Miller grew up in Saskatchewan, where she began studying piano and organ at age 8. She became the organist and choir Conductor at her church when she was 13. She received her bachelor's degree in Music from the University of Saskatchewan in 1991, and received both her masters (1997) and doctoral (2000) degrees in conducting from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two sons.

Previous positions she has held include Conductor and Artistic Director of Michigan Opera Works (Ann Arbor), Conductor of Opera McGill (Montréal), Conductor of the ERGO contemporary chamber ensemble, and assistant Conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival (Carmel), 1997–2001. She has also made appearances conducting the National Arts Centre Orchestra (Ottawa), Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, Toronto Symphony, Orchestra London, CBC Radio Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Naples Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Elgin Symphony, Hartford Symphony, and Bern Symphony Orchestra.

She is currently Music Director of the Victoria Symphony, a post she has held since 2003. Prior to that, she was Assistant Conductor (2000–03) and then Associate Conductor (2003–04) of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. At the time of her appointment to the Victoria Symphony, Miller was 33 years old, and was the youngest Conductor of a major Canadian orchestra.