Toussaint J. Miller is a performer-composer, science researcher and curator whose work explores the intersection of art and medicine as a means of bridging the gap between scientific inquiry and representational justice. Currently a senior at Harvard University, Miller maintains such commitment through his pursuit of a double concentration in neuroscience and music on the pre-med track. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio he attributes many of his varying interests to his upbringing.

As a musician of both jazz and new music traditions, Miller has studied under and played with musical revolutionaries of the century including Claire Chase, Vijay Iyer, esperanza spalding, Tyshawn Sorey, Linda May Han Oh, Terri Lynne Carrington, Yosvany Terry, Susie Ibarra, Danilo Perez, and Carmen Lundy among others. In 2023, he was commissioned by the Harvard Office for the Arts to compose and perform a multidisciplinary (spoken word poetry + music) piece entitled All Sing for the Arts Prelude to President Claudine Gay’s inauguration. Since 2021, he has performed with the Harvard Jazz Orchestra and has been a featured performer for the Harvard ArtsFIRST festival.

Most recently, Miller has expanded his artistic practice to incorporate curation. Commissioned by The Cleveland Orchestra, he curated The Magic Lens: A Photographic Journey by Chuck Stewart, for the 2024 iteration of the Mandel Opera and Humanities Festival. Through the celebration of one of the most prolific American photographers of the 20th century, Chuck Stewart, the exhibit establishes a new canon of Black imagery in an artistic vernacular that seldom makes space for the Black artist. It serves as a powerful example of the way in which art can be used as a means for justice through the honoring and empowering of its subjects.

Passionately dedicated to uplifting Black creativity, Miller co-founded the Black Arts Collective at Harvard University — Harvard’s premier Black interdisciplinary arts space. Since its inception in 2022, the Collective has organized 50+ community events and amassed nearly 800 members and supporters including the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, the Harvard Art Lab, and Office of the Provost (Harvard).

Miller has published two science research papers on the effects of music on cognitive function and has co-authored a forthcoming oncological neuroscience paper with post-doctoral fellow Chelsey LeBlang at Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute.

Recently, Miller was appointed the youngest member of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Community Engagement Committee.

Through his manifold endeavors Miller embodies a fusion of artistry, scholarship, and advocacy, and aspires to leave an indelible mark on both academic and cultural landscapes alike.

About

Photo: Dylan Goodman (2024)

Contact:

toussaintjmiller@gmail.com