Dr. Michael A. Miles
The Music Man
Dr. Michael A. Miles was named director of the School of Music and assumed his position as “The Music Man” in July 2008, replacing Dr. Charles Elliott, who retired.
Having served as chair of the Department of Fine Arts at Southeastern Oklahoma State University for the past seven years, Miles brings a teaching career that spans a spectrum of musical instruction to his new role at Southern Miss. He taught applied trumpet for 22 years, conducted wind ensembles, brass ensembles and symphony orchestras, directed marching bands, taught general education lecture courses and directed a jazz ensemble recognized by the Oklahoma State Legislature as the “Official Jazz Ambassadors of Okalahoma,” among other music education activities.
Miles said he became a “Music Man” because he “pursued a calling” and an administrator as he “responded to a need.”
“It is evident that the administration at Southern Miss has a very clear vision for the future, and I look forward to working with the faculty and administration in projecting the School of Music as the standard bearer of excellence within that vision,” Miles said. “We will continue to build on the great musical tradition at Southern Miss and look for opportunities to grow our music programs artistically, academically and philosophically.”
Miles holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Hartford Connecticut and a master of music from Florida State University. In 1992, he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Kentucky in trumpet performance and conducting.
“My family and I are extremely excited about the opportunity to be associated with an institution of higher learning with such an outstanding academic and artistic tradition,” Miles said. “The reputation of the music programs at Southern Miss makes this position very desirable.”
At Southern Miss, Steve Wiest, a Hattiesburg High graduate who earned a degree in jazz studies at Southern Miss in 1980, took advantage of the many opportunities available to him to perform.