Benjamin Miller, former ACU student was recently featured on CNN and the Daily What.
Ben Miller was born and raised in the Woodlands and began his career at Abilene Christian University a few years ago in pursuance of a degree in physics and art. However, Ben, or “The Piano Man,” as most people on campus know him, decided that the dream he once had of attaining those degrees was no longer enough.
Ben, during what would have been his final year at school, decided to leave ACU and go to New York City to pursue an interest in film making.
Miller began as a freshman several years ago and made a lasting impression on those that knew him. Last year, he worked for The Optimist as the cartoonist, but was best known around campus for his incredible piano skills. Every day, dressed in a full suit and an impeccably placed fedora, he would sit in The World Famous Bean and  play various songs while students mingled, chatted, and ate.
Miller is very talented and plays many modern, popular tunes, as well as the classics.
“[Ben] was always kind of an offbeat quirky guy who always dressed up like a pro. He had no vocal training in his life, but he was a complete musical genius. He blew me away every time,” said Mary Carol Fox, a sophomore vocal performance major who met Ben through an opera program. “Now he’s in New York making a name for himself and I honestly think college was holding him back. I wish him the best of luck. I believe in you Ben.”
Last spring, Miller decided to use his musical talents in a different sort of venue. When Randall Munroe published the parody lyrics to a famous Gilbert and Sullivan tune, “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” from “The Pirates of Penzance” on his webcomic XKCD, a  webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math and language, Miller decided he would record his own version of the parody. A couple of weeks ago the video, full of pithy sayings of how terrible every college major is, exploded via a Reddit post, and the video now has over 275,000 views on Youtube. Miller gives credit to Reddit for the majority of his views.
“I’d honed my pianistic skills in the World Famous Bean for years, so the piano part was a cinch,” said Miller. “I filmed myself singing in a Williams Performing Arts Center practice booth with a camera and tripod I checked out from the Learning Studio, where I subsequently edited the video; which goes to show that while every major may be terrible, the fun ‘free’ stuff you can play with in college makes it worthwhile.”
Miller’ version of the XKCD’s song, “Every Major’s Terrible,” is now the most viewed version of that song and was featured on CNN.
Benjamin Miller, former Abilene Christian University student is no longer at ACU and will be missed. However, you can check out Miller’s video on YouTube by looking up “Benjamin Miller, Every Major’s Terrible”.
