We're saying "happy trails" to Brad/Ana Miller family

Brad Miller

The 2018 and 2019 UMM commencement programs remain on my late mother's bed. My plan was to deposit one there each year to symbolize my parents' commitment to the institution. 

The programs are placed on top of a wonderful quilt that was courtesy Knute Nelson Hospice, when Mom was still alive. She worked on the UMM campus for many years. She is best remembered as manager of the campus post office. She died in 2018 after having been in home hospice for about a year. 

We are coming up on the third anniversary of her death. She'd be proud to observe the commencement programs on her bed, but disappointed that a 2020 program is not there. The pandemic came along and changed so much. Mom would have a hard time conceiving of it all. 

Dad was born in 1916 so he and his four older brothers had to survive the Spanish flu. His mom and dad likewise survived. But his father Martin died too soon of cancer in 1933. And my Grandma Carrie died of a stroke in 1949. She was age 63, three years younger than I am now, so you could say her death was too soon also. And I never got to meet her. 

The news coming out of UMM now isn't of the kind to lift one's spirits. I suppose when someone retires, it isn't really bad news but in the case of Michelle Behr, it surprised me. She gave me the impression of being quite vigorous with a lot more to offer. I don't know her age and it wouldn't matter to me. Look how old our president of the U.S. is, at the top of the federal government. 

Might Ms. Behr be glad to be relieved of some of the pressures of her job in Morris? I can only imagine the special pressure and challenges brought about by this most atypical 2020-21 academic year. Music concerts livestreamed only. I can brag that I took in some live singing last summer when Brad Miller had small groups gather at the Killoran stage weekly. I wonder if he realized how absolutely rare it was for any kind of performance to happen at that stage, named for Eleanor Killoran. 

 

Look below veneer

We get news today pertaining to UMM choir director Miller. As with Behr, the news is not heartening. The official statements about this are of course very superficial. They are sort of "canned" and are dripping with positiveness toward everyone. As a writer who cut his teeth during Watergate, I'm always amused and a little discouraged by such public statements. The statements suggest everything is absolutely peachy-keen. The people loved their stay in Morris, loved the institution and wish to share a smiley face with all. 

Wish I could put total credence in such statements, because then, what a wonderful utopian world we would have. America in the late '60s was dystopian. We had the Vietnam war. Then we developed a hard-edged cynicism because of the prolonged Watergate affair. The '70s were the Murphy's Law decade. 

We now wonder if the disaster of the pandemic will have consequences tamping down our conditioned optimism. Maybe we'll be programmed to expect some bad outcomes again. Does this mean "The Gong Show" could come back? That's a joke, sort of. 

Ana Miller

OK so Brad Miller is riding off into the sunset. He delivered the goods as UMM choir director. Just as important, he had a young and vigorous family. The family is precisely the type that is needed in our churches today. 

The Millers are/were in First Lutheran of Morris. It's an ELCA church, about which you might suggest it needs to cling to its young and vigorous families. A friend of mine refers to the young adults as "tweeners." He says of these people that "there aren't enough" at First Lutheran, or presumably many other churches, to promote stability for the future. And now we lose the Millers. 

Brad puts a positive sheen on things by saying "we have loved this church, community and university so very much and it will be difficult to say our 'see ya laters' to so many friends." Sounds like he's talking about Lake Wobegon. 

Brad writes "we'd appreciate your continued prayers as we begin this transition process and look forward to connecting with you as we pass through each others' neighborhoods in the future!" 

So they loved it here. But Brad was sending his resume around.

 

Not so far away

Brad announces that he'll be the head choir director at St. John's University/College of St. Benedict. I'm thinking: my understanding is that the U of M is a "plum" place to be for academics, the top of the heap. "U of M" is an ideal pedigree. My father carried that association proudly throughout his life. And Brad is leaving our UMM for a private institution. 

Brad's public statement, public in the sense that he shared it with First Lutheran choir members, is boilerplate positive or happy-face in my eyes, as a veteran of the Watergate era. It opens the question of what the heck is going on? I mean, WHY? An element of discomfort with UMM, its morale or its perceived future? A perception of the U as having an especially difficult time coming out of the pandemic? Maybe a private school can rebound better? These are shots in the dark. 

Michelle Behr

Yes, it is possible there are morale issues at UMM. In terms of attitude it may not be an optimal situation. Is there some discord between departments and divisions? Such things can crop up in academia - maybe that's like saying the Pope is Catholic. Student apathy? I have heard that assessment as well. 

A friend from First Lutheran comments that "Brad's new job in St. Cloud is probably more prestigious, but is that everything?" A different friend of mine noted "Brad and Ana are employed by the U, they have young kids growing up in a small-town atmosphere, and they want to chuck that to move to the gang-riddled St. Cloud area?" 

Ahem: my undergraduate education was in St. Cloud. That was so long ago. The city was a different kind of place. If anything, it was stereotyped as nearly 100 percent Catholic. (I was an agnostic.) 

What can I offer on UMM's alleged morale issues or conflict at present? Well, just this: I look at the old music programs from when my father founded the UMM music department, and I'm struck by how oriented the institution was to West Central Minnesota specifically. Imagine, the Morris campus being created to serve West Central Minnesota! A novel idea I guess. 

I look at the vintage rosters of musicians and they are so centered on outstate western. Places like Ortonville, Elbow Lake etc. And why not get a substantial number of Stevens County youth going to UMM? Shall we go back to this kind of model? There's always room for some big city kids and obviously we welcome students of color and gays, right? Let's all be one big happy family with our focus based on the rich west central area of Minnesota.

Makes too much sense?

 

Addendum: Ana Miller, a supremely talented vocalist, has also been on board with UMM staff as teaching specialist. What a void this family will leave. Is Morris falling into a general pattern of decline? A final thought: I'm sad that Brad never got to direct, to my knowledge, a performance of my father's "UMM Hymn." Maybe the institution is just consciously trying to move away from its past, its roots, its origins, just in the spirit of "moving ahead." Such logic can have merit. But it's such a neat melody, n'est-ce-pas?! Ken Hodgson directed the Hymn periodically through the years, including when Garrison Keillor was here. Next time UMM has an in-person commencement, what a celebratory air the Hymn would provide!

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com