Toussaint J. Miller is a performer-composer, science researcher and curator whose work explores the intersection of art and medicine as a means of bridging the gap between scientific inquiry and representational justice. A recent graduate of Harvard University, Miller earned an A.B. with a double concentration in Neuroscience and Music on the pre-med track and will begin an MSc in History of Science, Medicine and Technology at the University of Oxford in October 2025. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, he attributes many of his wide-ranging interests to his upbringing.

Miller has published two scientific research papers on the effects of music on cognitive function and has co-authored a forthcoming oncological neuroscience paper with post-doctoral fellow Chelsey LeBlang at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His research endeavors have also included positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and the Cleveland Clinic.

Miller has recently expanded his artistic practice to incorporate curation. Commissioned by The Cleveland Orchestra, he curated The Magic Lens: A Photographic Journey by Chuck Stewart for the 2024 Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival, celebrating Stewart’s iconic photography and establishing a new canon of Black imagery within an artistic vernacular that seldom makes space for the Black artist. He continued with Re-membering Community for the 2025 Festival, featuring Ohio-based artists engaging themes of reconciliation through visual art. By centering local artists — whose work reflects the city’s rich ethnic, philosophical, and social diversity — the exhibition affirms that art is not just a mirror of societal values but a means for actively reshaping them.

As a musician rooted in both jazz and new music traditions, Miller has studied under and performed with musical revolutionaries including Claire Chase, Vijay Iyer, esperanza spalding, Tyshawn Sorey, Yosvany Terry, and Danilo Pérez. In 2023, he was commissioned by the Harvard Office for the Arts to compose and perform a multidisciplinary piece entitled All Sing as a prelude to President Claudine Gay’s inauguration. Since 2021, he has performed with the Harvard Jazz Orchestra and has been a featured performer at the Harvard ArtsFIRST festival.

Passionately dedicated to uplifting Black creativity, Miller co-founded the Black Arts Collective at Harvard University—Harvard’s premier Black interdisciplinary arts space. Since its inception in 2022, the Collective has organized over 50 community events and amassed nearly 800 members and supporters, including the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research, the Harvard Art Lab, and the Office of the Provost.

Recently, Miller was appointed the youngest member of The Cleveland Orchestra’s Community Engagement Committee.

Through his manifold endeavors, Miller embodies a fusion of artistry, scholarship, and advocacy, aspiring to leave an indelible mark on both academic and cultural landscapes alike.

About

Photo: Dylan Goodman (2024)

Contact:

toussaintjmiller@gmail.com