Max Milian, a senior in Commercial Music at the South Carolina School of the Arts at 91福利社, received an award from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM).
The NAMM President鈥檚 Innovation Award honors college students who demonstrate excellence in the field of music. According to NAMM, the award is presented to students who have proven dedication to pursuing a career in music to include the areas of music performance, music education, media, sound engineering/audio, event technology, production, administration, management and/or marketing along with product creation and innovation.
As an award winner, Milian will travel to the NAMM Show in June at Anaheim, California, where he will have access to professional development opportunities, as well as concerts, networking sessions and other activities. Joining Milian will be AU alumnus Joel McCann, who won the NAMM award in 2021 but was unable to travel because of the COVID pandemic.
Milian loves the NAMM award鈥檚 emphasis on innovation.
鈥淭hat means a lot to me because that鈥檚 very much a part of who I strive to be as a musician and someone who pushes forward; not just tries to excel in what I do but I want to find good ways to do that, new ways to do that,鈥� said Milian.
Milian has had what he calls a 鈥減henomenally busy鈥� senior year, filled with opportunities.
鈥淟ast semester I got to assistant music direct the production of 鈥楪uys and Dolls.鈥� I also have been producing all year my senior project, which is an album of 10 arrangements that I have performed with the band AUthenticity over the past four years. It features both current and former students that were in the band at the time we performed them. It鈥檚 been a great big family reunion and a project I poured a lot of time and energy into,鈥� said Milian, who has also been busy student directing AUthenticity during the fall and spring semesters. He鈥檒l also be performing at Soir茅e.
The finale for Milian at Anderson will be directing and arranging music for The President鈥檚 Gala April 22 and 23 at Henderson Auditorium in the Rainey Fine Arts Center. After two years of pandemic, Milian is excited that he and others will be able to perform to a large audience.
鈥淲e鈥檝e missed that, but coming back to it is really exciting,鈥� he said.
This summer, after Milian graduates, he will direct music and have a leading role in the Mauldin Cultural Center鈥檚 production of 鈥淚n the Heights.鈥� He will then return to his native Miami, where he鈥檚 seeking to become a worship leader at a local church and to become involved in area theatre and musical productions.