Oregon Symphony Lullaby Project

Hi Friends,

It has been an honor and truly amazing experience to be a songwriter and arranger for the Oregon Symphony Lullaby Project.

So many other wonderful songwriters were involved: Edna Vazquez, Storm Large, Stephanie Schneiderman, Anna Tivel, Marianna Thielen, Reece Marshburn, and LaRhonda Steele. We each partnered with amazingly strong homeless moms, to write songs full of love for their children.

Some incredible musicians from the Oregon Symphony added their magic to the songs: Chien Tan on violin, Marilyn de Oliveira on cello, Alicia DiDonato Paulsen and Zach Galatis on flute, Evan Kehlmann on bassoon, and Sergio Carreno on percussion.

You can listen to all of the lullabies now on Soundcloud.

I worked with a mom named Tasha, and her love for her daughters Breanna and Courtney was evident when she described them. Breanna was her artist that filled her life with beauty, and Courtney was her active one that filled her life with energy. Both girls got a verse of their own in the song. In the chorus, Tasha expressed her most important words to them: that she loved them, she was proud of them, and that she hoped they would put God first in their lives. Tasha is originally from New Orleans, and she wanted her song to be a little jazzy, but peaceful. She titled her song, "My Angels."

Tom Hallman Jr., from the Oregonian, wrote a beautiful article about my time with Tasha and the Lullaby project. Read here.

We celebrated all of the lullabies in a free community concert. The room was full of families, friends, Oregon Symphony musicians and songwriters, and the gifts of music and motherly love connected us all! A video of the concert was live streamed and is now available on the Oregon Symphony website.

It's in projects like this that I find my most meaningful work as an artist. Lately I've been calling it "working at the intersection of creativity and empathy." Thank you for letting me share it with you.

love, peace, and music,

- naomi