Biography

Oregon State University - Music

Assistant Teaching Professor - Ball State University School of Music
Sean Paul
Mills
A native of Eureka, California, I attended Humboldt State University, the University of Oregon (Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees), and the University of Iowa (Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Violoncello Performance and Pedagogy). My primary teachers include cellists Horatio Edens, Dr. Robert Hladky, Terry King, and Charles Wendt, and conductors Dr. Phillip Kates, Dr. Madeline Schatz, Marsha Mabrey, Dr. Royce Saltzman, and James Dixon. I have also participated in workshops and festivals with Helmuth Rilling, Krzysztof Penderecki, Dr. Weston Noble, Gunther Schuller, and Dr. Donald Neuen.

Performances as cellist and conductor include California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Iowa, Illinois, Switzerland, France, Germany, and Austria as a member of the Humboldt Symphony, the Humboldt Chamber Players, the Oregon Mozart Players, the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, the Quad City Symphony, the Manzanita Piano Trio, the Oregon Coast Music Festival Orchestra, and other ensembles. I have also served on the faculties of Grinnell College, Kirkwood Community College, Coconino Community College, and Oregon State University, and am a Founder of the Flagstaff Light Opera Company and have also served as Music Director & Conductor for the FLOC, the Coconino Community Orchestra, and the Northern Arizona Chamber Orchestra.

I am an active member of the League of American Orchestras, the Conductors Guild, and the College Orchestra Directors Association, and am the Founding Artistic Director & Conductor of the Willamette Valley Symphony and Salem Philharmonia Orchestra as well as a founder and cellist of the Arioso Chamber Players. Currently, I am an Assistant Teaching Professor in the School of Music at Ball State University and reside in Muncie, Indiana with my wife, Susana (Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Ball State University), son Daniel, and Bernese Mountain Dog, Boomer.