The Program
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Woodlawn Beach Middle School Choir is one of the largest and most successful choral programs in the panhandle.  Boasting 26% of the entire school’s enrollment, WBMS Choir on Fire is held in high regard throughout the community, evidenced by multiple news articles featuring our choir, invitations to perform with collegiate choirs, double digit participation in Florida All-State Choirs, and routine ratings of straight ‘Superiors’ at District Music Performance Assessment. Last year, WBMS Choir’s Advanced Treble Ensemble received a rating of ‘Choir of Distinction’ at MPA, one of only seven middle schools across the state to do so.  Routinely, our students earn up anywhere from 30-50% of the seats in the annual Santa Rosa All-County honor choir.

We are proud to foster traditions of hard work, dedication, resiliency, and community with our students. Students in choir are held to a high performance standard, in addition to rigor in academics and pride in their discipline.  Furthermore, choir at Woodlawn gives students an opportunity to express and create, a vital part of education.  Students will experience a tightly-knit community in choir: the research literature tells us that choirs who like each other sing better.  As such, many students have given testimony to a feeling of family in chorus, to a feeling of belonging.

Woodlawn Beach Middle School Choir on Fire offers families a chance to belong to something bigger than any of us.  Many students report more academic success after participating in choir.  There are distinct correlations between involvement inanyperforming arts ensemble and a student’s mental health.  This is also a choir for everyone.  No students are turned away for lack of ability, and scholarships are available for needy families.

We are proud to serve our community and offer a unique and life-changing experience to our students.  We are grateful to our community, our colleagues, and our administration for allowing this program to thrive.  We are committed to cultivating a deep and passionate love of music in all of our students, where they will learn skills that can transfer to every walk of life.

The Director
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Recently described as “a young musician whose mastery of his craft is far beyond his years”, Paul Miller is the choral director at Woodlawn Beach Middle School, which boasts the largest middle school program in the panhandle with just over 240 members. A past top three finalist for  Santa Rosa County Teacher of the Year, Paul holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education (BME), cum laude, from The Florida State University, and is an active member of FVA, ACDA, NAfMe, and the AGO. Mr. Miller also serves as Chairperson for the Florida Vocal Association’s District 1 (Escambia to Walton County).  In addition to his teaching, Mr. Miller is a highly sought after concert pianist and organist, as well as an established singer. Mr. Miller hails from a family of classical musicians and teachers and is the oldest of five children.  His father, who teaches orchestra, and mother, who plays for and directs a church choir, instilled a great love for classical music in him at a very early age.  He loves high fantasy, reading Tolkien, playing dungeons and dragons, video games, quoting an obscene amount of quotes from “The Office”, and 80’s rock.