Fayetteville Native Musician Makes a Return to his Roots

Growing up in a rural area often means that you don’t have access to the same resources and experiences that someone from a big city would.

Regardless of where you call home, though, you can still achieve great things. This is exactly what Fayetteville’s own Miles Gillette has done. Gillette is currently a junior at Baylor University studying Applied Music, but not too long ago, he was a Fayetteville ISD student. The Fayetteville school district doesn’t have a music program, which meant that Gillette typically had to practice piano, his chosen instrument, individually. This, however, didn’t stop him from representing his school in state solo competitions, nor did it put a damper on his dream to one day be a music teacher and professional musician.

“I feel like a lot of times, they’re one in the same; if you’re a teacher, you’re a performer,” said Gillette, when discussing his plans for post-graduate school. “Pretty much all of my teachers, professors, and so on up at school are also performing musicians.”

This year, Gillette was invited to perform in the Round Top Music Festival. In his time at Round Top, he’s performed solos and in ensembles alike. When asked what his favorite part of the experience so far has been, Gillette said that it was the opportunity to perform chamber music with a small ensemble. He explained that not many large festivals like the one in Round Top tend to focus on chamber music ensembles. Rather, they pour most of their efforts into larger ensembles, such as an orchestra. This experience has allowed Gillette to fall in love with chamber music and flourish performing in smaller ensembles.

Gillette is a Fayette County native, and he is the first musician from the area to be invited to participate in the Round Top Festival Institute Summer Concert Series throughout its 51 year run.

What makes this even more amazing is that James Dick, the founder of the Round Top Music Institute, was one of the first supporters of his piano career, Gillette shared. So it almost seems fated that he would be the first from the county to be invited. And, even after all these years, all the smiling faces who have been supporting Gillette since the beginning of his career were in the audience each week throughout the two-month run of the program.

“Even at this concert I played on Saturday (July 9), there were just so many people from Fayetteville, La Grange, Round Top, everywhere that know me, friends of my family, they were all there,” said Gillette. “It’s really nice to be here and having grown up here, and have this community that knows you, that is obviously so supportive.”

Though music may take him far and wide in the future, Miles Gillette will always be remembered and welcomed here in Fayette County.