The Miller/Nizam family has lived all around the world. Dad Brendan is Australian and Mom Tanya is from the UK and Bangladesh. As international school educators, the family has lived in eight countries and their two kids Brishti (age 16) and Zain (age 14) have lived in six. Although the kids have a nomadic lifestyle in a way, the family is happy to be spending their high school years in Beijing and consider themselves lucky to have been in Beijing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Brendan is the High School Head of Science and Tanya is the TOK Coordinator at the Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), where Brishti and Zain attend.
Meet the Miller/Nizam family
Brishti
I play the guitar. I’ve been playing since I was six years old and I’m hoping to perform at “Rock in the Park” which is a music festival at my school, later this year if all goes well. I like listening to rock music and like sharing music with my friends in other countries around the world. I’m trying to get into different types of genres that way. Sometimes we stream music together, regardless of our different time-zones, and that made the COVID-19 lockdown a lot less lonely and much more fun.
Tanya
I like any music that I find fun to sing along to – mainly I’d say I am drawn to strong female vocalists who experiment with different styles. I’m currently listening to Sara Bareilles quite a bit. Beijing has been a great place for me to participate in singing groups and bands – I currently sing with Stevie Mac and the Mac Daddies and am loving every moment. Sometimes as a parent, I have found my children come to as many of my performances as I go to theirs. I love seeing them in the audience and I hope it shows them that you’re never too old to get out and try new things.
Brendan
Seeing my wife and children being musical, I thought I’d better do something! During the COVID-19 lockdown, I decided to start learning to play the bass guitar – never too old to learn something! I like rock and heavy metal. I like bands like Alice in Chains and Sound Garden, Fear Factory, and Tool, to name a few. I never had the opportunity to learn an instrument as a child, so I’m really pleased to see my own children play. For my birthday each year, the family ‘surprises’ me with a different song that they perform together and it’s probably the best part of the day for me.
Zain
I like rock music. I don’t have a specific band that I listen to all the time – I listen to songs from many, but my favorite is probably Green Day. I’ve played the piano and guitar in the past but my main interest is the drums. I think I’ll stick to this now as drums have a unique feel to them and it feels good for me. For me, I don’t have any plans to be part of a band — playing the drums by myself is fun already and I have my own drum kit in the basement of our house.
KEEP READING: Family Favorites! Different Personalities Keep the He/Ya Family’s Life Interesting
Photos: Uni You
This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 October issue
