A difficult song to write

How do you write a song about the Holocaust? This is a question I asked myself when I was approached by a woman who wanted to give her mother, a Holocaust survivor, the gift of a song. My response was to welcome to the opportunity, but inside the seeds of doubt began to take root….

And the beat goes on

My days off from work are fast becoming a time for songwriting in the STS tradition. Thus far in my experience creating songs from spoken stories, I have worked with people in my community and beyond, as well as from people who are no longer living but whose stories have been captured on film in…

The Chorus Should Speak to Everyone

I recently wrote about the challenge of creating a chorus. I explained that the chorus should speak to everyone who hears the song. The more relevant the message and emotion expressed is to each person, the more apt they will be to want to sing. So, how can I create a chorus about a female…

The Past Is Close Behind: A Holocaust Story-to-Song

This past week, I began my first post-doc Story-to-Song. I spent a few hours on a Tuesday afternoon working with a woman (I will call her Amy) who was the sole member of her family to survive the Holocaust. Her daughter (I will call her Dana) had attended a program offered by Lowell National Historical…