Gregory Miller, who left us on 23 December, 2018, was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota on 5 February, 1964, to John and Wanda (Wylie) Miller, the youngest of five children. He attended school in St. Louis Park and then was accepted to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, graduating in 1986 with a double degree in music and economics (summa cum laude). In 1986 he moved to Cambridge, MA, and resided at the same address for the remainder of his life. He undertook further musical studies in London, Vienna and Boston, graduating from New England Conservatory with degrees in musicology and music theory. He remained a passionate and life- long devotee of music and built his career as a church organist and music director, serving with great skill in many churches in the Greater Boston area, both Catholic and Episcopalian, including St. Mary of the (Blue) Hills, Milton, MA (1991 – 1998) and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Cambridge, MA (2004 – 2007).
Seeking new paths, in 2007 he undertook a new career in nursing and laboratory science, attending the University of Pennsylvania, and finally graduating as an RN from Roxbury Community College in 2013. He also completed a number of degrees in bio-tech sciences at Quincy College, 2013 – 2015. His interest in and commitment to music remained strong, however, and he was an important instigator and board member of the Classical CD label, Musica Omnia, along with his life partner, Peter Watchorn.
Greg, also highly gifted athletically, was a keen competition swimmer and a fearless and skillful skier. He was also an experienced and knowledgeable world traveler, visiting all states of his native country and traveling to most of Europe, Australia and many countries in South America, many of them on multiple occasions. Greg was devoted to his family and traveled with his parents, John and Wanda extensively during the last decade of their lives. He and his sister, Barbara, who pre-deceased him, also traveled frequently together. Greg was the best-prepared of travelers, researching every trip in great detail, leaving nothing to chance. Travel and skiing were his primary spiritual outlet, and were of vital importance to him throughout his life.
For thirty-one years (1987 – 2018), Greg was the life partner of the Australian musician, Peter Watchorn, and was a major factor in bringing to fruition a host of his musical achievements, which form a significant part of his legacy, paralleling his own remarkable and productive career. Greg’s funeral was held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Cambridge, on 5 January, 2019, attended by family, friends and parishioners from those communities he served so faithfully throughout his career as a church musician. The choir comprised members of the St. Peter’s Episcopal community and the Catholic parish of St. Mary of the (Blue) Hills, Milton MA, whose music program he re-built from scratch, from 1991 – 1998.
On 21 March, the 334th birthday of Greg’s favorite composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, Greg will be remembered in a complete performance of the composer’s immortal Goldberg Variations, performed by Peter Watchorn on the harpsichord (one of Greg’s favorite instruments) as a personal tribute. On Thursday, May 16 at 2.00 pm, Greg’s ashes will interred with his parents, John and Wanda, and sister, Barbara, in Lakewood Cemetery, 3600 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408, representing one of his final wishes. He is survived by his brothers John, Jim and Jeff Miller, their families, and by his partner, Peter Watchorn.