The Miles Show
What even IS The Miles Show? Fair question.
For starters, it’s my social media handle.
It’s also what I’ve been calling my one-man shows since 2007.
Does it border on internet cliche? Yep.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t be cheeky fun! (Squiggly line = fun. It’s math.)
While I hope the rest of this site gives you some insight into my career as an operatic tenor, this page offers a peek into the other parts of my artistic life: cabaret and theater, community activism, and the Emberlight Festival.
If that sounds intriguing – I mean, you did click on a link labeled psst…
Welcome to The Miles Show!
Cabaret & Theater
I never dreamt of being an opera singer. Growing up in the rural and remote western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, my access to classical music and opera was nonexistent. Instead, I had two small but mighty community theaters and a local dance company – even if I was the only male dancer in class!
Throughout my childhood, I cultivated my passion for performing in plays, musicals, dance recitals, and variety shows. The artistic medium or size of the role didn’t matter to me, so long as I could be on stage. From Feste the Jester in Twelfth Night and the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, to Judas in Godspell and the Emcee in Cabaret — I fell in love with playing characters. Singing and dancing became tools I honed to better express myself in front of an audience.
As I grew older and my obsession for performing continued to blossom, my parents knew I needed artistic experiences outside of Ironwood, MI. This led me to the Interlochen Arts Camp, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and eventually to the Interlochen Arts Academy and onwards to Juilliard. To help supplement my training, I began self-producing cabarets with my dad at the piano to fundraise money for tuition. My community came out year after year to see my shows and support my education.
The immediacy of theater, the intimacy of cabaret, and this wellspring of community support are at the core of every performance I give.
L to R: Performing in The Music Man (with my sister Brianna), Cabaret, Once Upon a Mattress, and Buyer and Cellar
Community Activism
“Artists of the 21st century, especially in America, must rededicate themselves to a broader professional agenda that reaches beyond what has been expected of them in an earlier time. Specifically, the 21st-century artist will have to be an effective and active advocate for the arts in communities large and small around the nation. … By performing superbly in traditional settings and making the effort to engage community members through their artistry, America’s best young artists can positively change the status of the arts in American society.”
— The Artist as Citizen
This excerpt from Dr. Joseph W. Polisi’s book The Artist as Citizen sums up my outlook on the role of artists in society. Of course, the first priority of any artist is to create art at the highest level – but I also believe our talents offer us the unique opportunity to strengthen communities and fortify ourselves against isolation, depression, prejudice, and intolerance.
Whether singing the National Anthem at public events, teaching high school choir during the pandemic, or advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, I have always sought to use my voice to inspire and bring people together. For seven years, I proudly participated in the Gluck Community Service Fellowship Program, performing free concerts at nursing homes, AIDS clinics, children’s hospitals, and psychiatric wards throughout New York City’s five boroughs. I also spent six years as the Chair of the Juilliard Student Council, working alongside the school’s leadership to represent the student body and strengthen the relationship between the Music, Dance, and Drama departments.
Art is more than performance; it is a force for change, healing, and unity.
L to R: Juilliard orientation crew; working a room and fundraising; with graduating seniors from choir; with junior high choir class
Emberlight Festival
The pandemic brought me home to Michigan for 18 months. During the summer of 2020, amidst endless notifications of contract cancellations, I spent a lot of time solo hiking along the shores of Lake Superior. One afternoon, inspiration struck: what if my professional connections with artists around the world could be infused with the natural beauty of the western Upper Peninsula? As the vision came into focus, I knew I wanted to make my hometown a summer destination for artists and audiences alike.
Over the following months, I began fundraising and forming a board of directors. We initially planned a three-day festival, focused mainly on the performing arts, with some friends from Broadway coming to town for concerts. But just a few weeks later, we’d added a film festival, a photography show, a large-installation outdoor art show, and dozens of individual events that showcased our local artists. By the time summer ’21 rolled around, Emberlight was an eight-week festival with 31 individual events.
Over the last five years, Emberlight has grown into an artistic haven and economic powerhouse in our region. Hundreds of volunteers and donors come together to make the festival possible, and we have welcomed audiences from Canada, Mexico, Spain, and Finland, as well as 40 U.S. states. We have screened over 2,600 independent films from 83 countries and produced 119 events. The average ticket price is only $18 and 70% of the festival is completely free to attend. According to statistics from the NEA, Emberlight has generated over $3 million for local businesses since 2021.
As a kid who grew up in the woods and yearned for any exposure to the arts, it is one of the greatest honors of my life to produce Emberlight and ensure the arts are accessible to as many people as possible.
On site at the Emberlight Festival