Search Interviews

World-class Irish fiddler Liz Carroll talks with friend and bodhran player Mike Austin about the Irish music community in Chicago, Liz's ideas about learning music, and her time teaching at the Old Town School of Folk Music in the 1980s....

A conversation between Rebecca Armstrong & Mareva Lindo. This conversation was recorded at the school on July 13th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

Kathleen Ulanday talks with mentor and friend, Nicole Pradas about her childhood memories, the different aspects of her life, and what the future may hold.

Shirley shares stories about aging, about her passions of kids, dance, and reading. She grew up in California as the daughter of a cowboy and has lived in San Francisco for over 40 years. She is 93 and hates the...

After interviewing my mom, I’ve learned that her personality has always been consistent from her past to the present.

Don Stinson (35) has a conversation with his student Noah Riley (17) about their community in Joliet, Illinois, the role of music education, and their journey in the high school band.

This interview was about the impact of dance on my dance teacher.

Sometime in the late 1970s, Skip Landt walked into the Old Town School on Armitage to sing in the community chorus. Today he's been teaching harmonica at the school for over 30 years. Here he talks to student-turned-teacher Rick Sherry,...

Lexie Hernandez, seventeen, sat down with her aunt and inspiration, Rebecca Santalo. She is the coach of the Coral Reef Senior High School dance team in Miami, Florida. For the past twenty-five years, Mrs. Santalo has been winning national championships...

My grandfather lives in a world opposite the one he grew up in. This is his story.

Clare (26) interviews her good friend LJ (27) about addiction recovery, family bonds, and shared memories.

Brooke Service (16) interviews Brooke Holmes (15) on her future life and general interests.

Traveling while black means researching more than ticket prices and exchange rates. There's a savviness to surviving racism in the United States and abroad as colorism, cultural appropriation, and xenophobia abound. Robin's faced it all as a black woman teaching...

One Small Step conversation partners Diane Tucker (68) and Moya Nordlund (67) discuss politics, wealth redistribution, education, mentorship, and the arts.

We talk about our feelings about performing arts, specifically dance and other life experiences and opinions.

Spouses, Hans Westermark (72) and Lorraine Westermark [no age given], share a conversation about their childhoods and how they first met. Hans also talks about how he came to the United States from Sweden, and Lorraine talks about her career...

Sylvia Sukop (62) interviews her friend and colleague Angela daSilva (68) about her work preserving Black history and culture in St. Louis and Missouri.

Old Town School teachers Barb Silverman and Jess McIntosh talk about teaching at the school, experiences as women in a male-dominated music community, and reflections on their friendship over the years. Barb is a clogger and multi-instrumentalist who performs in...

Friends Ruth Foote [no age given] and Grace Hamilton-Mayfield (63) discuss Grace’s journey to opening the Hamilton Academy of the Arts, a performing arts academy for children of color in Lafayette and St. Landry parishes.

Old Town School teaching artist Steve Rosen talks with his coworker and one-time fiddle student Mareva Lindo about his long tenure at the school. Steve is a member of long-running string band The Volo Bogtrotters, winner of the Midwest Fiddle...

A conversation between friends, bluegrass musicians and fellow Old Town School coworkers Colby Maddox and John Huber. Colby has been managing the Resource Center and teaching mandolin at the school since 1999. John has been working at the school since...

Raúl Fernández talks with his bandmate and mentee Camilo Rincón about Chicago's Mexican traditional music community, its connections to the Old Town School, and their experiences together as part of the group Jarochicanos. Raúl has been involved at the school...

Folksinger and Old Town School teacher Ed Holstein talks with his student Rick Weiland about growing up on Chicago's south side, stories of the city's folk scene over the past 50+ years, and memories of his brother and collaborator Fred...

Dance studio owner, Ms Donna, discusses her experiences of being a female business owner.

We talk about the future of multiculturalism