Songwriting and Musical Storytelling

In this course we will approach the art of songwriting through a multidisciplinary lens, with a focus on storytelling. We will explore character, place, ecology, landscape, history and archival research to discover old stories and inspire new stories for telling in our songs. We will use Kamara Thomas' storywork-in-development "Tularosa: An American Dreamtime" as springboard for exploration, and students will then create musical storytelling works that reflect their multidisciplinary interests (film/video/visual art/etc.). Students may also be invited to participate in various ways in the "Tularosa" concert at the end of the semester.