October 1, 2025
Meet the Musician
Orion Miller, Bass
Orion Miller joined the SF Symphony bass section at the beginning of the 2024–25 season.
What was your first concert with the San Francisco Symphony?
It was the March 2024 program with Scriabin’s Prometheus, The Poem of Fire and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle—the concert with the lights and scents by Cartier. I walked in not knowing what to expect and was just blown away—I’ll never forget it.
How did you begin playing the bass?
I started on cello at age three but it was clear that it wasn’t the right fit. After playing the electric bass for a few years, my parents came up with the idea to tune the cello in fourths—just like a bass. It worked well, and at 11 or 12 I rented a real bass and never looked back.
Where did you continue your studies?
I studied with Tim Pitts at Rice University. I finished my undergraduate degree there in 2024 and was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow over the summer before I started with the SF Symphony.
Story continues below...
What was your first concert with the San Francisco Symphony?
It was the March 2024 program with Scriabin’s Prometheus, The Poem of Fire and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle—the concert with the lights and scents by Cartier. I walked in not knowing what to expect and was just blown away—I’ll never forget it.
How did you begin playing the bass?
I started on cello at age three but it was clear that it wasn’t the right fit. After playing the electric bass for a few years, my parents came up with the idea to tune the cello in fourths—just like a bass. It worked well, and at 11 or 12 I rented a real bass and never looked back.
Where did you continue your studies?
I studied with Tim Pitts at Rice University. I finished my undergraduate degree there in 2024 and was a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow over the summer before I started with the SF Symphony.
Story continues below...
You must have played a lot of music in college, but still be learning a lot in the first years of your professional career.
When I arrived in San Francisco, I had never played a Tchaikovsky or Mozart symphony before. Mahler Symphony No. 2, Mahler Symphony No. 7, and Elgar’s Enigma Variations were all new to me. I’ve idolized these pieces for so many years, and I was ecstatic when I was finally able to play them.
What kind of bass do you play?
I play a Bellosio-Goffriller type double bass from 1791. There has been some debate about who the maker is, so I am currently in the process of getting it properly certified. I am very lucky to play this instrument.
Do you have other musical activities outside the orchestra?
I was in a rock band in high school and play the string parts for a band called Laundry Day whenever I am back home in New York.
What do you like to do besides music?
I love playing sports. I joined two ice hockey leagues after moving here—one in Oakland and one in SOMA. I played Division I rugby in college. Most of my days off from the Symphony consist of playing basketball at the Bay Club.
What do you love about playing the bass?
The bass is a string instrument, but its orchestral function is more diverse than any of the other string instruments. Sometimes while the violins, violas, and cellos are playing in unison, the bass is doubling the winds or brass. Sometimes I think of the bass as a textural utility instrument. I’m not sure any other instrument has that kind of versatility.
