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Jo Ellen Miano

jo ellen miano

Jo Ellen Miano is Associate Professor at SUNY Plattsburgh, where she is Director of Choral & Vocal Activities. A conductor and voice teacher, Miano enjoys producing or music-directing staged productions. In April, 2012, the College Chorale and Cardinal Singers combined to present a concert version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel. A collaboration with music faculty colleague Timothy Morningstar, the performance featured outstanding student vocalists and choristers from our music program. In April 2007, she conducted two performances of the concert version of South Pacific, a collaborative project between the Music Department and Essex Theatre Company. This production featured two-time Tony-Award winner George Hearn and Leslie Hearn in leading roles, as well as students, faculty & community members, who performed to sold-out crowds in E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium.

Past productions in which Miano has been involved include SUNY Plattsburgh's Renaissance Madrigal Dinner (director & producer in 1997, 1998, 2000), Amahl and The Night Visitors--Menotti (music & stage director in 1999 and 2001), Chicago (1997) and City of Angels (music director in 2003). From 1998-2007, Miano was the director of Champlain Valley Oratorio Society (now named Champlain Valley Voices) and Choral Union. She served as guest conductor for CVV for their Spring 2010 concert, while Artistic Director Karen Becker was on leave. In support of this Champlain Valley Voices' semi-staged performance of Henry Purcell's opera, Dido and Aeneas, Miano planned the spring ChoralFest 2010 to be built upon the week-long residency of guest artist Kristine Ciesinski, operatic soprano--in the title role of Dido and Aeneas. Ciesinski worked with College Chorale and Cardinal Singers, as well as providing an intense week of vocal activities that trained our voice students for participation in a staged Baroque opera.

Miano is an active choral and eurhythmics clinician and offers workshops locally and nationally at both the public school and university levels. Her longtime interest in the relationship between music and physical movement prompted her study and certification in Dalcroze eurhythmics at Carnegie Mellon University. Her certification thesis, “Using Eurhythmics to Deepen Musical Understanding in Youth and Adult Choirs,” examines how the rhythmic movement component of Dalcroze Eurhythmics can be used with choral warm-ups and for exploring musical concepts during rehearsal. Miano presented eurhythmics application sessions for both elementary and high school levels at the 1998 New York State Winter Conference of NYSSMA. She enjoys conducting NYSSMA Zone 6 All-County choruses, as well as Zone 4 and Zone 6 Area All-State Mixed Choruses. Most recently, Miano conducted the Suburban Council HS Chorus in the Albany NY area in February, 2010. She conducted NYSSMA Zone 6 Area All-State Mixed Chorus in November, 2009. Miano conducted the Mixed Chorus of the Vermont Northwest District Musical Festival in April, 2009, the Mixed Chorus of the Champlain Valley District III Music Festival (Burlington, VT, January, 2005), and returned there as guest conductor in February, 2008. She also participated in the initial New York State School Music Association 1998 P.E.A.K. Festival, a state project that focuses on the creative process within the elementary classroom music program.

Miano collaborates with many dedicated area school music teachers, including working with area choirs in their rehearsal settings throughout the year. She designed a large project in which she worked with area school children on the modern premiere of the Mozart Mass with Toy Instruments, an 1802 arrangement (Paul Wranitsky) of Mozart's Mass in C Major for conventional and toy orchestra. On the same 2008 concert she also worked with a children's chorus for the performance of Rutter's Mass of the Children.

Miano holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Boston University, a Masters of Music degree in conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dalcroze eurhythmics certification from Carnegie Mellon University. She is currently a student of operatic tenor Rockwell Blake.

courses for spring 2013

Applied Voice--private lessons for credit. There is a $150 music fee per credit per semester for lessons.
College Chorale--MUS391 meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-3:15 pm in Myers 300. No audition required. You may register yourself for this choir.
Cardinal Singers--MUS397 meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2-3:15 pm in Myers 324. Open by audition only. Please contact J. MIano for more information.
Choral Union--MUS395 meets Monday eves from 6:45-9:00 pm in Myers 300. Dr. Karen Becker conducts this choral ensemble, which is the student component to Champlain Valley Voices (a community-based chorus). This spring the group prepares major choral works in celebration of the group's 30th anniversary. The Choral Reunion concert will be presented in E. Glenn Giltz Auditorium, conducted by founding director of Champlain Valley Oratorio Society, Richard Probert, and by former CVOS music director Jo Ellen Miano and David Neiweem. Contact K. Becker for permission to sing in this ensemble. First rehearsal is Monday, January 28.
Fundamental Musicianship--MUS120 meets Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 9-9:50 am in Myers 112. MUS120 is supported by Moodle course management.
Music in Film--MUS310 Topics in Music met in Fall 2011. (Miano last taught MUS310 Opera, Literature and Film in Fall 2009.) Music in Film is supported by Moodle course management.
World Music--MUS111 (last taught by J. Miano in Fall 2010). Sophie Bjerke offers this course in Spring 2013.
Senior Seminar--MUS485 (last taught by J. Miano in Spring 2011). Dr. William Pfaff teaches MUS485 in Spring 2013. This capstone course for the Music BA and Music Concentration has several objectives. Students will:
- Design and complete a creative or scholarly project that demonstrates a synthesis of basic skills in history, theory/composition/technology, and/or performance. The project will show evidence of scholarly depth and personal reflection.
- Develop a comprehensive oral presentation of the project that summarizes the larger project and shows evidence of scholarly depth and personal reflection.
- Acquire in-depth knowledge in student’s preferred area of specialty.
- Develop ease and facility in oral presentation of in-depth knowledge.
  Give a 20-minute oral presentation to audience of seminar members and invited guests.
- Develop skills in project management, including conceptualization, design, revision, and timely completion of milestone goals.
- Develop skills in critiquing, evaluating, supporting and enriching the work of Seminar peers.

course advisement period--april 1 through april 12

Advisement for course selection for Fall 2013  runs from April 1-12.  If you are one of my advisees,
please go directly to the course advisement page for instructions about how to sign up online for your advisement time.

I also serve as advisor to students who are considering the major, minor or concentration in music, but are not ready to audition yet. If you do not have a music advisor assigned to you, feel free to request an advisement time with me, using the course advisement page or the contact me link above. I will add you to the MOODLE group site for sign-ups.

Please see me if you are interested in taking applied lessons in any instrument or in voice. I can speak with you about how one gets into one of our applied studios. I also can help you get connected to an applied teacher, if you have specific questions for him or her.

If you have general questions about the music program, contact the Music Department Chair, Mr. Dan Gordon, by email and he can either answer your questions online, or he will direct your questions to a specific faculty member, if appropriate. Or he may decide that it would be better for him to meet with you in person.

office hours

It's best to make an appointment for your office hour visits, since sometimes I need to spend extended time with individuals. Certainly, you may just try "walk-in," but if another student has reserved time with me, you may have to wait.

If you use the contact me link, I will know you are writing to arrange to see me, so it will prioritize your email among the many that come in!

You may reach me by email using the contact me link above.

Office Hours for spring 2013:

Week #1
Monday 12:30-1:30 and 3:30-5:30
Tuesday 9-11:30 and 3:30-5

Wednesday 12:30-1:30
Thursday 3:30-4:15

and by appointment.

Week #2 and for the rest of the semester:

Mondays 12:30-1:30 and 3:30-4 and 4:30-5:30

Tuesdays 11:30-12:15 and 3:30-5

Wednesdays 12:30-1:30 and 3:30-4 and 5:15-5:45