Audio Projects

Four black and white icons. From left to right: (1) a person pushing cart with a speaker and a large guitar floating behind him/her; (2) a person with headphones in front of a microphone; (3) a person sitting at a desk in front of a computer; and (4) the legs of a person coming out of a computer screen.

These four icons function as a visual summary of this section. This summary genre was created by Kyle Tezak. The icons, all Creative Commons, are from The Noun Project. Icon titles and creators in order of appearance: “Roadie” by Luis Prado; “Announcer” by Luis Prado; “Worker” by Bart Laugs; and “Immersive Experience” by Luis Prado.

This section contains nine sonic compositions by our student–composers that fall into seven different genres: audio drama (fiction), audio drama (non-fiction), oral history, poetry and prose, audio journal, audio memoir, and audio essay. The projects may be browsed by author name, project title, or genre.

Audio Drama (Fiction)

Kate Artz: "The Conversation" draws concepts from Tracey Emin’s art quilt “I Do Not Expect to Be A Mother But I Do Expect To Die Alone” to create an audio drama depicting a one-sided telephone conversation.

Megan Grandmont: "Night Visions: An Audio Drama," an original work performed by Megan Grandmont and actor Paul Melendy, was inspired by the cover of “The Dreamer’s Dictionary.” It captures a moment in the lives of a couple, Man and Woman, as Man reveals and comes to terms with the reason why his dreams have begun to increasingly intrude on his waking life.

Audio Drama (Non-Fiction)

Anne Mooney: "Claimed Experience: Owning the Past" tells the story of Anne Mooney’s experience with sexual assault, the familial issues that followed, and her journey to find closure. The story unfolds as the present-day narrator enters into a compelling dialogue with the journal entries of her younger self.

Oral History

Julia Bennett: "Beneath the Ashes" was inspired by a news article from 1959 which reports on an accident in which Julia Bennett’s grandmother was badly burned. She composed her piece as an oral history comparing the newspaper’s account of the event with her mother’s.

Mike Rand: "Hit and Run: An Oral History" is a narration told by Mike Rand’s twin brother, Chris Rand, that Mike edited with music. It is a detailed account of one of Chris’ most harrowing life experiences and a story that they both felt needed to be told.

Poetry and Prose

M.P. Carver: "Laika," a mix of poetry, prose, music, and sound clips, was inspired by a picture of the dog Laika in her spacesuit. In 1957 aboard Sputnik-2, Laika became the first earthling to orbit our planet, four years before the first human, Yuri Gagarin. She died hours into the launch. This audio project sheds a little light on her story.

Audio Journal

Danah Hashem: In "A Week in March," an audio journal, Danah Hashem’s goal was to explore and capitalize on the unique affordances of the sonic mode in an effort to preserve and chronicle her daily memories in the style of a journal.

Audio Memoir

Dan Harris: "Grapefruits, Dipsticking, and Teddy" narrates Dan Harris’ frustratingly funny experience in a first-year teacher training program and its impact on his career as an educator.

Audio Essay

Amy Zimmerman: "Video Games: Not Just For Kids" is an audio project about the misnomer of video games. A male voice displays his love for video games and how the have changed his life for the better, while a mean God-like voice berates him about his life choices.