Search Interviews

A conversation between Mehran Jalili & Maya Tatiana. This conversation was recorded at the school on July 25th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

Paolo Pesce speaks to PJ Pesce about 9/11. During the interview, PJ talks about friends that were in New York at the time, where he was, and much more! This interview was recorded on 1/6/20. Paolo was 15, and PJ...

“The plane was so close the building I was in was shaking.” It was January 8, 2020, and Will Keller had just begun his interview with his mom, Mccurrah Keller. Will wanted to learn more about her experiences when she...

A conversation between friends, longtime musical collaborators, and fellow Old Town School teachers Jonas Friddle and Anna Jacobson. Jonas is a singer, songwriter and old-time banjo player whose songs have received The John Lennon Songwriting Award, First Place in the...

Meet Bonnie Leigh! From picking up a guitar for $5 at a yard sale, to establishing herself as one of South Jersey’s most respected musicians, Bonnie has certainly come a long way. In this interview, she shares her best performing...

A conversation between Ron Cohen & Bob Riesman. This conversation was recorded at the school on May 8th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

A conversation between Larry Rand & Skip Landt. This conversation was recorded at the school on July 26th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

Despite being in Japan for the earthquake in 2011, Gerald Hirshberg doesn't tell that story, because stories of interacting with the place and the people are far more earthshattering. In November of 2017, Kate Hirshberg interviewed her grandfather, Gerald 'Jerry'...

Musician and historian Stephen Wade talks with his friend Matt Brown about Stephen's musical beginnings, studying banjo with his mentor Fleming Brown in the 1970s, and his reflections on the Old Town School then and now. Since learning to play...

“We had to flee. We didn’t plan it, just in a matter of two hours we were out of the country.” My name is Puzant Kiwanian and I am 15 years old. The story you will hear in this recording...

In today’s society people are celebrating LGBTQ people with parades and festivals, rather than spreading hatred towards them, but this wasn’t always the case. In November of 2018, 14 year old Sofia Brandon-Schwartz interviewed her father, Carlo Brandon to learn...

Saladeen Alamin has been teaching Latin Dance at the Old Town School for over two decades. In this conversation with his wife, Rosita Ragin-Alamin, they talk about his early years as an acrobatic mambo dancer, his reflections on teaching at...

Amidst Thanksgiving preparations of 2019, Linda Pfeffer speaks with her grandson, Nico Joel, while his mother talks about teriyaki chicken in the background. Linda shares about her relationship with God, Catholicism, and spirituality in general that resonates with Nico as...

During this interview with my Grandmother we discussed the hardships and the positives of living life in England post-war. We touched upon her life as a child and the opportunities she got to encounter throughout her life. My grandmother explained...

In 2001, my dad, Rodney Barnes traveled to China to work on the movie Rush Hour 2. During his work trip, he did not expect to witness a religious persecution. He witnessed the Falun Gong setting themselves on fire for...

I spoke with my grandma about her childhood and what is was like raising my mom and aunt.

In this conversation between Old Town School Latin percussion instructor Carlos Cornier and his coworker Mareva Lindo, Carlos talks about the musical origins that shaped his interest in percussion and Latin music; getting into and out of Scientology to ultimately...

In a both scary and touching interview, 15-year old Milo Silverstein sits down with his British Nana, Keitha Silverstein, and hears all about her childhood growing up outside of London in the 1940’s during World War ll. Keitha paints a...

Being in love can be difficult, hower if two people love each other so much they make it seem almost as if it’s easy. Just ask Anabelle and Richard Sher. Throughout their journey of being in love, Annabelle and Richard...

Having a true appreciation for relaxation, Linda Pfeffer speaks with her grandson, Jake Joel, while sitting on the beach in Hawaii on Thanksgiving of 2017. Linda shares an abundance of stories, each with a golden lining, that resonates with Jake...

In 1978 Mark Dvorak took a guitar class with Mike Dunbar at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Today, Mike is a bandleader and multi-instrumentalist living in Nashville, Tenn., and Mark has just celebrated 30 years teaching at the...

It is 2018 in Los Angeles, California and fifteen year old Emma Goss interviews Olga Friedman, her beloved Grandmother, about her journey to Los Angeles from Sonora, Mexico. The interview takes place in the bedroom of Emma on the morning...

Hello my name is Wesley Feldman, I am fourteen years old, and I’m interviewing my mom, Dawn olmstead, on January 6, 2020, in Los angeles. As a hard working woman, my mom has earned everything she has achieved, and she...

A conversation between Alex White & Jimmy Tomasello. This conversation was recorded at the school on July 25th, 2017. Go to www.oldtownschool.org/StoryCorps to hear selected excerpts from interviews collected as part of the StoryCorps-Old Town School partnership.

A conversation between Andrew Sa and Mareva Lindo. Andrew talks about his experiences taking the class Songwriting and the Creative Process with Sue Demel and describes the experience as group therapy and recommends the experience to everyone because it teaches...