Guest Artists: Zeitgeist New Music Ensemble with Tracey Engleman, Soprano

Composer Scott L. Miller is proud to announce the premiere of The Blue in the Distance, for Chamber Ensemble and Immersive Film presented with live music he composed, setting the poem of the same name by MN Poet Laureate Joyce Sutphen. Featuring soprano Tracey Engleman and Zeitgeist (new music ensemble based in St. Paul, MN), performing in the sonically immersive, classical ambient style that so much of Miller’s recent music is known for. The film, created by Miller, explores Quarry Park Reserve in Waite Park, MN. The program will also include a poetry reading by Joyce Sutphen, including new work from her book Carrying Water to the Field.

“I wanted to create a new VR concert work based on an inspiring natural Minnesota location for my longtime friends and collaborators here to perform. I chose the Quarry Park Reserve in Waite Park, MN, as the location and began filming there in April 2018, in the days following the blizzard that month. I felt it important to add a narrative element to the film and set about looking for poetry that resonated with the project, ideally by a Minnesotan and about Central Minnesota. While filming in the spring, I read a lot of poetry and ultimately came across the work of Minnesota Poet Laureate Joyce Sutphen. Joyce grew up in St. Joseph, not far from Quarry Park (it was just a closed granite quarry then), and her work frequently evokes imagery and aspects of life in Minnesota that resonate with me. The Blue in the Distance perfectly captures the natural setting of Quarry Park, and provides a perfect structure for me to organize the film and music around.” — Composer and Virtual Reality Filmmaker Scott L. Miller Miller has collaborated with Zeitgeist as a composer, performer, and producer of their recordings since 2003. He created his first VR concert work, Raba, with Tallinn-based Ensemble U:, VR film-maker Rein Zobel, and the SCSU Visualization and Simulation Lab in 2017. Raba was created in response to a visit to the Marimetsa Raba, an enormous bog in Estonia.

Created and presented with the support of Mark Gill, Director, St. Cloud State University Visualization and Simulation Lab, film editing and production assistance from Kyle Yotter and Jack Wald. Support provided in part from: ● The SCSU Department of Music ● MN NICE – The Minnesota (State) Networked Immersive Collaborative ● and the Minnesota State Innovation Funding Program ● The American Composers Forum through the 2018 McKnight Composer Fellowship Program.

Scott L. Miller is a 2018 McKnight Composition Fellow and Joyce Sutphen is Minnesota’s Poet Laureate.

The Blue in the Distance Virtual Reality Concert by Scott L. Miller performed by Zeitgeist When: November 15, 2019 4:00pm—Reading by poet laureate Joyce Sutphen, including work from her new book, Carrying Water to the Field. Discussion of Sutphen’s work and her connection to Central Minnesota led by SCSU poetry professor Sarah Green. Where: Miller Center Auditorium, St. Cloud State University 7:30 pm—Concert Where: Ruth Gant Recital Hall, St. Cloud State University 620 3rd Avenue South, Saint Cloud, MN More Info: https://huskiesconnect.stcloudstate.edu/event/4143013 Cost: Free and open to the public

Selected Reviews “I have increasingly found Scott L. Miller to be his own musical voice in the realm of Electronic and New Music….Scott L. Miller excels as an artist in this mode. He is one of the very best active today and one of the most original and consistently satisfying.” — Classical-Modern Music Review “Scott L. Miller is a true force on the avant-ambient scene.” — Classical-Modern Music Review, Grego Applegate Edwards “Anything but bombastic, Miller’s chamber-styled pieces are also generally restrained, understatement and nuance being key to the material’s effect.” — textura

About Scott L. Miller Scott L. Miller is an American composer described as ‘a true force on the avant-ambient scene’ of ‘high adventure avant garde music of the best sort’ (Classical-Modern Music Review). Best known for his electroacoustic chamber music and ecosystemic performance pieces, his music is characterized by collaborative approaches to composition and the use of electronics, exploring performer/computer improvisation and re-imagining ancient compositional processes through the lens of 21st century technology. Inspired by the inner-workings of sound and the microscopic in the natural and mechanical worlds, his music is the product of hands-on experimentation and collaboration with musicians and performers from across the spectrum of styles. His recent work experiments with VR applications in live concerts, first realized in his composition Raba, created for Tallinn-based Ensemble U:.

Three time McKnight Composer Fellow, his work is frequently performed by soloists, ensembles, and at festivals throughout North America and Europe. Recordings of his music are available on New Focus Recordings, Innova, and other labels, many featuring his long-time collaborators, the new music ensemble Zeitgeist (and whose albums he produces). His music is published by the American Composers Alliance, Tetractys, and Jeanné. Raba (NFR198) is his most recent album, a collection of audio-visual music drawn from collaborations with six film and video artists. Miller is a Professor of Music at St. Cloud State University, Minnesota, where he teaches composition, electroacoustic music and theory. He is Past-President (2014—18) of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the U.S. (SEAMUS) and presently Director of SEAMUS Records. Learn more at scottlmiller.net.