In the fall of 2017, Jack Straw teaching artists visited Weston Cooper’s ELL students at Meany Middle School to write and record their own original pieces on the theme “My favorite place or memory.”

Jack Straw writer Kathleen Flenniken was there to help the students with their writing, and then Jack Straw voice coaches worked with them to hone their live reading skills.

In December, Jack Straw engineers and voice coaches visited the school again and set up the gear in the library to record all of the students’ pieces.

You can listen to the final productions below.

The Jack Straw artist team included vocal coaches Katya Landau, Andrew McGinn, and Meg McLynn; audio engineers Joel Maddox, and Ayesha Ubayatilaka; designer Levi Fuller; and Executive Director Joan Rabinowitz.

This project produced by Jack Straw Cultural Center and Meany Middle School with the generous support of Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation, the Washington State Arts Commission, and individual contributors.

Artists