More Than A Masterpiece: Architect Jonathan Miller has perfected the art of creating timeless homes

Since 2002, architect Jonathan Miller, RA, AIA, has been transforming dreams into spectacular homes through his firm, Miller Architecture & Design Studio, for clients in Tennessee and across the country. From traditional to contemporary, English cottage to French modern, farmhouse to mountain retreat, his ethos centers on creating artful, timeless homes tailored to each client.

Building the dream: Architect Jonathan Miller says you can’t have great architecture without great relationships.

“We are a uniquely Southern firm, and relationships are everything to us,” says Miller, owner, chief architect, and lead designer. “We love to get to know clients and how they live, then design grows from there. You can’t have great architecture without great relationships.”

A classically trained architect, he brings an exacting hand to his designs. He starts each with freehand pencil and paper sketches, perfecting the proportion, scale, and detail that define a beautifully crafted home, before moving on to digital renderings and 3D models. With a classicist’s eye, he hones his designs to not only manifest his clients’ dreams but also sit seamlessly within the environment.

“We want our homes to look like they’ve always been there,” Miller explains. “The goal is achieving a space that is unique yet feels timeless and familiar.”

For the team at Miller Architecture & Design Studio, light and views are central to their award-winning portfolio of stunning projects. What fuels Miller’s process, however, isn’t awards and accolades, but his signature passion for creating extraordinary homes his clients will love.

“Building a home is a hallmark moment in life, and it should be a delightful and joyful process,” he says. “We love being able to create that experience and happiness for our clients.”

Creating Musical Backdrops for Beautiful Movement

Music is as much a part of a ballet production as the incredible choreography and Lee County Community Orchestra’s upcoming performances of “Ballet Masterworks” feature some of the most beautiful musical backdrops ever composed for the genre.

Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is one of the most popular ballets in the classical cannon.

Like last season’s “Sounds of the Silver Screen” concerts, each piece of music in this program has its own story to tell. The challenge for Music Director Vincent Povázsay was choosing music that could complement or contrast and come together as a whole. “There are many specific and organized movements in a ballet because it’s common for the performance to stop and start between dance scenes and set changes,” said Povázsay. “The way the music is composed makes it easier to find exactly the kind of music you’re looking for in terms of mood or pace.”

Povázsay says all the music in the program is tuneful and melodic and mostly, high energy. Audiences will enjoy wonderful solos from the oboe and clarinet, colorful percussion, gorgeous, grandiose strings, and every piece will feature harpist Joe Hanna.

Highlights include the heartfelt and emotional pas de deux of Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from Spartacus (a pas de deux is a dance for two people, typically characters in love with one another) and the famous, dramatic finale from Swan Lake.

"Ballet Masterworks" is a program Povázsay has been looking forward to all season. He grew up loving ballet music, but his exposure was largely limited to recordings and YouTube videos. He saw his first major professional ballet production with a live symphony on a trip to New York when he was 19. “I will always remember that performance of Swan Lake!”

“Virtual Visitation” Videos Bring Hope to Prisons

Prisoners and corrections staff across 47 states are watching episodes of Visitation 2.0, a digital video series produced and distributed by 4th Purpose Foundation to offset the loss of prison visitation rights during the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate the consequences of increased isolation and anxiety within the criminal justice system.

COVID-19 has increased the isolation of the more than two million men, women and juveniles in custody.

With an estimated audience of 6,000 facilities nationwide including state, federal, juvenile facilities and jails, this number represents an enormous at-risk population comforted by messages of reassurance and encouragement during these unprecedented times. “The videos have brought the inmates encouragement and joy during this tough season. It’s made my duties a little lighter and the atmosphere within our facility brighter,” said Chaplain Mark Lopez, whose ministry work includes the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona.

The series currently offers six 45-minute-long episodes featuring actors, comedians, singers and performers, motivational speakers, plus personal messages from friends, family members and other supporters interspersed throughout each program. While a few facilities nationwide have begun allowing discretionary visits, the majority remain closed to all outside visitors. The video series has been part of a series of changes made by correctional authorities across the country to offset the isolation brought on by the Coronavirus.

In Tennessee, its state Department of Corrections partnered with 4th Purpose Foundation to distribute Visitation 2.0 videos to all of its facilities and sought to ensure inmates could maintain some level of communication with the outside world. “Along with the Visitation 2.0 videos, our agency is offering free telephone calls as well as launching a 24-hour information line for families to gain information about their loved ones,” said TDOC Commissioner Tony Parker.

The creation of Visitation 2.0 is a product of the COVID-19 crisis and its ongoing impact on the more than two million men, women and juveniles in custody in American prisons and jails, and the more than 700,000 people who work in the correctional field. Virtual visitation should never take the place of real visitation or be used as an excuse to limit real visitation. 4th Purpose Foundation is committed to serving as a catalyst to make prison a place of transformation by investing in research and programs that help prepare inmates for release from prison.