By Kevin Greer
Lakeside Communications Manager
Lucas Miller found a way to combine two of his biggest passions, music and animals, and turn them into a career that has spanned over three decades.
Miller, known as “The Singing Zoologist,” brings his high-energy performance to Hoover Auditorium for the first time as part of the Family Night Series on Wednesday, July 16 at 7 p.m. He will be joined onstage with a few special guests — animals from the Columbus Zoo.
“I try to keep my show creative and fun,” Miller said. “I use music, puppets and a lot of video. Usually when I’m singing a song, there’s a lot of stuff to look at, which really helps me teach.”
Miller has never been to Lakeside but has Ohio ties. He earned a degree in zoology at Miami University, where he also played guitar with an alternative rock band that performed in local bars and campus festivals.
Shortly after graduating college, Miller got a job aboard an 80-foot sailboat that took kids on field trips and taught them about marine ecology. It was an environmental education group, but the company wanted music. Every cruise featured some time where he would play some sea shanties and songs about nature. It was where he got some ideas to go out on his own.
“The funny thing is they hired me because I played guitar,” Miller said. “I had never tried to play music for anybody younger than myself before, but I was game.”
Miller moved to Austin, Texas, and took a job at the Good Day Ranch, which later became the Austin Zoo. He did educational programs and took the school groups on tours when they visited. He had the opportunity to create his own educational programs from scratch.
“That was just an awesome experience that really helped me,” Miller said. “I had been doing this kind of work a little bit already, but it gave me a lot more freedom.”
Miller realized he was producing things that were liked by kids and teachers. He was concerned if he continued working in zoos, he was going to be an administrator and not a frontline educator. He enjoyed interfacing with audiences, so he took a chance and left the zoo.
“I decided to start my own gig,” Miller said. “I was with the woman who became my wife, and she was like, ‘Look, we don’t really have a lot to lose here, so why don’t you give it a try?’ That was in 1994, and 31 years later, here I am. It worked out.”
Millions of kids have seen his live performances with music, videos and books. He has won numerous awards, including Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting for the song “Metamorphosis” and first place for “Living in Symbiosis” in the 2005 and 2006 Great American Song Contests. He has performed at Hakawy Children’s Festival in Cairo, Egypt, The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and the Austin City Limits Music Festival.
Miller’s show is mix of music, science and laughs. He plays guitar and, at times, a foot drum. He will perform favorites like “Anaconda La Bamba,” “How Many Spots has an Ocelot Got,” “I’m a Cheetah” and the “Chimichanga Song.” During some of his songs, there are clips on the video screen about the animals he is singing about, like cheetahs and the process from a caterpillar becoming a monarch butterfly.
“The visual element is super important for me to really make the impression that I want to make on audiences,” Miller said. “It’s a combination of just creativity, humor and energy that I found keeps really parents and kids focused.”
Miller says the message of his shows starts with respect for animals and love. He also wants the kids to enjoy science.
“I want kids to appreciate that there are animals right there in their own hometown that are cool, amazing and play a role in their own lives,” Miller said. “I’m trying to get some love for the sciences out there and that they’re very fun.”
