The composer Philip Miller works with some of the most innovative filmmakers and video artists in South Africa.
Most significant amongst much collaboration is his long–standing collaboration with the internationally acclaimed artist William Kentridge. He has composed music to many of William’s animated films and multimedia installations, which have been exhibited in the most prestigious museums all over the world, including MOMA (New York), SFMOMA, The Guggenheim Museums (New York and Berlin), The La Fenice Opera House (Venice), and the Tate Modern (London).
In 2007, Philip conceived and composed Rewind, a cantata for voice, tape, and testimony -- the award-winning choral work, based on the testimonies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. The cantata had its international debut in New York at Celebrate Brooklyn in 2006, as well as performances at the Williams College 62 Centre for theater and dance, and at the Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa in 2008. On May 6, 2010, it will be premiered at the Royal Festival Hall, London.
Previous collaborations with the New York-based Ensemble Pi have led to the commission of his 2009 composition Can you hear that?, premiered at the Cooper Union’s Great Hall.
He is currently composing an opera on the life of Saartjie Baartman, The Hottentot Venus, in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art in Massachusetts (MASMOCA).
He has released many CDs of his work, which include: Rewind, a cantata for voice, tape, and testimony, William Kentridges’ 9 Drawings for Projection, Black Box/Chambre Noire, The Thula Project, Africa Remixes, and Shona Malanga.
