It has been nearly four years in the making, but Grammy Award winning composer Bill Miller has nearly completed a defining project that will delve into his personal life conflicts and difficulties within his heritage. The project will also represent reconciliation and overcoming a difficult past, and he shared that message with a group of art students at Tomah High School on Monday.

Miller, a Mohican Native American from Northern Wisconsin, has spent the past three-and-a-half years working on a symphony titled “The Last Stand,” which is a musical project based on the historical events of the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Miller, a former La Crosse area resident, often faced virulent racism in his earlier years due to his Native American heritage, as well as several family tragedies and alcoholism. The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra will be performing Miller’s symphony at Viterbo on Friday and Saturday, and as part of his project, Miller wanted to share his message with local high school students.

“He wanted to reach out to the children,” La Crosse Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Connie Knutson said of Miller. “He wanted to go to every high school in the area and talk to the students about reconciliation and do an art project. Tomah was chosen because it has a diverse population of students, including a Ho-Chunk population. Through this, he is able to touch the hearts and lives of children, and this is what it is all about. This is what art should do.”

Since January, several art students from Tomah have been working on projects that share a life conflict of their own. Miller viewed several projects, including paintings and sculptures, that were created by students to represent their own struggles. The projects will be on display at Viterbo over the weekend during Miller’s performances.

“Each separate project was about their own journeys and personal battles,” Miller said. “I heard 25 stories today that just blew my mind. This project turned into a diamond. One of the biggest things in my life is the performance of my symphony in my hometown, and then to work with the kids of Tomah makes it even more powerful. I didn’t critique their work. Everything I saw was real, and I was very impressed.”

The students also collaborated along with Miller to create a mural painting. Miller wanted to work with the students in a group effort, and as Miller and the students stood in a circle around the mural that had not yet been started, they all gave their input, and when Miller gave his, the students listened.

“He was interesting to listen to,” Tomah High School junior Julia Genrich said. “When we showed our art, we got to see other conflicts. Our projects were about our thoughts and our ideas, and it was personal.”

Genrich said that her project was about conflicts in American society. Part of her project was a picture of high-heel shoes. She spoke with Miller about the concern of appearance that dominates the lives of many Americans.

“He is a good speaker, and I enjoyed hearing about his struggles, too,” Genrich said. “You would think that it would take him a month to write a symphony, but it took him four years. A lot goes into it.”

The President of the Wisconsin Arts Board, George Tzougros, made an appearance at Tomah High School on Monday to attend Miller’s day with the students. He plans to use the event as an example of how art is serving community needs.

Miller rehearsed with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra at Viterbo on Monday night, and was back at Tomah High School today where he addressed the entire student body. During his two-day visit to Tomah High School, Miller said that he was excited to physically and spiritually spread his message through art, word and music.

“This has turned into something bigger than I have ever dreamed,” Miller said. “I had to learn to abandon my past, and historical trauma can be a shut door. I hope to show the children how to open that door, and my first message would be hope.”