Excerpt of Watershed Suite from our rehearsal

On our podcast: Meet James Miley

“I wanted to write a piece about the Tamolitch Pool, the Blue Pool, down near Eugene up off the McKenzie River. It’s a spot where the river goes under ground then bubbles up in this really deep,  intelligent kind of blue.”

  • James Miley about his piece “Watershed Suite” and the Blue Pool of Oregon, that is captured in a movement of the piece.

Capturing the spirit of Oregon’s waterways through music

In a new suite, renowned composer James Miley honors Oregon’s diverse waterways, from the mighty Columbia to the serenity of Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge.

Two performances:

August 16th, 2018 at Roaring Rapids in Eugene, OR – free admission
More information here.

August 18th, 2018 in Portland, OR at Montavilla Jazz Festival – $15-50
Tickets available here.

General Admission availabile ONLY at Door: $15

Presale tickets available online:
Limited Reserved Seating: $25
VIP Stageside Seating: $50

PJCE Sustainers can get $10 off reserved tickets. Become a Sustainer today!

About the Composer

James Miley, recipient of the IAJE/Gil Evans Fellowship in Jazz Composition, is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he directs the Willamette Jazz Collective and teaches improvisation, composition, jazz history, music technology, and music theory. A versatile composer and pianist comfortable in both the jazz and classical idioms, he has written music for a variety of chamber and choral ensembles in addition to his work for jazz orchestra.

James has appeared as a guest composer/performer at numerous festivals and universities over the past decade, including the University of Michigan, University of Miami, University of Idaho, University of Texas, California State University Northridge, Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory, the Nevada and New Mexico All State Honor Jazz Bands, the Jazzmandu and Sundance Festivals in Nepal, and the Monterey, UNC/Greeley, and Reno Jazz Festivals. Recent commissions include new works for the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, Lawrence University, the University of Texas at Arlington, the California All-State Honor Jazz Band, and the Monterey Jazz Next Generation Festival. His catalog of compositions and arrangements for large jazz ensemble is published by Walrus Music and UNC Jazz Press, and is available through Sierra Music’s popular Radiohead Jazz Project series. He appears as keyboardist and principal composer with the jazz collective, Bug, whose recordings are available on Origin Records. He has also recorded and/or performed in recent years with Ron Miles, Tim Ries, the Kandinsky Trio, and composer Dan Cavanagh.

Dr. Miley holds degrees from Occidental College (B.A., 1989), the University of Arizona (M.Mus., 1994) and the University of Oregon (D.M.A., 1999), in addition to graduate-level coursework at the California Institute of the Arts and the University of California, Santa Barbara. His principal teachers in composition have included Richard Grayson, Jeff Stolet, Daniel Asia, Robert Kyr and Harold Owen, along with Steve Owen, Gary Versace, David Roitstein and Larry Koonse in Jazz Studies. In addition to directing the Willamette Jazz Collective and coordinating the small jazz ensemble program, Dr. Miley’s teaching and research interests include composition, improvisation, aesthetics, popular music history and creative applications of technology in music.