Meet violist and movement educator, Kayleigh Miller!
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Q: How would you describe your lifestyle (student/traveling performer/9-5 job/etc.)?
A: I am primarily an orchestral player that teaches movement. I have played in the San Antonio Symphony for the last four and a half years, and in the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in the summers for three years. In between orchestra life, I teach group classes in yoga and pilates, as well as teach private clients, work with teacher trainings, and maintain my blog on wellness, the Musicians' Health Collective.
Q: What keeps you motivated?
A: I am primarily motivated by embodiment, whether that's through a daily physical movement practice, the experience of creating sound and feeling it resonate, and feeling the connection with others.
Q: What gets you out of bed in the morning?
A: I have fostered dogs a lot in the last three years, and the puppies tend to wake me up early in the morning. I recently adopted a 6 month year old puppy, and he usually is ready to go by 7 AM. I've gone through phases of drinking coffee (and not drinking it), but I'm currently in a coffee drinking phase, especially in the morning!
Q: What inspires you to do what you do?
A: The underlying motivation for music and movement is to help others, whether it's to help them take care of themselves, support their students, feel solace and connection through sound, or move in a supportive way. We live in a chronically disembodied and disconnected society, and I hope to help ameliorate that in some way.
Q: Describe a daily routine that makes you feel great.
A: Wake up around 7:30 feeling well rested, oil pull with coconut oil while I boil water for coffee, then have a glass of water with apple cider vinegar in it. Drink some coffee, maybe with butter blended in or CBD oil, and then take the dog for a short walk before I begin whatever I need to do.
Q: What is one habit would you like to change?
A: I've gotten out of the habit of reading fiction for enjoyment, and I'd like to be better about that. To down regulate before bed, I sometimes fall into the "Netflix Pit of Doom," and get sucked into a tv show, but it's nice to read or meditate before bed sometimes, (although there are lots of fantastic tv shows these days).
Q: What is your practicing routine, if you have one?
A: It depends on what I'm working towards. Right now, I just have a few months of orchestra repertoire and no big solo obligations or auditions on the horizon, which means that my goal is technical maintenance, learning new orchestral repertoire, and recovery. I like to do some finger pattern exercises for the left hand, as well as some open strings for the resonance and the bow arm. Sometimes I work through traditional technical exercises addressing shifting and hand frame, other days I jump straight to scales and repertoire depending on what my schedule allows. For orchestral repertoire, if I haven't played the pieces recently, I find it most useful to listen to the work with the part or score in hand, and then figure out what to work on. Sometimes that also entails conducting and singing parts. Unless I'm familiar with the repertoire, it's not that helpful to just practice a symphony or ensemble piece without knowing the context, especially as a violist.
Q: What do you do if you feel like you're in a practice rut?
A: Take a day off. So much can be accomplished by taking a day off and gaining some perspective. I also find that playing for other people is very useful, especially once you're out of school and out of a traditional weekly lesson schedule.
Q: Describe a habit or a ritual you do every day and you "swear by".
A: Oil pulling, which is essentially swishing a small amount of oil in your mouth for a few minutes every day, and drinking water with apple cider vinegar to help with digestion and regulating internal pH.
Q: How do you "get back on the horse" if you get out of your routine?
A: In terms of nutrition, I usually find that I need to eat a ton of plants to feel normal again, whether that's through salads or smoothies. Practices that reset the nervous system like yoga, meditation, and feldenkrais can be great. I also find that hiking in nature does wonders.
Q: Do you exercise regularly? If yes, what do you do and how often?
A: Yes- I try to walk around 2,000 miles a year as a baseline of human activity. Instead of thinking of workouts or exercise as a one hour time frame to get a ton of intense movement in, I prefer to have more movement throughout the day. Biomechanist Katy Bowman writes about this a lot- that the concept of "working out" or "exercise" is a modern adaptation to a lack of daily movement. Our society is more and more sedentary- less walking, carrying, manual labor, and this affects the body on a cellular and structural level. I also practice pilates a few days a week and yoga as well- I tend to do a mix of different things that might look like exercise, and some things that wouldn't look like exercise at all.
Q: What do you eat before concerts/performances?
A: I usually eat whatever I want, and that tends to be salads or higher protein things.
Q: How to you manage your anxiety or daily stress?
A: I find meditation very helpful- although I have practiced in Buddhist lineages, there are many different styles and approaches of meditation that can be great for people. The app Headspace is a nice way to get started on one's own.
Q: Do you have a routine before an audition?
A: I try to meditate prior to playing and do some shoulder and spine mobility work, even if I only have 5-10 minutes.
Q: What was the most important mantra you learned in the last couple of years?
A: I am enough, as I am, in this moment.
Q: What's the best piece of advice you've been given?
A: To do my best to make the world a better place through love.
Q: Before going to bed, what do you do to wind down?
A: Sometimes with meditation, a gentle movement practice, or some tv in bed...
Q: How do you deal with rejection? Can you share an example?
A: The outcome of an audition or competition doesn't define you as a player or person. There are a multitude of factors that affect the outcome of any given situation, and you can only control your preparation. You never know how a committee is feeling, if the committee gets along with each other or with the music director, if there's someone that's been doing the job that people want to have, etc. I've taken many auditions where members of the committee had connections to audition candidates, and sometimes that affects the outcome. I took an audition a few years ago where no one advanced in three days of preliminary rounds, and the orchestra hired the spouse of someone in the ensemble. I'm sure that individual was a great player, but it's difficult for me to believe that out of 100 people, no one was "good enough" to advance. Sometimes audition candidates play for the audition panel prior to the audition, and even if the committee intends to be objective, it's almost impossible to be impartial. The only things you can control are how you prepare the repertoire and how you prepare to physically audition, which is an odd set of skills to develop. It's downright bizarre to walk on a foreign stage, not speak to anyone, play repertoire excerpts out of context, and have 5-6 minutes to do so with no time to settle in.
Q: How do you find a balance between your music life and career and your personal life?
A: I think that can be almost impossible to maintain at times, and I haven't always succeeded. Musicians tend to see their job as both their vocation and passion, and it can consume them. Having a non musical vocation and passion has made a huge difference because I find great job in teaching movement and exploring movement in my own body.
Q: What helps you focus?
A: I find that a constructive rest of about 10 minutes in the afternoon can do wonders for rest and recovery in the midst of a busy day, especially if I'm tired.
Q: How do your splurge yourself?
A: Being a student is great, whether that's taking other people's classes in yoga or pilates, or just taking private sessions. Bodywork and massage is also a must. I also love bourbon and whiskey, which is especially delicious in the winter times.
Learn more about Kayleigh's classes and work at: http://www.kayleigh-miller.com/