MAKING A DIFFERENCE: MY VOICE MUSIC

As part of 2014’s Portland Advanced Multimedia Storytelling Workshop, members of UO SOJC (University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication) profiled Isaac, one of MVM’s longtime students. Check out the video below!

A Song For Nobody from UO SOJC on Vimeo.

“Isaac is a dude on a journey,” says Ian Mouser, founder and executive director of My Voice Music (MVM). Like many of the young musicians involved with MVM, Isaac faced social and emotional challenges and music provides him with an outlet.

My Voice Music is a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that engages youth in music and performance in order to promote self-esteem, social skills and emotional expression. MVM engages approximately 1,600 youth each year in music and performance in order help them to cope, heal, and thrive through music, while developing the skills necessary to create a fulfilling life for their future.

“The difference between being here and being anywhere else is that I can freely express my thoughts and my feelings,” Isaac says, “It’s such a great environment to create and to make connections, and to not have to worry about people judging you. I feel like this is a place of acceptance, and there aren’t very many places like that.”

Isaac is currently recording his first EP of songs he wrote through the program.”

Watch the video of Isaac writing and recording a song and speaking about MVM here: http://www.opb.org/news/series/newvoices/making-a-difference-my-voice-music/