It took only a single piano lesson forJoan “Yonina” Miller, then 10, to know that she wanted a career in music.
Now an accomplished pianist, musicteacher and composer, as well as a published author, Miller, who resides atWeinberg Manor East in Northwest Baltimore, has been delighting audiences withher music, poetry and “stories that rhyme” for decades.
A Philadelphia native, Miller moved toNew York City’s Upper West Side as a child to live with her grandparents. Amongher fondest memories of life with them is waking up to hear her grandmother declare,“Let’s have a party!” Miller says her grandfather gave her the middle name “Yonina”to set her apart from other girls her age named Joan.
As a child, Miller was intrigued by anout-of-tune piano that she noticed at her grandparents’ apartment complex. Soon,she began taking music lessons with her cantor’s fiancé.
“I want to be just like you,” sherecalls telling the teacher. “I want to play piano for the rest of my life atconcerts, and I want to teach piano.”
Throughout her childhood, Miller honedher talents and eventually studied music and French at Goucher College andplayed piano at the Peabody Institute when she was only 15. She also spent asummer abroad in Europe, studying composition in Geneva under a pupil of famedHungarian composer Bela Bartok.
Later, Miller moved back to New YorkCity for 10 years, earning a master’s degree in music and directing the choirat an Orthodox day school for girls. During that period, she became immersed inIsraeli and Hebrew music as well as showtunes from such Broadway classics as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “West Side Story”and “My Fair Lady.”
In 1978, during a five-year stintteaching preschoolers in Virginia, Miller penned the tune “Joel the Mole.” Therhyming story for children about a mole who travels around the globe todiscover his inner essence sold hundreds of copies and was republished lastyear.
“The fact that these kids are 4 yearsold, yelling, ‘We want Joel!’ — that to me was the most exciting thing I’veever heard about something that I did,” says Miller. She believes that herwriting has been generally well-received because of its “simplicity andrelatability.”
Since moving back to Baltimore fromVirginia in the mid-1990s, Miller has performed for patients and visitors at Northwest and MedStar Good Samaritan hospitals,Mercy Medical Center, for guests at the Eating Together kosher programs and forfellow residents at the Weinberg Manor senior citizen complexes.
“I take special requests wherever I go,” says Miller. “For manypeople, [music is] a good way to go along with what they’re feeling. I’ll say,‘Is there any favorite you have that I could play for you today?’ and they’llstay for hours and they’ll get cheered up.”
Miller also has continued writing prose.One of her latest poems, “The Amazing Survivor,” describes how Miller practicesdaily gratitude to overcome medical problems and concerns. “I’ve been through alot, but I always come out on top,” she wrote in one line of the poem.
“It’samazing, when you’re writing something from yourself to yourself, how many people can relate to it,” says Miller. Shesays medical personnel have frequently asked Miller to make copies of “TheAmazing Survivor” to distribute to emergency room patients.
Miller’srecent endeavors include the creation of “The Sky’s the Limit,” a musical inspiredby her friends’ lives. The plot involves a pair of disabled individuals — aChristian man from Africa and a Jewish woman from Baltimore — who develop afriendship that enriches their lives.
Miller — whois single, never had children and prefers not revealing her age — says she keepsherself busy by practicing yoga and tai chi, studies foreign languages and iswriting a tribute to her grandparents that she hopes to publish in the near future.
She still teaches piano lessons to childrenand adults. Among her students is vocalist Tomeka Powers, who met Millerthrough a mutual acquaintance at her church. Powers says she’s quite impressedwith Miller’s patience and talent.
“When she plays, my voice soundsbeautiful,” Powers says. “Some of the things that she’s done are inspirational.She’s courageous, how she’s helped so many.”
For peopleinterested in creative pursuits, Miller advises to start simple and ask forhelp. “Whatever appeals to you, write about it,” she says, “then share it witha good friend.”
Jolene Carr is a Baltimore-basedfreelance writer.
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