When I kicked off this project in March, I thought I would keep a weekly blog on the site to help give authors and artists ideas for submissions and to keep a steady conversation going with site visitors. As it turns out, I’ve seen an overwhelming response to Stories of Music that has kept me quite busy and has given me the opportunity to learn from all of you. I received a beautiful story with the lesson that if you play a musical instrument, you should focus on how good it makes you feel rather than if people think you’re good enough; I’ve seen photography that captures musical concepts in nature; I’ve read stories of how music can transform people, from simply comforting a person during their final moments to healing the sick to making someone who has done a lot of bad in their life see how they can turn it all around.

I am moved on a daily basis by the submissions I’m receiving, so I want to recognize all of you who have sent us your work for Stories of Music. Your willingness to share experiences so close to your hearts and your enthusiasm for this project will no doubt help us exceed even my own grand expectations of what we can create together. Thank you.

With a little over a week to go, we’ve received more than 600 submissions and counting. I encourage anyone who is considering submitting a work to do so. We are still deep in review and will most likely develop a second volume in the near future, which is another opportunity to feature your work.

It is our goal to contact each and every person who has submitted works by June 15th to let you know if your work has been selected. As we finalize these selections, we will also post updates here on the blog, so please stay tuned!

Thanks again,
Holly