If the last time you went to Miller Theatre was for a Frontiers of Science lecture, don’t tell Melissa Smey.
The new director of Miller Theatre—Columbia’s preeminent venue for the performing arts—isn’t oblivious to undergraduates’ general underutilization of the institution. But that doesn’t mean she’s complacent about it. “I’m excited about the opportunity to build stronger connections within the university,” she said in an interview, and “with what’s happening on the campus.”
Smey’s vision for Miller integrates undergraduates into its programming by bringing hip performers to campus, continuing to showcase student musicians, and by hosting events that are widely accessible to the uninitiated. After eight years as general manager of Miller, Smey is still itching to develop new program ideas and to create unexpected juxtapositions in her new capacity as director.
According to students, Smey may have her work cut out for her. Many feel that in the past few years, Miller has not targeted undergraduates in publicizing their events, leaving students like Joy Lee, CC ’12, ignorant of its programming. “If I looked at what Miller Theatre was offering, I could probably find something that I would like to attend, but right now, I just have no idea what’s going on,” said Lee. New student Antonio Pineda, SEAS ’13, felt a similar disconnect from the venue. “This is actually the first time I’ve ever heard of the place,” he said.
But Smey and other Miller employees plan to strengthen the venue’s ties to Columbia this year, beginning with a renewed partnership with the School of the Arts. In the undergraduate world, Smey hopes to expand an affiliation that may not be as tenuous as some students think.
At a Bach concert last October, Smey noted that between 130 and 140 of the 688 audience members were Columbia undergraduates—with some thanks to an assignment required of Music Humanities students. On average, Smey said, students from Columbia and other universities typically comprise about 20 to 25 percent of the audience.
But how, exactly, can that figure grow, especially to a point where Miller can develop a visible presence in campus culture? According to Smey, the theater must create and actively continue programs that build audiences—audiences that include even those who, at the moment, barely know what Miller Theatre is.
With her experience and own eclectic tastes, Smey hopes to create programming with particular appeal to younger audiences. “Radiohead is like my favorite band ever … and I’m going to listen to them alongside Righetti and … Pierre Boulez,” she said. “It seemed reasonable to me that other people would be flexible as well in their listening.”
Smey hopes this flexibility and innovation is apparent already in Miller’s 2009 season. This week’s Wordless Music Meets Miller Festival, for example, will feature indie artists like Do Make Say Think and Dan Bejar of Destroyer alongside classical musicians.
“The Wordless Music Festival is my first chance to have a try at a new programming ideas,” she said, adding that it is one of the items in the season that is entirely her own initiative.
Smey’s relationship with the Wordless Music Series, which brings together indie rock and contemporary classical musicians, began years ago. Just last spring, Miller hosted two events in conjunction with Wordless Music—the performances of the experimental electronic duo The Books and German electronic artist Wolfgang Voigt.
“People were even scalping tickets on Craigslist,” Smey said of the two events. “It would be awesome if at all of our concerts that kind of energy was present.” Smey hopes undergraduates will again be excited for the arrival of indie and electronic groups, and that Wordless Meets Miller will serve as a “first introduction to Miller as a great asset to the campus.”
But in addition to creating new programs that appeal to students in new ways, Smey plans to continue to cultivate Miller as an asset to student performers and alumni in the performing arts. The venue has been a longtime home for the groups of the Columbia Performers Partnership, which includes organizations like the Columbia Classical Performers and gives them the opportunity to hold high-profile concerts at Miller. For Eric Silberger, CC ’11, president of the Columbia Classical Performers, a third year violinist in the Barnard-Columbia-Juliard joint degree program, and the BCJ Series Organizer for Miller Theatre, having performances on campus is an incentive to get his peers involved in his art.
“The acoustics of the hall require exaggeration of musical ideas in order to communicate, and if successful, the space, although large, can become rather intimate,” Silberger said. “Especially after the concert, it is very common to find the performers and audience chatting together.”
Miller will also host its third year of free lunchtime concerts this season, which will include the work of cellist Alisa Weilerstein , CC ’04. Smey cites that the concerts are so highly attended because they remove common barriers to attendance like ticket price and time of day for students and city-dwellers alike.
New York City, in fact, has forced Miller to create a niche of its own to avoid competition with giants like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for musicians, audiences, and funders. “What that means is that these are programs that you can’t hear anywhere else,” Smey said of Miller.
Aware of her ability to guide the performing arts at Columbia, Smey said that she’s grateful to be “part of the team that’s now considering where the arts are going collectively.” But as to where, exactly, that is, she could only speak for Miller: “It’ll be great,” she joked. “It’s going to take over the world!”
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