Blair McMillen
Blair McMillen has established himself as one of the most versatile and sought-after pianists today. The New York Times has called his playing “lustrous,” “riveting,” and “prodigiously accomplished and exciting.” Recent performances include the Moscow Conservatory, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harvard University, Caramoor, Miller Theatre, the Minsk (Belarus) Conservatory, and concerto appearances with American Ballet Theatre at City Center in NYC. His solo playing has been broadcast on “CBS-Sunday Morning,” NPR, Fuji-TV, WQXR, and WNYC.
Dedicated to new and groundbreaking projects, Blair McMillen is committed to the performance of the music of today. He has worked closely with composers John Harbison, George Crumb, Lee Hyla, Conrad Cummings, Annie Gosfield, Adam Silverman, Jon Magnussen, George Perle, Bernard Rands, Michael Torke, Thomas Ades, and Ned Rorem. He recently commissioned and gave the New York premiere of Jon Magnussen’s Toccare! with the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company. In February 2004 Mr. McMillen presented a recital on Miller Theatre’s 15th-anniversary series “Piano Revolution,” juxtaposing the piano music of Luciano Berio and Giacinto Scelsi to rave critical reviews.
A dedicated chamber musician, Mr. McMillen has performed at the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society, with tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, the New York Woodwind Quintet, and with members of the Brentano, American, and Flux String Quartets. He was recently named pianist for the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players. In addition to frequent performances with them in the United States, he joined Da Capo for residencies and concerts at both the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory and the Minsk Conservatory in 2003. Other collaborations include the New York-based experimental ensemble Avian Orchestra, the Eos Orchestra, the Locrian Chamber Players, the Amelia Piano Trio / “East Meets West”, Jose Limon Dance Company, and the New Juilliard Ensemble, to name a few.
A graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy, Mr. McMillen holds degrees from Oberlin College and the Juilliard School. While at Juilliard, he won the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition and received the Sony ES Career Grant for Musical Excellence, a career-advancement award given to outstanding Juilliard musicians. He was the only unanimously-chosen winner in the forty-year history of the National Young Artists Competition, and was a winner of the Time-Warner Award at the Aspen Music Festival, where he held a performance fellowship for three years. Blair McMillen has recorded for Koch International, CRI, Midnight Productions, Connoisseur Society, Albany, and BMG/Catalyst.