Miller

STATE CENTER — With a lifelong love and appreciation for music, Ryan Miller comes aboard as West Marshall School District’s new 5th-12th grade band director.

After graduating from Cedar Rapids Washington High School, he attended the University of Northern Iowa, earning a bachelor’s degree in music education. From a young age, Miller felt destined to be an educator.

“Teaching has been a big part of my family for generations now. Both my parents were music educators in Iowa, and so were my grandparents, too. I’ve been going to see band concerts since as young as I can remember, and always been really excited to be a part of the team,” he said.

While the 2026-27 school year hasn’t officially started, he began his job duties working with the high school band for the Rose Festival parade in June.

“We had a few rehearsals and put that together, and the kids did a really good job,” he noted.

In addition, Miller has taken on students for private lessons, for 30-minute long sessions.

Before accepting the role at West Marshall, he taught middle school band and assisted with the high school band at a school in Omaha, followed by one in Underwood, a town northeast of Council Bluffs. There, he instructed 5th-12th grade band.

“I was really impressed in my interview (with West Marshall) how committed the staff were to the students and their experience. It seemed like a really collaborative team, and they really want what’s best for the kids,” he said.

The school district has marching band, jazz band, pep band and concert bands. Students at the elementary level get their first taste of music theory, and their schooling builds from there.

“We’re working on those first notes that they’re able to play, holding the instruments correctly, making good sounds — playing with other students for the first time — it’s really the start of their musical journey in fifth grade,” he noted.

Miller said it’s not unusual for youngsters to come in already having had private music lessons, such as for piano or guitar.

“I love working with the fifth graders. It’s so wonderful to see them succeed on their instruments, and their faces light up when they get it right. The growth that they have is just really, really fast in that first year,” he added. “We’ve got a few students for sure that play a few different instruments — in the jazz band setting — they’ll learn some more traditional jazz instruments like the trombone or the saxophone instead of their usual instruments they’ll play in concert band like the clarinet or the French horn or anything like that. I’ve got a few students that play multiple instruments, but I would say a majority of them stick to their primary instrument.”

Miller himself plays the French horn. He has performed in several wind ensembles, orchestras, drum corps and smaller ensembles in his life and is a member of the Ankeny Community Band.

His fiancée Jaeden is a band director at North Polk Middle School.

“We can definitely bounce ideas off of each other. She’s really wonderful to have in my life to help with those things,” he said.

The couple resides in Ankeny with their dog, Riley.

In his free time, he likes to cook, watch and read about sports, go to the gym and spend time with loved ones. He also listens to a variety of music.

“At the gym, I’m going to be listening to something a little bit different than maybe if I’m in the car or sitting around the house. It just kind of depends on what I’m doing or what I’m feeling,” he noted.

He may be reached at: rmiller@wmcsd.org.