Conductor Joe Miller Steps Down from the Spoleto Festival

Miller has served as Director of Choral Activities at the Festival for nineteen years and will stand down after the 2025 edition

Choral conductor Joe Miller, who has been Director of Choral Activities at Spoleto Festival USA for the last 19 years, has announced that June 2025 will mark his final festival. Miller was recently appointed the Music Director of the prestigious Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble, the region's premier choir.

During his tenure, Miller greatly enhanced the choral presence at the festival — particularly through his association with Westminster Choir College, whose top ensembles became a fixture each year. He also founded the festival's sought-after Choral Fellowship program, which sees singers from across the country audition to sing in the Spoleto Festival USA Chorus.

In addition, Miller has spearheaded several world premiere performances, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning work Omar (2022) and Ruinous Gods (2024). He also led the first fully staged production of John Adams’s El Niño, the Festival’s first performance of a Bach Passion, and the first fully staged production of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles.

Miller has served as Professor of Conducting and Director of Choral Studies at the UC-College/Conservatory of Music since 2020 and has also been conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra Symphonic Choir since 2016. From 2006 to 2020 he was Director of Choral Activities at Westminster Choir College.

"Joe Miller's impact has been immeasurable," said Mena Mark Hanna, General Director and CEO of Spoleto Festival USA. "Through remarkable talent, creativity, and determination, he has created world-class choral music at Spoleto. He has been a vital force for choral music in America and an extraordinary friend to our Festival. We are deeply grateful for his dedication and look forward to celebrating his legacy at the 2025 Festival. He will always be part of the Spoleto family."