{"id":42425,"date":"2019-06-11T10:46:07","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T14:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=42425"},"modified":"2019-06-11T10:46:46","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T14:46:46","slug":"preparatory-music-administrator-and-co-founder-of-several-area-youth-music-programs-retires-after-30-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2019\/preparatory-music-administrator-and-co-founder-of-several-area-youth-music-programs-retires-after-30-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparatory music administrator and co-founder of several area youth music programs retires after 30 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a school day in the Shenandoah Valley, it\u2019s a sure thing that several hundred children are making music — in part because of the work of Sharon Miller<\/strong>. The longtime director of Eastern Mennonite University\u2019s Preparatory Music Program<\/a> has spent the last 30 years advocating steadfastly for the expansion of instruction and activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though she has retired from administrative work this spring, Miller\u2019s legacy will continue through the many children whose talents for and love of music has been nurtured by a variety of vocal and instrumental programs. And for this musician, retirement doesn\u2019t mean giving up teaching and performing — it simply allows her to spend more time doing two of her favorite things with people she enjoys.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sharon Miller.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI love to see students progress and grow at whatever level they are at, and being with my fellow teachers and the families here at EMU,\u201d she said in a recent interview. \u201cAnd I look forward to performing with colleagues as well. \u2018Retirement\u2019 will allow me more time to do both.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

‘Rich legacy’<\/h3>\n

Miller\u2019s impact was celebrated during a May reception on campus, attended by former students, parents of students, and those in the music community at EMU and from the broader Shenandoah Valley.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe leaves a rich legacy to EMU, our greater community and so many families, generations, in fact,\u201d said Professor James Richardson<\/strong>, music department chair. \u201cSo many lives have been touched by Sharon\u2019s spirit of play, music instruction and music-making.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Miller joined the fledgling Preparatory Music Program at Eastern Mennonite University in 1989 as a Suzuki viola and violin instructor. It was started in 1988 by Wanda Teague Alger<\/strong>, a 1981 graduate of EMU and \u201ca wonderful Suzuki violin teacher\u201d who moved out of the area the same year Miller arrived, she remembers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Miller helped to start the youth symphony in its first season in 1990, and then because program director from 1992 to the present.\u00a0<\/span>Under her leadership, programming expanded to include the Shenandoah Valley Children\u2019s Choirs in 1991 (now a separate program); Musikgarten in 1992; expanded instrumental lessons in 1994; and the Harrisonburg City Schools After-School Strings Program in 2002. <\/span><\/p>\n

The result has touched many young people, including the college students she taught as a member of EMU\u2019s music faculty from 1998-2013. The prep music program enrolled 75 students her first year and now has more than 300. The city schools program began with 40 students and now has 210.<\/span><\/p>\n

Strings in the schools<\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Sharon Miller, a Suzuki-trained teacher and teacher of teachers, advocated for a youth strings program in Harrisonburg City Schools, now in its 13th year. (EMU file photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One clue to Miller\u2019s success has been \u201cquiet persistence,\u201d said her niece Christa Hoover<\/strong>, who has instructed in both programs. <\/span><\/p>\n

In 2002, Miller wrote a successful grant application, and convinced donors as well, to fund after-school violin clubs. After these clubs expanded to both elementary and middle schools, \u201cshe started pushing for curricular string offerings,\u201d Hoover said. \u201cIt took years and incremental progress but she never gave up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2007, HCPS took over funding the program, with EMU\u2019s prep music program contracted for administration and staffing. The 2018-19 academic year was the first time middle school string electives were offered. <\/span><\/p>\n

Like many other music teachers, Hoover has benefited from Miller\u2019s interest and mentorship.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a directionless college grad, Sharon got me to move here, started me in Suzuki teacher training, gave me work, and has mentored and encouraged me through my early career,\u201d she said. \u201cI love what I do, and she made that happen! And she has tirelessly done this for dozens of other young teachers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A search is currently underway for a new program director. Miller is looking forward to \u201cnew ideas in programming and marketing,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019d like to see the program reach an even broader audience in the future, thinking especially of senior citizens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the meantime, she\u2019ll happily continue her life\u2019s work: teaching, mentoring and performing.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After a school day in the Shenandoah Valley, it\u2019s a sure thing that several hundred children are making music — in part because of the work of Sharon Miller. 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