Roger Clark Miller of Mission of Burma and Alloy Orchestra will present “Eight Dream Interpretations for Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble” and perform songs from throughout his career at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) on Friday, September 30, at 7 p.m. Tickets are: $25 ($20 for BMAC members) and are available at brattleboromuseum.org or 802-257-0124 x101. Space is limited.

Dream Interpretations

The first half of the concert will feature Miller’s signature “Dream Interpretation” compositions, four of which he performed online in 2020 in connection with the BMAC exhibit “Transmuting the Prosaic.” At this in-person, expanded performance, Miller will present eight “Dream Interpretations.”

To perform as a “Solo Electric Guitar Ensemble,” Miller uses multiple lap-steel guitars on stands, guitar stomp-boxes, and a Boomerang III Looper to create an enveloping sound palette. He sits in his “cockpit,” able to reach all four guitars and a plethora of pedals from one position. The structure of the music is based on Miller’s dreams and the Dream Interpretation technique he developed in 1975 as a student at Thomas Jefferson College. By translating a dream into music, he creates a structure that is organic and personal yet universal. Dream logic is not day-to-day logic, and the music follows this deeper unconscious thread.

In the second half of the show, Miller will play guitar and sing songs from throughout his recorded career, including songs by Mission of Burma, Trinary System, and more, as well as new, unrecorded material.

Roger Clark Miller

Miller is a co-founder and frontman of the art-punk band Mission of Burma and a member of Alloy Orchestra, a three-person ensemble that Roger Ebert called “the best in the world at accompanying silent films.” His compositions have been performed at the New England Conservatory (NEC), Tufts University, and elsewhere. At NEC’s Jordan Hall in 2015, he played electric guitar with a large chamber ensemble for his setting of the Epic of Gilgamesh, “Scream, Gilgamesh, Scream.”

Brattleboro Museum & Art Center

Founded in 1972, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center presents rotating exhibits of contemporary art, complemented by lectures, artist talks, film screenings, and other public programs. BMAC is open Wednesday-Sunday, 10-4. Admission is on a “pay-as-you-wish” basis. Located in historic Union Station in downtown Brattleboro, at the intersection of Main Street and Routes 119 and 142, the museum is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call 802-257-0124 or visit brattleboromuseum.org.

BMAC is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by Allen Bros. Oil, Brattleboro Savings & Loan, C&S Wholesale Grocers, the Four Columns Inn, Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, and Whetstone Beer Co.