BACHS choir’s mission is to offer students of home educating families the opportunity to grow musically through quality music instruction within the context of a developmental music program. The choir seeks to musically enrich its members using principles, techniques, methods, and choral literature and will foster a lifelong appreciation of choral music through preparation and performances to glorify God and serve our community.
Choir Director
Jeff Miller was raised in Texas by choral directors, but after a term with the U.S. Air Force, he started out his music career singing opera, having studied voice and opera at Western Illinois University (BA, 00) and Southern Illinois University (MM, 02).
After a brief singing career (Des Moines Metro Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Union Avenue Opera, St. Louis), Jeff responded to a call to full-time ministry where he has served as a lead pastor and church planter since 2002 in both Bloomington Normal and St. Louis, MO. As a bi-vocational church planter, Jeff taught voice in at Illinois Wesleyan University from 2002-2008 in both the School of Music and mainly the Musical Theater program, from where several of his students have gone to careers on and off-Broadway.
Jeff returned to Bloomington Normal in 2022, with his wife, Cheri, and their five (homeschooled!) children. In addition to directing this year’s BACHS Concert Choir, Jeff spends his time ghostwriting books, teaching voice, and being a church-planting pastor at Godspeed Community Church.
Accompanists
Janet Frevert joined the Concert Choir in October 2017 as an accompanist. Janet graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a major in piano. She has taught elementary music in public schools and maintained a small private studio. Over the years, Janet has been a rehearsal/pit pianist for many productions at Community Players, church pianist, and vocal and instrumental accompanist. Since her retirement from State Farm a few years ago, Janet has kept busy accompanying The Heartland Songbirds and BACHS Choir, as well as providing music in the BroMenn atrium and being part of Thirty Fingers, the well-known local piano trio.
Elizabeth Giger grew up in Springfield, Illinois, immersed in the musical heritage of her parents and grandparents. She received a Bachelor of Music Education (piano emphasis) with a minor in Spanish from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas in 2000. She taught 5th grade, middle and high school for two years, then 5th grade, middle, and high school band for two years, and high school Spanish at Ouachita Christian School in Monroe, Louisiana. Elizabeth then earned a Master’s of Music Education (piano emphasis) from the University of Illinois in 2005. She and her husband, Daniel, spent a year doing mission work in China before returning to the States, eventually starting their family with four girls. Since then, Elizabeth has earned a Master’s Certificate in Spiritual Formation from Lincoln Christian University. In addition to homeschooling their children, she currently maintains a small piano studio, plays piano and keyboard with the worship team at her church, is a member and adjudicator with the National Federation of Music Clubs, and is teaching high school Spanish at the Wellspring Co-op starting the 2023 school year. She is the author of Beyond the Front Door: Cultivating Rhythms of Abiding in Jesus.