Dr. Terry E. Miller

Today the ethnomusicology community has lost a true champion of traditional world music in Dr. Terry Miller. The extent of his reach was vast, touching generations of students, academics, colleagues, and most importantly, musicians around the planet.

Terry’s special interest in the music of Mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam), North America (shape note music and oral tradition hymnody), the Caribbean (folk religious music), and China, allowed him to travel far and wide, recording musicians in their homes and in their ceremonies to capture musical traditions that are little known or vanishing. In particular, his research in and singular promotion of the renewal of certain forms of Isaan music is recognized throughout Thailand.

Over the decades, Terry created an expansive musical treasure trove: scholarly articles, encyclopedia entries, recordings, reviews, presentations, and books, of which the most widely known are The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: Southeast Asia (as co-editor and writer) and World Music: A Global Journey (as co-writer).

Of note, Terry founded one of the first ethnomusicology departments in the U.S, serving as Professor of Ethnomusicology and Director of Thai and Chinese ensembles at Kent State University. His work and his example influenced scores of university students to follow in his footsteps.

If that were not enough, Terry Miller, was also a highly respected authority on covered wooden bridges, a passion he pursued from youth, leading him to visit more than 1,400 bridges in North America, Europe, and China. Terry Miller was the coauthor with Ronald G. Knapp of America’s Covered Bridges: Practical Crossings, Nostalgic Icons (2014). What an extraordinary man, what an extraordinary life.

Dr. Kjell Skyllstad, Walter Unger, Dr. Terry Miller, Sara Miller,
Victoria Vorreiter, Ann Helen Unger
Victoria’s Presentation: Hmong Threads of Life
Siam Society
Bangkok, Thailand
February 2018

To me, Terry was an esteemed colleague, mentor, and inspiration. Most importantly though, along with his wife Sara, Terry was a dear friend.

Many is the time Terry wrote letters, reviews, and recommendations on my behalf, and supported my initiatives so they might succeed. His words were deeply meaningful, completely uplifting to this independent documentarian. My Songs of Memory archives, and now the Cultural Crossroads Asia Heritage Center and Living Legacy Project are also Sara and Terry’s Legacy.

“As an ethnographer, Victoria Vorreiter is an exceptional person doing exceptional work. Working from only primary resources, she is doing the work that most ethnomusicologists have forgotten about doing, no longer do, or dismissed. She is a pioneer for her research, but, going beyond fieldwork, she is also forward looking for her plans to maintain the living traditions.” (Dr. Terry Miller)

We pay highest respect and gratitude to Dr. Terry Miller for the extraordinary body of work he has gifted to ethnomusicology researchers around the world. His example of intrepid fieldwork, expansive curiosity, and vast knowledge will serve as an inspiration to generations.