Middle school students enjoyed their trip to WCBE 90.5 and Groove U where they toured professional recording rooms and explored career possibilities.
On Tuesday, May 9, participating middle school students in the district initiative Lyrical Westerville traveled to Columbus to visit WCBE 90.5 and Groove U. Funding for Lyrical Westerville, a collaboration between Westerville City Schools and the Dick and Jane Project (DJP), was provided by a Westerville Education Foundation grant received this past fall. Students worked with the DJP to write lyrics for songs to be played on the radio in early summer. DJP’s Stephanie Ewen facilitated the field trip.
WCBE’s very own Jim Coe gave students a grand tour of the station’s recording rooms and music library. At Groove U, students learned about the various career possibilities in the music industry, were able to talk to and gain perspective from current students and were interviewed about their Lyrical Westerville experience by DJP’s Ben Shinabery. This year’s Lyrical Westerville participants were: (from Blendon) Grace Freeman, Zoe Hottle, Katharine Luke and teacher-advisor Dr. Lisa Huelskamp; (from Heritage) Elias Bass, Natassja Myers and teacher-advisor Allina Green; (from Genoa) Becca Borton, Paige Camera, Brea Daniel, Ruthanne James and teacher-advisor Debbie Pellington; and (from Walnut Springs) Nasra Ahmed, Daniel Hager, Andrew Jones, Lindsey Slone, Brynn Workman and teacher-advisor Jean Trimble.
Plans are currently underway to include some, if not all, of Lyrical Westerville’s lyricists and performers in the upcoming Westerville Music and Arts Festival to be held at Heritage Park on July 8 and 9. In addition, be sure to check out the May 18 Columbus Dispatch article written by Allison Ward. All four Westerville songs will be available for download in late June at thedickandjaneproject.bandcamp.com. Additional information about this project can be found at www.lyricalwesterville.weebly.com.