The Sound of Heartland America
Clackity, Clackity… Strum, Strum… Thump, Thump… Such non-glamourous sounds, and yet symbolic of the early lives of three local musicians: Kyle Dillingham, Peter Markes and Brent Saulsbury. Separately, they are significant musicians, but together, they form a band known as Kyle Dillingham and Horseshoe Road. They perform a blend of music that includes jazz, country,…
Read More >
Hope for Ukraine’s Deaf Refugees
When Becky and Daniel Woodall began their non-profit foundation for deaf people in 2014, they never expected war relief to become their focus. Their efforts, however, are helping hundreds of deaf refugees from Ukraine to navigate and survive evacuation. “The deaf are typically last in line to get information, especially in smaller villages,” Becky said….
Read More >
Quiet Kismet: Songs and Stories of Surviving
A songwriter is always looking for great stories to turn into music. Bryan Mitschell, a sound technician at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), was on the hunt for songwriting material when he found a goldmine of human-experience stories at a homeless shelter. The result led to a groundbreaking project in which Bryan interviewed homeless…
Read More >
Find-A-Grave
Geraldine (Geri) Pfeiffer grew up near a cemetery in Florida. As a child, she played among the tombstones and roller skated the paths for exercise. When Geri got a job working at a donut shop, she took an early-morning shortcut through the cemetery, rather than going around it. It held no fear for her. “As…
Read More >
True Frenemies: Building A Board Game
In the game of life, designing a board game was not in the cards for Derek White’s family–at least not until a Sunday conversation after church in 2018. “Did you enjoy Bible class today?” Derek asked his two tween-aged children. “Not really, Dad. You talked too much.” The following Saturday, Derek, who was co-teaching the…
Read More >
Kangwa’s Greenwood Opera
Edmond native, Kangwa Mundende, had no idea that a middle school orchestra class would direct the musical course of his life. He was that “normal” kid without a musical background who is now composing a landmark opera about the Tulsa Race Massacre. He was also that kid who never learned about the Tulsa riots in…
Read More >
Chazlen’s Unknown Instruments
Chazlen Rook finds it extremely satisfying to play a musical instrument from her personal collection that audiences have never before seen or heard. “Everyone takes it for granted that we know all the instruments–so when I bring out my nyckelharpa, with its little wooden pegs and 16 strings, they react with such curiosity!” The nyckelharpa…
Read More >
Hyperbarics for Heroes
Oxygen. It’s Earth’s most abundant element and vital to human life. Oxygen also has incredible healing powers that are still being discovered. Paul and Sharon Conrady are witnesses to the miraculous results that can come from immersion into an environment of pure, pressurized oxygen. Although they are not doctors, they have seen wounds heal, stroke…
Read More >
