The teacher told Miller he should go with trombone, even though the 10-year-old student wanted to pick trumpet, as he was used to seeing an older brother play in his musically gifted family.

Recounting his outlook that day, Miller said, “I want to play trumpet, so that’s what I’m going to play. I’m going to do it. I was adamant.”

It was a path well picked.

Today, Miller, who lives in Humboldt, is a trumpeter and all-around talented musician who is part of a lot of musical groups in the area, including the Karl L. King Municipal Band in Fort Dodge. He has played in bands that have played as far west as Sioux City, south to the Des Moines area and in Minnesota.

-Submitted photo
Tim Miller plays trumpet in several local bands, including the Karl L. King Municipal Band, Jive for Five, Lone Tree Revival and the 515 Big Band.

Some favorite venues are the Okoboji-area Green Space (also known as Preservation Plaza) adjacent to the buzzingly busy Arnolds Park Amusement Park, plus the newly revamped Laramar Ballroom in Fort Dodge.

“It is really neat what they’ve done with the Laramar,” Miller said.

He also had a 40-year career teaching music in schools, with a first stop at Sheffield, then a much longer stint in Humboldt from 1985 to 2016.

“We came here for long-term stability for my job, and for my kids to have a good experience,” he said of the decision he made with his wife, Debra, to whom he has been married for 48 years.

“They had a great experience,” he said of his children.

He grew up in a musical family, with father Carl Miller and uncles who at gatherings would sing Gene Autry songs. His three brothers were gifted, too.

“We just grew up with it,” he said. “It was part of our family, part of our culture.”

“It is an emotional expression; it can be a real emotional high, just performing,” he added. “Mentally, it really forces you to focus intently on being a performer. I love being able to ramp up as a performer. I love being able to create the sound. You turn signs and symbols (printed music) into sounds. I told my students, what you are is an extension of that sound. It is a great way to communicate with an audience without saying a word.”

Miller said that while he plays in lots of regional bands, he’s not that well known. He cited area musicians such as Dean Davis, Jeremy Ober, Dan Cassady, and others that Fort Dodge music fans may know.

“Oh, and there’s that guy who plays trumpet,” he said. “Most people don’t recognize me unless I have a trumpet in my face.”

Beyond trumpet, Miller said, he is adept at guitar, both rhythm and bass guitar. Miller first played in a band called Galaxy in 1988, where he played bass. It was a group that played cover songs from the 1950s to the 1970s. At that time, he was busy with young children, but made sure he found time for gigs.

“You tried to maintain your craft,” he said. “It keeps you current with trends. I never wanted to drop out of the music scene.”

Playing the fare of multi-instrumental music groups like Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears appeals to him, and is a big part of the groups in which he now plays. And that’s a long list.

“I’m just playing in four bands now,” Miller said.

On the busy three-day weekend of June 7-9, he played in three of them. Miller is a member of the Karl L. King Municipal Band, has been in Jive For Five since 2000, and also plays with Lone Tree Revival and the 515 Big Band.

Wait, he remembered the number of bands is actually five, including a praise band for Northfield Church of Christ in Fort Dodge. He plans to continue with those bands for as long as possible.