Dr. Paul William Miller

Dr. Paul William Miller, 70, of Pottsville, passed away Monday, October 26th, at home, surrounded by his family.

Paul was born in Pottsville on November 15, 1955, a son of the late Joy Lois (Schultz) Tomaino and William B. Miller.

He was a 1973 graduate of Pottsville High School and earned a B.A. in Music (Percussion Performance) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, along with M.M. and D.M.A. degrees in Music Composition from Temple University, Philadelphia.

Active as a teacher, composer and performer, Paul was a practicing musician (piano and drums) whose professional career spanned over 50 years and two continents. He studied drums with Robert J. Williams and Joe Morello; piano with John Valerio, Peter Geisselbrecht and Gary Nesteruk; and music composition with Daniel J. Perlongo (Professor of Music Composition at IUP), Clifford Taylor (Professor of Music Composition at Temple University), Bojidar Dimov (Professor of New Music and Composition at the Rheinischen Musikschule in Köln, Germany), and toured with the Charlie Spivak Orchestra. Miller's works as a composer, which included piano music, chamber music, music for orchestra, music for mixed ensembles, works in the jazz idiom, choral works, songs, and music for band, have been heard in leading venues in the United States, Germany, and the Czech Republic. His Sonata for Cello and Piano won First Prize in the College Music Society European Composition Competition and was also awarded the Dr. John Henry Heller Prize for music composition at Temple University. His works have been performed and/or recorded by Ted Rosenthal, Marylene Dosse, Dick Oatts, Scott Colley, Terry Clark, John Swana, Ron Stabinsky, Riverside String Quartet, Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, members of the Bonn (Germany) Opera Orchestra, Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, Schuylkill Symphony Orchestra, and the Pottsville Area High School Band, among others. Miller's work was showcased in his two-act opera - A Coal Region Opera - (composed in 1991), which was performed as the centerpiece of American Music Week in Bonn, Germany, in November 1993. This production was awarded financial support by both the German government and the United States Department of State. This funding supported the show's tour of Germany and the Czech Republic. A concert version of A Coal Region Opera was performed at Carnegie Recital Hall in Manhattan in May 1994. Miller taught at Temple University in Philadelphia (1985-1989), Overbrook High School in Philadelphia (1986), New School University in Manhattan (1999-2002), Phillipps University of Marburg in Marburg, Germany (1996), and since 2005, he had been teaching at the Institut für Musikwissenschaft und Musikpaedagogik at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. From 1989 until his retirement in 2017, Miller was Assistant Professor of Music and Humanities at The Pennsylvania State University Schuylkill Campus.

But above all else, Paul was the most amazing father to his beloved daughter, Clara Miller, and the best brother to his sister, Jill Salmon, wife of John, all of Pottsville. Paul is also survived by his nephew, Benjamin Mincavage, husband of Amanda, St. Clair, his great-niece, Haley Clanton, Port Carbon, and several cousins.

The family prefers remembrances in the form of contributions made payable to: PAHS Band and mailed to: Pottsville Area High School, Attn: Katelyn Reichard, 1600 Elk Ave, Pottsville, PA 17901. Please put Paul's name in the memo line.

A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.

Lord Ebling Haus Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., Pottsville, has been entrusted with arrangements.