Karen Miller
Karen Miller was born and raised in Namibia. Her senior schooling was spent in St Paul’s College in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. After school her studies in Architecture took her to the University of Port Elizabeth in South Africa. Karen is registered with the Institute and Council of Architects in both Namibia and South Africa. She started her career in architecture in the office of Kerry McNamara Architects in Windhoek, where she became a director of the company. After ten years she opened her own architectural practice in Swakopmund, in 2003. Karen has served as vice president of the Namibia Institute of Architects and has been a member of the National Heritage Council, the Built Heritage Committee and the Swakopmund Municipal Aesthetics committee since 2006. Her passion in Architecture lies in designing appropriate architecture and making use of renewable energies, and she has received national and international awards.
At school Karen took part in various sports like hockey, tennis, athletics and swimming. She has a passion for music and art. She plays the recorder and has sung in school choirs from a very young age, and continued singing in her University choir. When she moved to Swakopmund she sought out a choir which she could join and was “elated” to have been accepted into the Cgals Chamber Choir of Namibia. Karen has been a member since 2004 and is currently the administrator of the choir, arranging all tours, designing and printing all choir portfolios, concert posters, tickets and programmes. She is also an avid painter and has painted all the choir Kaftans, depicting the rich Namibian wildlife. Karen has written lyrics to songs composed by Wilna Liebenberg, the conductor/director/composer/music teacher of the Cgals Chamber Choir and Wilna Music School.
Through music training at Wilna Music School, Karen has attained a Grade 5 in Music Theory with distinction and the advanced singing ensemble with her singing partner Wilna Liebenberg in Royal Schools, attaining an A+, Trinity GuildHall attaining 98% as well as UNISA advanced ensemble attaining 93%. She enjoys painting in oils and watercolours, woodwork, tennis, cycling, swimming and the outdoors.