Clicky

IN TUNE: The ever-evolving story of Jordan Hope Miller

|

Through her recurring column “In Tune,” musician and writer Jacqueline Routh reports on mainstay and up-and-coming performers from across the Long Island music scene.

Jordan Hope Miller is not only a musician, a devout yogi, spiritual advocate, brother, son, and friend. Jordan is also a transgender male who is devoting his life to bringing awareness and understanding to the world.

“There is a void of untold stories and visibility within the transgender community,” says Jordan, a 2006 graduate of Patchogue-Medford High School who’s also worked for years at BrickHouse Brewery.

At 17, Jordan first came out as gay to friends and family. Navigating life still proved to be difficult as Jordan still felt like there was a part of him that hadn’t truly been brought to life yet.

During this time, he decided to aggressively pursue music and began playing all over New York City while simultaneously managing himself. This soon proved to be an unsustainable model as he quickly burned himself out on the circuit.

After a barrage of tragic events in his life, he realized that he could no longer run from his truth and identity, and came out as transgender in 2014. That same year, Jordan began hormone therapy, thus beginning his journey from female to male.

“I am deathly afraid of losing my voice,” he had often said at the time.

Jordan was about to embark on a journey that would lead to him finding a voice more powerful than he could have ever imagined.

Hette and Jordan

Looking ahead to the summer of 2016, Jordan traveled to traveled to Dharamsala, India, to begin his yoga teacher training. Little did he know he was also on his way to meet Hette Heiberg, a 28-year-old woman from Oslo, Norway, who would soon become his wife.

They fell in love and were married in the city of Pernam Goa by a friend one evening in a picturesque setting as the sun set behind them.

“When I met Hette, it was like I picked up a book that I always knew existed, and there it was … right in front of me,” Jordan told me recently.

The majority of Hettes’ family embraced their union with open arms, though not all were so receptive. For Hette and Jordan, this didn’t come as entirely shocking, but it hurt all the same.

Since then, Jordan has returned home and begun recording a new album with Andy Falco of the Infamous Stringdusters. This album has an entirely new feel compared to his previous projects, in that it is completely acoustic and will not include any other musicians.

The album is titled “My beloved” in honor of Jordan’s wife, who has not been able to join him in the U.S. quite yet.

It is their hope to touch hearts through music, love, and helping others.

A documentary is also in the works for these two. This will explore their experience as a couple and the specific challenges and joys that they have faced.  For Jordan, “Transitioning was a spiritual experience, a struggle and the ultimate form of self-love,” he says.  

For Hette, loving a person who is transgender has been eye opening and heart expanding — yet challenging.

Now the two must navigate social and economic struggles to be together, making it their personal mission to share their vulnerability in hopes of opening the hearts and minds of other people.

Jordan has launched a campaign through IndieGoGo in an effort to raise funds for the production of his album and a documentary tittle “Their Hope: An Untold Narrative of Trans Experience.”

“This project will not only lift up the LGBTQ community, but it will also lift up their loved ones and those in their sphere of influence,” he says.

“Love is the invincible, invisible thread that binds us together.”

This month, Jordan leaves for Peru to be with Hette and begin filming.

Jordan Hope Miller at 16 years old during his first open mic.

Our Local Supporters