Artistic Beginnings

Episode 11: Justin Miller shows that artistic passion can help build community and overcome challenges

About Justin Miller

Justin Miller is a Conductor, Composer, and Educator living outside of Portland, OR. He is the current Director of the award winning Westminster Chorus, and current Choir Director at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, OR. He is the former director of the Masters of Harmony, and former Director of Choral Music at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA. His current project is a Virtual Choir project, which you can learn about on his Website. He is married to Andrea, and together they have two children, Tenley and Mason.

Show Notes

Resources

Note: Some of the resources below may be affiliate links, meaning we receive a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.

Favorite warmup

  • Finger gun mind games!

Key learnings

  • Justin grew up in a family engrained in the arts community and he found his way through it with a ton of great experiences. He had opportunities to learn and grow within the arts and to this day is deeply impacted by them.
  • Justin had the opportunity to have Barbershop harmony in his life from the early years and to this day has been giving back that community by directing choruses in the Society (Westminster Chorus to name one) and teaches music at schools to help the future generations understand and appreciate music.
  • Justin’s family have been a huge support system and remain his priority throughout the years.

Quotes

  • “Don’t try and inspire. Be inspired and they will have no choice but to follow.”
  • “You just have to make art, because art deserves to be made.”

Closing Questions

What is the hardest thing about pursuing the arts?

Believing in yourself. It is a hard thing to do when you can be overly critical of your own person, however if you can be kind to yourself and drive that feeling home you can do anything!

What keeps you up at night?

It’s all about the logistics of his day job when Justin least expects to be thinking about it. Justin will think of permission slips or different daily mundane tasks that keep Justin’s mind up when it should be resting.

Do you have advice for a person that doesn’t pursue the arts full time, or is just starting out?

If you want to perform, find a local group whether its a choir, community theatre, or other opportunities to perform. It’s all about getting out there and putting yourself in the experiences.