NEWS / PROJECTS

Happy 2024!

Looking back at 2023, it was a great year for being involved with a number of wonderful projects that saw me playing, composing, and arranging music. Being able to create music, perform music in a variety of musical genres, getting to collaborate with wonderful musicians and dancers, having the chance to teach and work with young and talented music students, and getting to hear and see other artists at work…. I look forward to the upcoming year and will need to learn how to really organize my time in order to realize the many projects that are on my list of ‘want-to and need-to’ things to get done!

Some 2023 highlights include:

  • arranging the horn section music for the ‘Lana Spence Band’ and being able to play in a tight Soul/Funk/R&B Band! It's the best!
  • composing more new music for The Weather People, bringing our music to new audiences, and composing ‘The Picasso Suite’  in order to help celebrate the ‘Picasso in Print’ exhibit at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
  • collaborating and creating music and soundscores for MAD Dance
  • arranging/transcribing the horn section parts for The SpinOuts Tribute Band and David King-The Elvis Experience
  • getting to work with the wonderful music students at the Barbara Ingram School for the Fine Arts in Hagerstown, MD as a requested sub-conductor and instructor. 
  • having master trombone mouthpiece maker/teacher Doug Elliott work with me on finding the right mouthpiece for my horn, my face, and my musical requirements. And most of all, for giving me trombone lessons that are both invaluable and inspirational. There's always so much to learn!

In addition to keeping my current music projects ‘in shape’, my New Year's resolution is to ‘Just Do It’ and put more music and art ‘out there’. And, I want to share with you and let you know of other Music and Artistic happenings… both new and old, past and present… that may be of interest to you! 

Yours in Music, Cam Millar

 

The Weather People

The album 'Current Conditions'  is now out, and is available for purchase as either CD or digital download.

 I'm so pleased at how this project turned out for us, 'The Weather People': Adam Hanlin (trumpet), Anita Thomas (tenor sax), Howard Burns (alto/sop sax), and myself on trombone.

Influences include jazz, rock, Latin, classical/art music as performed by James Brown, Blood Sweat and Tears, Earth Wind and Fire, Chicago, Stravinsky, John Williams, Mozart, Tito Puente, Duke Ellington, Wayne Shorter, and many others.

For more information about  'The Weather People'

RECENT PROJECTS

- Guitarist Candice Mowbray has commissioned me to arrange the beautiful old John Dowland lute song "Lachrimae Pavane", a.k.a. 'Flow My Tears', for her to perform with string quartet.

This one has kept me awake at nights, and brought out every 'procrastination technique' I've been guilty of. Mostly, I've spent a lot of time just wondering how I can do justice to this beautiful, haunting melody which will be performed by such a wonderful musician and guitarist.

A composer friend of mine in London (Mike Hewer) said that he is envious of my task, and then proceeded to send me links to numerous renderings and arrangements of the Dowland tune that have been undertaken through the ages. (Yeah...thanks Mike!...but I don't know if I'm in the same league as Benjamin Britten! You are!)

But, I am starting to like what I'm coming up with, and the arrangement has been revealing itself to me!

(note to Candice...I'm also finished!)

Delaplaine Arts Center in Frederick, MD is featuring my music the month of July.

As you visit the various galleries, you'll hear a selection of music I compiled for them to play over their music system.

A big thanks to them for promoting local artists and composers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- the guitar duo of Candice Mowbray and Danny Webber have recently been performing "Winter Dance", which I composed for them this past January. The music has seen performances at the Shippensburg University Chapel Series of concerts as well as the Springfield Presbyterian Church Music Concert Series in Sykesville, MD and the Hagerstown Public Library Music Concert Series.

 

- MAD Dance has commissioned me to create a soundscore for their latest project, which will be shown June 25 in Frederick, MD.

We are collaborating with poet/artist/climate advocate Neha Misra for this fascinating project.

Stay tuned for more!

Post show news: we had a very successful show with a great audience, who participated in a post-show Q&A.

As part of the show, I scored a film which was integral to the dance. I'll post some of it very soon so you can see the work of Kitty Clark and Ray Shaw (MAD Dance).