About the project
Sound Stories is an oral histories and community arts project of Marlborough bringing together the voices of farmers, business owners, students, long-standing families, and new arrivals to the community. The project is funded by the New York State Rural and Traditional Arts Fellowship.
Every person with a tie to Marlborough is invited to contribute their own narrative, whether through spoken word, poetry, music, or visual art, to this evolving collective sound collage.
To ensure these legacies last for generations, all finished interviews will be archived online through the Marlboro Free Library, with a written transcript of each interview.
The interviews will be available to listen to at the library as well as on a public sound platform to foster and promote local histories that help shape our future.
Phase 1: Gathering Voices. We had a goal of collecting as many community interviews as possible by September 1st and reached 80! We are still interviewing anyone who is interested.
Phase 2: Composition. Selected snippets from these recordings are integrated with local field recordings and musical elements into a sound collage for our public sound walks. More on what Sound Walks are is below.
Phase 3: Guided sound walks and community gathering. In the village of Marlboro and along the Marlboro Nature Trail, attendees go on an hour-long sound walk that engages the senses and deepens our listening as we hear living memories through a unique sonic experience.
Our community gathering on October 18th at The Falcon Underground was incredible! So many came out to celebrate the project including local farmers, community members, students, business owners, political leaders, artists, and newcomers to our town. We had amazing local bands, musicians, poets and an open mic to honor the vibrant spirit of our town!
Following the Fall debut, the initiative will return in Spring 2027 featuring a brand new walk through the hamlet of Milton and additional theatrical and sonic elements along the Marlboro Nature Trail as well!
Project Launch: Oct. 16, 17, 18
MORE Walks: Friday, Oct. 23rd and Friday, Oct. 30th at 4pm
To reserve your spot, please click on one or more of the events listed below in the Upcoming Events section
What is a
Sound Walk?
Part Deep Listening Experience
Part Introspective Meditation
Deep Listening® is a practice cultivated by composer Pauline Oliveros who invites us to listen to everything in every way. We listen to our environment, ourselves, and one another through a compassionate, non-judgmental lens.
Part Community Gathering and Performance
Sound Walks invite us to commune in nature or in urban environments with ears wide open, curiosity and creativity as we as the listeners and walkers become a new part of the landscape.
Sound Walks help us to slow down, observe,
take in information that we'd otherwise walk past or ignore. When we are walking with intention and connection, we are able to experience the world through listening in a unique way.
Some Sound Walks can entail bits of history, lectures, or guides. Ours will highlight the voices of our community of Marlborough to paint a picture of the diverse and deeply rooted history of Marlborough.
Part History Lesson
How to get involved
We would love to work with you on this project!
Here are the ways you can be invovled:
1. Reach out to us via email at soundstoriesproject@gmail.com to receive a packet that includes an introduction to taking oral histories, a series of questions to ask your interviewees, and consent forms for both interviewee and interviewer to be recorded and for all voices to be included in the sound art project.
2. Take oral histories of your family, friends, neighbors on your phone or personal recording device if you have one and email us the sound file at soundstoriesproject@gmail.com
Or you can borrow one of our dedicated audio recorders at the Marlboro Free Library!
3. Participate on the sound walks as one of our walking guides
4. Participate on the sound walks as a performing artist
Reach out to us with any questions at:
soundstoriesproject@gmail.com
Why Oral Histories?
The Sound of Memory
When we take the time to listen to someone, we are giving them an opportunity not only to connect to a part of themselves but to provide a space for expression of thoughts and feelings, for memories, dreams, and ideas to unfold.
Voices of the Community
Our communities are a reflection and embodiment of each individual. We can shape, change, and cherish all the ways in which people shape how a community sustains itself, develops and grows.
Our Shared History
Our community stories, bridging generations through the power of storytelling and collaborative arts will be archived at the Marlboro Free Library. We will continue to provide opportunities for the sharing of our oral histories through the library and the donated audio recorders provided by the project.
Sound Walks and Other events
Marlboro Village Sound WalkFri, Oct 30The Falcon
Sound Walk along Marlboro Nature TrailFri, Oct 30Marlboro Nature Trail- Sound Walk along Marlboro Nature TrailFri, Oct 23Marlboro Nature Trail
- Sound Walk in the village of MarlboroThu, Oct 22The Falcon
Community Gathering at The Falcon UndergroundSun, Oct 18The Falcon
Sound Walk in the hamlet of MarlboroSun, Oct 18The Falcon- Sound Walk in the Hamlet of MarlboroSat, Oct 17The Falcon
Sound Walk along Marlboro Nature TrailSat, Oct 17Marlboro Nature Trail- Sound Walk along Marlboro Nature TrailFri, Oct 16Marlboro Nature Trail
Below are the basic questions we ask during the interviews and these can be answered any way you like!
It's up to you how much you want to share. These oral histories are yours to share with your community, family and friends. The interviews will be incorporated into a sound collage with the use of snippets of the interviews along with sound and music. The interviews in their entirety will be archived at the Marlboro Free Library and on the platform Sound Cloud.
SOUND STORIES ORAL HISTORY QUESTIONS:
1. Can you please tell me your first and last name?
2. Where were you born?
3. What is the year in which you were born?
4. Where did you go to school?
5. How long have you or your family lived in Marlborough? (years, generations, months, etc.)
6. Can you share what it was like growing up in Marlborough?
7. Can you share what it’s been like to live in Marlborough if you came here from another town?
8. What is a story about a moment in your life that is significant that you’d like to share?
9. What is the most important part of living in this community for you?
10. What is your current occupation? (working, retired, farmer, cashier, librarian, artist, etc.)
11. Can you talk a little about what you do for a living or what you did if you are retired, and how your work has impacted your life? Feel free to share details!
12. Do you have any passions, hobbies or interests that you’d like to talk about?
13. What strikes you as a curious, mysterious, funny, or even secret aspect of Marlborough?
14. Is there a song you can recall that has meaning for you? What is the name? Would you care to
hum or sing a few bars of this song?
15. Is there a particular sound that has meaning or a strong association for you, like the sound of
footsteps, or a creaky gate on a fence, a coffee pot percolating, the sound of your family at
the dinner table, the rustle of leaves in the trees, your pet, etc.
16. What future do you hope for the community, and how might you help create it?
17. If there was something you would say to yourself in the past, whether it’s yesterday or 50
years ago, what would you say?
18. If there was something you would say to your future self, whether it’s yourself tomorrow or
fifty years from now, what would you say?
19. Is there anything you’d like to ask me?
20. Is there anything else you’d like us to know about you that we haven’t asked?