Greg Milliren
Associate PRincipal flute - the Minnesota ORchestra
14K Custom, Silver mechansism, B Footjoint, OFfset G, C# TRill
Greg began his musical journey with the piano at age 6, picking up the flute at age 10. During high school his band director encouraged him to audition for the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra. During his first concert with MYSO, he fell in love with the sound of symphonic music and being part of a hard-working musical team crafting a live performance of great works of orchestral art. Soon after, he decided to try his hand at becoming a professional musician.
While at the University of Minnesota completing his Bachelor’s degree in music, Greg worked part-time at the Minnesota Orchestra ticket office. Eventually, he became the box office manager for a few years, making him one of the only Minnesota Orchestra employees to have worked both the front of house and on stage! During that time Greg also performed as a substitute musician with the orchestra. The desire to grow further as a flutist and broaden his musical career led him to pursue a Master’s in Music Degree at the University of Southern California under the tutelage of the renowned flutist and educator Jim Walker.
While in Los Angeles he was an active freelance flutist and teacher, enjoying frequent orchestral, chamber music, solo, and recording collaborations with composers, orchestras, and chamber music groups across Southern California and the US. Notable performances included those with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Riverside Philharmonic, the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston, the New World Symphony in Miami, the National Orchestral Institute in Maryland, the Las Vegas Music Festival, and many other Los Angeles-area orchestral ensembles.
In Minnesota he is an active chamber musician and teacher. He is frequently in demand as a masterclass artist and audition coach, and has taught students at the University of Minnesota and in his own private studio at home. He has visited many elementary, middle, and high schools to teach young flutists, perform for students, and talk about his own musical journey and how music and playing an instrument can be a joyful lifelong experience. He has given local recitals to help raise money for charity, and is active with the Minnesota Orchestra Musician's Artistic and PR Teams, serving to inspire people of all ages to enjoy a lifelong connection with symphonic music.
Greg plays on a 14K gold Wm. S. Haynes flute