Wind, Brass and Percussion, John continues to work at the RNCM in a part-time capacity as Tutor in Trumpet, coaching Chamber Music and providing inspirational teaching and coaching for our students and contributing to our research activities.
Previously Head of School of Wind, Brass and Percussion, John Miller continues to work at the RNCM in a part-time capacity as Tutor in Trumpet, coaching Chamber Music and providing inspirational teaching and coaching for our students and contributing to our research activities.
John began his musical life playing cornet with Tullis Russell Mills Band, Fife. He took up trumpet playing as a career, and was a member of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble (1972-80) and the Philharmonia Orchestra (1977-1994). He is a founder member of The Wallace Collection brass ensemble (1986-). He joined the staff of the Royal Northern College of Music in 1999 as Head of Brass, was Head of Wind & Percussion 2013–17, and is currently a part-time member of staff.
John is a teacher, published writer and brass educationalist in high demand. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Guildhall School in 1993, a Fellowship of the RNCM in 2006, followed by Professorship (personal chair) of RNCM in 2010. His work with young musicians, including the National Youth Orchestra, has been stamped by creative instrumental teaching and artistic innovation, and continues to be recognised internationally.
Research
Current and Future Research
Recent publications:
Andrew Powell, To a Walrus (1999–2024) Premiere CD record of contemporary brass chamber music. The Wallace Collection (TWC-FR2024-001).
Haydn Transformed: The Bird, The Emperor and The Dream (ca. 1860–68). Premiere CD record of Haydn string quartets transcribed for brass quintet by Julien Toilet in the 1960s. Reconstructed from archive manuscripts and performed on period instruments. The Wallace Collection (TWC-SR2023-001).
The Modern Brass Ensemble in Twentieth-Century Britain (Woodbridge, 2022).
Auguste Mimart, Quintettes nos. 1–6, Septuors 1–6 (ca. 1964). Premiere CD record on period instruments. 2022. On Origin of the Species Evolution. The Wallace Collection (TWC-FR2022-001).
Francisco Coll, Quintet for Brass (2019). Premiere CD record. 2020. On On Song. The Wallace Collection (TWC-FR2020-002).
A presentation on amateur brass chamber music in Britain c. 1890-1930: the brass band quartet tradition, was delivered at the Symposium – Romantic Brass in Context in Berb, Switzerland, 21 April 2023. Conference paper in preparation in Proceedings.
A follow-up paper on this topic will be presented at a conference of the Historic Brass Society in New York in July 2024.
Currently John Miller is enrolled at RNCM as a student, writing up a PhD in existing publications, due to be submitted November 2024. The content of the thesis in broadly based on the publications listed above.
Teaching
Research Supervision
Current supervision of PhDs:
- Christian Jones
Research Outputs
Written Outputs
The Modern Brass Ensemble in Twentieth-Century Britain
Miller, J., 2022, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. 204 p.The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, 1951-1986
Miller, J., 2019, In: Historic Brass Society Journal . 31, p. 51-76 25 p.Two Northern Bands
Miller, J., 2017, In: Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society. 110, p. 62-74 13 p.Professional Activity