The Original Stolen Voices Project Video - 2014

The Stolen Voices Project

Founded in 2014 and the recipient of Berklee’s Walter Harp Liberal Arts Music and Society Award, The Stolen Voices Project is an ongoing effort to raise awareness of the realities of sexual assault and provide a resource to survivors through the power of musical expression. The Project started as a song and music video featuring 59 singers and speakers from 7 Boston area schools and the Boston community. Because of my own experiences and those close to me, I felt compelled to create something that would shed light on sexual assault and share information about the very common so-called “grey-area” assaults known as acquaintance rape. I collaborated with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and Hollaback Boston to compose a song that would accurately and respectfully depict some of the many reactions and responses that survivors struggle with after sexual violence occurs. I then engineered, produced, mixed and mastered the recording using Pro Tools, and filmed the video in collaboration with an Emerson College Student, Ryan Fitzmartin. Each singer chose the lyric they most connected with to record – that choice was meant to be a cathartic expression; many of the performers were survivors and I wanted the Project to be a therapeutic experience for the singers and speakers as well as for the eventual viewers. The Project was a great success, earning press and awards including a Daily Point of Light Award from the U.S. Government. But I always had a much bigger vision of what I wanted the Project to become. After years of touring and writing with my award-winning all-female band Flight of Fire, where I performed songs about trauma recovery and resilience and saw first hand what a difference I can make with my songs, I have decided it’s time for me to take my goals to the next level and get the training I need in order to make my ambitions a reality. I have also been teaching since before I graduated, and I’ve found indescribable fulfillment in helping children and adults to develop their confidence and talents. I want to combine all my skills – producing, songwriting, teaching and mentoring - to develop the Project into an organization that works to encourage survivors to take their voices back – to use music to heal, express themselves, and connect with their communities after personal tragedy. I want to use the resources at Berklee Valencia to learn as much as I can about producing and designing a new kind of format that will allow trauma survivors of all kinds to make their own music out of their pain and take that music home as a companion during dark times. I want to found a unique kind of studio that offers songwriting coaching and recording services for people of all skill levels to create music that will lead to healing and catharsis that will show them that they’re not alone. I want people to be able to create something beautiful without necessarily having musical talent – to bring in their poetry, their journals, or just conduct an interview that can be transformed into something eternal that they can keep forever – their own story of recovery and strength. Another goal of The Project would be to set up multimedia performance opportunities for any clients that are interested, and these events would not only serve as performance therapy for those involved, but also as community events that would continue the international discussion on sexual violence and trauma and raise awareness of the issues involved. For all these lofty goals, I need to learn more about production, multimedia projects, working with non-musicians and musicians alike in an intimate and highly creative and flexible setting. I believe that the Music Production Technology and Innovation program is a perfect fit for what I want to explore and build upon in my graduate studies. I want to make as much of a positive difference as I can with what I’ve been given, and I hope that Berklee Valencia will be the place where I can begin to develop The Stolen Voices Project into a true resource for trauma survivors. 

Maverick - A Concept Album

If The Stolen Voices Project is not suitable for a graduate thesis project, I want the admissions committee to know that I also plan to further the development of my own artistic voice by using the advanced skills I wish to gain from the program to produce a concept album based around trauma recovery and resilience. My siblings and I ended contact with our abusive parents 10 years ago, and I have spent my energy since then on my own recovery, made possible by my music, and on writing songs to inspire others never to give up on discovering who they were truly meant to be in spite of the horrors so many of us have faced. I would love to work on my album in Valencia and to learn how to incorporate cutting edge production techniques and multimedia resources in order to transform my personal story into music that will help others heal as well.