Get to know Estill Master Trainer, Jeffrey Miller.

Current home (city, country): Farmers Branch, TX, United States

Why do you love Estill Voice Training? I have always loved singing and goofing around with weird voices. I was frequently the choir teacher’s pet pupil and simultaneously a source of frustration for being a bit of a clown and getting myself and others distracted. I knew I could hold a tune and I didn’t struggle that much in choir, but I had no clue just how much more I could get out of my voice if I’d only had the right instruction. I figured that I could croon well enough within my supposed “limits” and didn’t know that I could ask for more.

Fifteen minutes into my first Estill lesson, I was singing like an Irish Tenor and the high notes I struggled to produce without sounding breathy/reedy were ringing out like a bell. I was gobsmacked by the power of an instrument that I was fairly certain I already knew everything about. Well, my intrinsic understanding of my voice was blown out of the water and magnified beyond belief with the explicit understanding Estill gave me.

In the following years, I attended course after course and witnessed time and again the most rewarding and encouraging transformations of so many different people. But it wasn’t “bad” voices turning “good”. It was beautiful voices being allowed to take flight. I grew up with a healthy dose of cynicism, having had many voice lessons that didn’t seem to move me a mile, much less an inch. Estill has ferried me lightyears from where I began. But the thing I love most about Estill is getting to witness that same cynicism and resignation melt away in the eyes of my students as they come to discover what I have: that everyone has a beautiful voice.

Biggest professional challenge: Boy, oh boy!! Definitely patience with myself. I want so much and I want it yesterday. And sometimes I give up prematurely on my own vocal goals before I’ve really had the chance to scratch the surface. I have a ton of patience and compassion for my students, but I struggle to treat myself with the same grace. It’s a challenge for me to reconcile my mastery of the components of voice production with the challenge of applying what I’ve learned in my own artistic endeavors. But I’m learning that doctors need doctors, therapists need therapists, and Estill Master Trainers need Estill Master Trainers.

Favorite vocalist: I have three all tied for first place: Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, and Regina Spektor. The late Mr. Nilsson was an incredible composer and vocalist, evincing some of the strongest memories and emotions of my life and childhood. Mr. Newman, while not especially regarded for his beautiful singing, is one of the most nuanced and grounded performers I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear (he’s also wicked smart and a brilliant lyricist). And the distinctive Regina Spektor is the kind of adventuring and exploratory vocalist that I aspire to be.

Who’s someone you’d love to have dinner with? Including individuals who are no longer alive? Robin Williams, for obvious reasons. Out of everyone alive? Donna Murphy, to gush over her performances, to ask her to coach me in acting, and hopefully make a lasting friendship.

Favorite book: My favorite book is “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. It’s the novel that piqued my interest in literature and writing, and has made me love reading as much as I do. It was given to me as an assignment in school. And though that would typically relegate it to the list of books I hate, I found myself so engrossed in the story of how Jonas, despite growing up in the “perfect” society, was tasked with challenging everything about the structure of the world around him. A world that had supposedly been debrided of all trauma and discomfort, and all things strange and provocative. In being allowed to see what everyone else was blind to, he was given an opportunity to take a different path. The book highlights the importance of critical thought, adopting a wide appreciation of beauty, and challenging the status quo. Themes I find reflected in Estill, actually. Perhaps that is why I love it so much.

Hobbies: Reading fiction & nonfiction, learning, video games, performing, music, poetry, writing, cinema club, Dungeons & Dragons, TV, following physics and space science news.

Favorite quote: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2.

People would be surprised to know: That I have never attended a university or college.