1st Vice President – Courtney Miller
Dr. Courtney Miller is the oboe professor at University of Iowa where she teaches oboe, chamber music, and reed classes. Prior to her position at the University of Iowa, she served on faculty at Boston College in Massachusetts and Ashland University in Ohio. During the summers Dr. Miller performs and teaches at Lutheran Summer Music in Indiana. A highly regarded performer and pedagogue, Dr. Miller tours as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. Dr. Miller is a core member of the internationally established chamber ensemble, Virtuoso Soloists and is a founding member of the Voxman Reed Trio with University of Iowa colleagues Benjamin Coelho and Jorge Montilla. An experienced orchestral musician, Miller has performed in many orchestras up-and-down the east coast of the United States from the Jacksonville Symphony in Florida to the Portland Symphony in Maine. She now performs regularly with Orchestra Iowa, the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, Waterloo-Cedar Falls
Symphony, and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Miller is a versatile artist devoted to performing both established repertoire as well as new compositions and lesser-known works. Her 2019 album Portuguese Perspectives introduces a collection of world-premiere recordings for the oboe by Portuguese composers and includes several new commissions by Miller. This album and her 2015 release Modern Fairy Tales are readily available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. American Record Guide praises her “seamless consistency in the various registers of the oboe…and sensitive phrasing and articulation.” Fanfare Magazine hails Courtney Miller as “a performer of considerable skill, with an unfailingly lovely sound, abundant technical ability, and a special gift for turning notes into poetry.”
Statement of Interest
I am interested in this position to continue to support and help opportunities and activities for double players in the Midwest.
Secretary – Andrew Parker
Dr. Andrew W. Parker is currently the Assistant Professor of Oboe, Graduate Coordinator, and Director of Summer Music Camps at the Oklahoma State University Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music. He has performed throughout the United States and internationally at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kimmel Center, and the Seoul Performing Arts Center. Dr. Parker was previously the Lecturer in Oboe and Music Technology at Brevard College, Artistic Administrator at the Brevard Music Center and Manager of the Yale Philharmonia and New Music New Haven Ensemble. He has held orchestral positions with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic, Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra, and the Brevard Philharmonic. He has also performed regularly with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Round Rock Symphony Orchestra, Temple Symphony, Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra, Symphony Space All-Star Orchestra, Le Train Blue New Music Ensemble, along with performances in Seoul, Korea with Symphony S.O.N.G. Dr. Parker received his Bachelor of Music from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, Master of Music from the Yale School of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.
Statement of Interest
As a member of the Midwest Double Reed Society and recently appointed Newsletter Editor, I would love to help in continuing our reach to double reed students, teachers, and performers throughout the region. Being a part of the double reed world is like joining a very special family where we all support one another, show compassion, and share a bond for the love of creating beautiful music. With the recent global pandemic, it is even more important now that we think outside the box and continue to find ways to reach one another not just on a musical level but a personal one as well. We can do this through the amazing language of music. As the Graduate Coordinator and Director of Summer Music Camps at Oklahoma State University as well as my previous artistic administration experience at the Brevard Music Center and the Yale School of Music, I would love to share my knowledge and experience of social media marketing, website design, arts administration, and concerto/solo competition coordination to help create a unified and strong double reed presence in our local and regional music community. I hope that as Secretary of the Midwest Double Reed Society, I may be able to assist in supporting the goals and mission of this fantastic organization.