Soundings: Collected Stories from Bloomington’s Music Community

Bloomington, Indiana is a university town and cultural mecca of 60,000. Not only is the town home to the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music—one of the most renowned institutions for the study of music in the world—but also the town itself is a nexus of musical activity, brimming with exceptionally talented local musicians. This book presents a collection oral history stories from the lives of twenty individuals who have been key figures in Bloomington’s musical community over the past several decades, including Joshua Bell, David N. Baker Jr., Alain Barker, Cary Boyce, Reverend Marvin Chandler, Al Cobine, Malcolm Dalglish, Lloyd “TJ” Jones, Ron Kadish, Grey Larsen, Freda Love, Paul M.K.S. Mahern, Carrie Newcomer, Karl Schuessler, Janis Stockhouse, Chris Swanson, Carmen Téllez, Camilla Williams, Lee Williams, and Mimi Zweig.

In this collection of stories, the narrators remark upon music in Bloomington past and present. They share their personal feelings about their art, their thoughts on the creative process, and their path into music. Their stories are full of wisdom and tradition. These people have a sense of independence and a do-it-yourself spirit that can be likened to that of the 1920s when Hoagy Carmichael took the initiative to host jazz dances on the north side of the courthouse square. The portraits and supplementary photographs capture the sense of place and humble spirit which underlie the text. The book is a tribute to the people involved in this rich musical community, and represents the wide range of musical genres that are present.

Production/Design: Soundings was designed and printed by Kate Ferrucci. It is based on interviews that were conducted, transcribed, and edited by the author from September 2003 to November 2005 in Bloomington, Indiana. The text includes a foreword by Jim Manion, program and music director of community radio station WFHB, and a preface by the author. The text was printed letterpress at the Wells Book Arts Center in Aurora, New York. The typeface is Hofler & Frere Jones’s Requiem. There is one continuous line drawing which weaves its way throughout the book which was printed silkscreen, and twenty photographic portraits of the interviewees which were printed offset.

Description/Materials: The book is printed on Mohawk Superfine eggshell text in softwhite, Fabriano Ingres lightweight in black and bright white, and Mohawk Options. The book is bradel bound with lacquered wooden boards attached to a goatskin vellum spine and a section of the sewing exposed. Woods used on the front and back cover boards are ebony and figured maple. The woods are inset with pearl dots and a wood purfling strip. The book has 216 pages, 180 of which are printed. It measures 9" wide by 12-1/4" high by 2" deep. A protective wooden case, which resembles a musical instrument case, houses the book. All copies are numbered and signed by the artist. The book is accompanied by a compilation compact disc which contains seventeen selected musical works of the interviewees. Also included is one copy of the silkscreened publicity materials, which includes an announcement postcard and poster. The edition is limited to fifty copies.