Copperopolis, California: Jay Wilder finds strength in his crew during the 2020 fire season. This song tells the story of the Walker Fire, a blaze in Northeast California that grew tremendously in one night.
 
Co-written by Jay Wilder (story source), Caroline Rex-Waller, Nora Willauer, Alex Wilder, Langley Willauer
 
Vocals and Guitar: Alex Wilder
Fiddle: Maya French
Overdub Engineer: Jamie Oshima
 
Back when I turned 22
I worked a normal day
Dispatched to a burning hill
Through California haze
Why do I sign back up
Why fight another fire
 
We worked on the road til dark
Cut the line uphill
Keep running saws we’ll make the ridge
and catch this thing tonight
Why do I sign back up
Why fight another fire
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Cleveland, Ohio: “Show Up” is about wanting to live life untarnished by fear or doubt.
 
Co-written by Amara Sperber (story source) and Nora Willauer
 
Going to Colorado
Two months in the mountains
But I’ve got a veil of doubt
Fear it won’t won’t work out
 
I want to show up
I want to feel love
Intoxicating thrill
I want more
 
It was late autumn
He said he cared about me so much
But I’ve got a veil of doubt
Fear it wont work out
 
I want to show up
I want to feel love
Intoxicating thrill
I want more
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Minneapolis, Minnesota: Stanford Thompson visits George Floyd Square on election day to experience everything through his own eyes – rather than relying on the media.
 
Co-written by Stanford Thompson (story source), Will Foote, Jody Kerchner, Nora Willauer, and Malcolm Brooks
 
Performed by Andre Cardine
Produced by Andre Cardine
 
Last week I was restless
I wanted to visit the square
Where George Floyd was murdered
Something calling me there
 
I want to see what the eye can see
I know I need to make peace
With what the eye can see
 
My father would tell me
For him it was all real life
In Jackson, Mississippi
Not in black and white
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Rockport, Maine: What you remember does not need to define you.
 
Co-written by Mimi Bornstein and Nora Willauer
Performed by Daniella Hope
Produced by Andre Jamal and Daniella Hope
 
In 2018, Scientific American published Jim Hopper’s response to the Kavanaugh hearing. An expert in psychological trauma, Hopper likened sexual assault victims to soldiers suffering from PTSD. He says:
 
“Incomplete memories of sexual assault, including those with huge gaps, are understandable–if we learn the basics of how memory works and we genuinely listen to survivors. Such memories should be expected. They are similar to the memories of soldiers and police officers for things they’ve experienced in the line of fire. And a great deal of scientific research on memory explains why.” To read the full article, click here.
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A woman tells about why she’s heading back to her home state.
 
Performed by Louisa Stancioff
Co-written by a story source who prefers to remain anonymous, Louisa Stancioff, Mimi Bornstein, Amara Sperber, Malcolm Brooks

I am moving back to Maine
After several years away
Finally packing up
I’m coming home
I am moving for me
And not somebody else
I’m leaning into the warmth and known
 
Oh, I knew it wouldn’t be easy
But it shouldn’t be this hard
I feel lost and lonely
But I want to grow
I am moving for me
And not somebody else
I’m leaning into the warmth and known
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Camden, Maine: How much can and should one person do for the world? Caleb Edwards asks a heartfelt question.
 
Performed by Caleb Edwards and Will Foote
Co-written by Caleb Edwards (story source), Will Foote, and Malcolm Brooks
 
When I listen to the news in the morning
It always makes me feel trapped
And it scares me
That people who can do enough won’t
 
And me, I’m letting everyone everyone down
By not working harder
I want to go to bed at night
Not dreading the day to come
 
I want to come home and sit down
And say that was a good day
Now I can rest
I want to come home and sit down
And say that was a good day
I did my best
But can my best be good enough?
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Rockport, Maine: For Mimi Bornstein, the yearning to give can be so strong, especially in times of unexpected solitude.
 
Performed by Mimi Bornstein and Charles Brown
Co-written by Mimi Bornstein (story source) and Malcolm Brooks
 
Video Editing by Luke Fatora

Hands are made to help us to live
My hands long to give
 
My hands are empty
They long to share
With someone
Alone out there
Alone out there
 
Hands can dress a wound after a fight
And caress at night
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Li Meiling left her home country of China, but that doesn’t mean she can leave home. Her family has a long reach.
 
Co-written by Li Meiling (Story source) and Chloë Isis
 
I was raised by my grandma
My parents are always busy
When I wake in the morning
They’re already at work
They sent me to boarding school
Since kindergarten
My dad used to hit me
And he drinks a lot
 
I want to play guitar
Do art, and dance
And to have the right to love
Who I want to love
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Six women from across the U.S. have co-written songs from their stories of sexual misconduct and domestic violence. In this program, these songs are performed by up-and-coming artists.

“Songs of #MeToo—A Prelude of Change” pairs these songs with the preludes to Bach’s Cello Suites. As the women represented here find their voices through song, the cello finds its voice through Bach’s preludes. This program is a journey of discovery and becoming.
 
Something was Stolen from me
Performed by Halley Elwell, Co-written by Anonymous Nora Willauer
 
Bach Cello Suite No. 1, Prelude
Performed by Cecelia Swanson
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