Philip Miller - Award Winning International Music Composer

Philip in studio.jpg

Philip Miller (b.1964) is a South African composer and sound artist. His work is influenced by a range of musical genres, from contemporary electronic music and minimalism to South African choral and instrumental music. His works and collaborations cross various media, from live stage performance and film to video and sound installations, and contemporary dance.

Much of his work explores aural histories and testimonies found in both public and his own personal archives.

Philip's ability to work across different musical genres and media has led to him becoming a sought–after collaborator with choreographers, theatre-makers and visual artists. This includes his long- time collaborator, the internationally recognised South African artist William Kentridge.  

He has composed over 80 scores for both the big and small screen which have earned prestigious awards and accolades, including an Emmy nomination for HBO’s "The Girl" and several other awards and nominations for best scores - like “The Book of Negroes" for CBC television, "The Bang Bang Club", the Emmy award-winning "Shot-Down", "Black Butterfly" and BBC’s "Seven –Up".

He has received commissions from The International Music Institute Darmstadt Festival, Celebrate Brooklyn Festival and MASSMoca (USA), Cape Town Opera, as well as both Venice Biennale and Kaunas Biennale. His seminal and award-winning choral work, "Rewind a Cantata" for voice, tape and testimony has been performed at venues across the world, including London’s Festival Hall, as well as The Market Theatre and the Baxter Theatre Centre in South Africa.

He has been the recipient of honorary fellowships and residencies including The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, Civitella Ranieri, Yaddo, and the Archive and Public Culture (APC) Research Initiative at the University of Cape Town.