Julian was the singing teacher who guided Frank Merriman to his own VOCAL FREEDOM. He instilled in him a great love for the art of singing

Born in Calcutta, India, Julian Miller studied singing with Ernesto Beraldi and Italo Cristalli. He always credited Cristalli as the teacher that showed him the riches of Bel Canto. Frank considers himself very fortunate to have met an authentic teacher who was one of the few remaining true exponents of Bel Canto Singing and VOCAL FREEDOM.

When Julian Miller listened to Frank sing the first time, he told him discouragingly: "You'd have to sweat blood to get your voice right!" Frank replied that if that's what was needed, that's what he would do. He had to be persistent with Julian, but Julian eventually liked Frank's determination so much that he agreed to become Frank's teacher, and they worked together for over four years both in London and at the G.B. Martini Conservatorio in Bologna, Italy.

For over four years, Julian Miller guided Frank Merriman through the intensive traditional training that all Bel Canto singers receive. He taught him how to clean the vocal resonators, he taught him the importance of pronunciation to overall vocal function and he taught him a proper vocabulary, which truly helped Frank to overcome his language difficulties from having left school at a very young age.

Probably the most important thing that Julian Miller did to guide Frank Merriman to his own VOCAL FREEDOM was to have him sit in on his lessons with other students, where they would all open their imaginations to discuss what was happening in the student's voice and what was causing any vocal problems he or she was having. He intuitively taught Frank things that he wasn't aware he was learning at the time.

At an early stage in his training Julian Miller began to encourage Frank to become a teacher, though nothing could have been further from his mind in those days. He wanted to get up on a stage and sing his heart out! In fact, Julian had a better insight into Frank's spirit than he realized, and thanks to Julian he has had a most rich rewarding life as a teacher of Bel Canto.