Timothy Miller makes Braves fans proud
If you’re an Atlanta Braves fan, you’ve surely seen him. The man in the tuxedo who sings “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch on Sundays.
His name is Timothy Miller. In about two minutes, he warms the heart, and brings tears to the eyes. It is an impressive display of patriotism.
He calls himself an unlikely celebrity, but not an accidental one. He is well trained, and well prepared for his moment in the sun.
His voice, he says, is God-given. He is flattered to hear that people stop what they are doing when he is on television. Yes, he sees the reaction from the fans in the stands at SunTrust Park. What he can’t see are fans in the concourse who pause to salute before they order their hot dogs. He hears about veterans, some of whom struggle to walk, carefully rising from their living room chair when he begins to sing.
His journey to the baseball diamond began a quartercentury ago in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia. He was “discovered” at the age of ten in church. “I come from a singing family,” he said. “My mom was one of twelve children, and my dad was one of fourteen. Any time our family got together, there was music. One day at church, I was singing up front, and the pianist had her back to me. When the song was over, she turned around, looked at me, and then looked at my mom.” After church, the pianist said to his mom, “Do you know your son has a voice?” His mom took note, and encouraged him to study music.
While in high school, he took voice lessons at Augusta State University, and continued singing in church. From Paine College, he moved on to Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he sang in the Glee Club. He was in awe of the talent that surrounded him, asking himself, “How can people make these sounds?”
For the first time, he was singing alongside equally talented students who specialized in operatic and classical music. He felt challenged to step up his game. “I had grown up with gospel music. Now it was time for formal training.”
After graduating from college, he performed with the Atlanta Symphony, Atlanta Opera, and the Georgia Symphony. By 2008, the Braves had followed the lead of several teams in the post-9/11 era, featuring “God Bless America” at home games. The team held an audition for a permanent singer, inviting eight vocalists for a tryout. Miller was number eight. “The entertainment director later told me that after the seventh guy sang, they thought they had found their man. They only let me sing because I was next in line. Somehow I convinced them to change their mind, and I am forever thankful.”
So are Braves fans, and the Braves players. “They’re just people, like us,” he said. “They have good days, and bad days, but they always give me a high five, or a thumbs up. When (former Braves manager) Fredi Gonzalez was in town, he came up behind me and gave me a big hug. So did (former Braves player) Martin Prado. That really meant a lot to me.”
Miller says he never tires of singing “God Bless America.” “It is always an honor. I know that every time I sing it, someone is hearing me for the very first time. I love the pride it gives people. We honor veterans at the games, and they are especially touched by the song. I never had the honor of serving, but my dad was a twentyyear military man. This is my way of serving.”
He and his wife Iuyana have two children, daughter Morgan (10) and son Matthew (8), both of whom are accustomed to having a father who is a celebrity. “People want a selfie, or to thank me for inspiring their children to take voice lessons. I encourage them to further their education. It is an attainable goal.”
What is something we don’t know about the iconic singer? He is a lifelong Braves fan, having grown up cheering for Otis Nixon and the Jones boys, Andruw and Chipper. He has sung throughout Europe, and performed at the Georgia governor’s inauguration. His “day job” is adjunct professor of music and voice at Morehouse. He can sing in German, French, Italian and Latin. He said he has made some mistakes while singing at Braves games, but if so, he sure fooled me.
People do not usually recognize him when he is not attired in his tuxedo. “There was this one time,” he said. “I was in the supermarket. A man came up, tapped me on the shoulder, and said ‘I appreciate what you do.’ That is all he needed to say. I hope to be doing this for a long, long time.”
David Carroll, a Chattanooga news anchor, is the author of the book “Volunteer Bama Dawg,” a collection of his best columns, available for $23 at ChattanoogaRadioTV.com. You may contact David at 900 Whitehall Road, Chattanooga, TN 37405 or 3dc@epbfi.com