Elissa Miller-Kay

Dr. Elissa Miller-Kay has spent over twenty years teaching, performing, and managing music programs in North America and Southeast Asia. Prior to her role at Thomas Circle Singers, Elissa served as the Music Manager at Zeta Charter Schools in New York City. In this capacity, she oversaw a robust music program encompassing orchestra classes and individual lessons in violin, viola, cello, and piano. She also launched Zeta’s Artist in Residence program, a series of performances and masterclasses featuring world-class musicians of color.

Elissa spent six years living and working in Bangkok, Thailand. From 2014 to 2016, she served as the Director of Piano Studies at the Naissance Music Academy and, from 2016-2021, as a lecturer in piano performance and music history at the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music (PGVIM). At PGVIM, she co-developed an interdisciplinary Master of Music program and played a central role in shaping the internationally recognized “Contextual Studies” undergraduate course sequence. Additionally, Elissa coordinated PGVIM’s first semester-long international exchange program with Cardiff University and served as the coordinator for collaborative piano. An advocate for equitable access to music education, Elissa published an open-access bilingual Thai and English beginner piano method book, “Piano, So Fun!” (“Piano Sanook Jung”), in 2018, which has been downloaded over 5,000 times to date.

Beyond her administrative and educational roles, Elissa is an accomplished classical pianist, winning first prize at the International Beethoven Piano Sonata Competition in Memphis, TN in 2009. She has performed at venues including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, and the Goethe Institute in Bangkok. She has also appeared as a concerto soloist with orchestras including the Mississauga, Oakville, and York Symphony Orchestra in her native Canada.

Dr. Miller-Kay holds a PhD in Piano Studies from New York University, along with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory and the Mannes School of Music, respectively. As Executive Director, she takes great pride in empowering Thomas Circle Singers to build meaningful community connections through choral music.