Oklahoma Voices

The stories behind a musical life.

People, places, and experiences, remembered in musicians’ own words.

Exchange Avenue Baptist Church youth choir prepares for a tour, 1969.
Rehearsing togetherExchange Avenue Baptist Church youth choir prepares for a tour, 1969.Oklahoma Historical Society / The Gateway to Oklahoma History · Original source

The Project

Real people. Lifelong music.

The Oklahoma Voices oral history project is being developed to preserve Oklahoma musicians’ experiences, memories, and stories.

The project will invite musicians to reflect on how they began, the people they played with, the places they performed, and what music has meant in their lives.

Getting started

First instruments, early influences, teachers, and the moments that made music part of everyday life.

Making music together

Rehearsals, performances, friendships, and the communities formed through shared music.

A lifetime of memories

Turning points, meaningful performances, challenges, and stories worth passing on.

When will interviews be available?

A publication date has not yet been announced. Completed interviews will appear here when they are ready to share.

Explore supporting history

Stories in their own words.

Listen and watch

Approved recordings will let visitors hear musicians tell their stories directly.

Read and follow

Readable transcripts, captions, and chapters will help visitors find a moment or follow a complete interview.

Explore the context

Related places, ensembles, photographs, and sources will connect a remembered experience with supporting history.

Share a story, material, or correction →

The history around a remembered experience.

Explore the photographs →

Photographs preserve names, places and moments. Follow each image into its source account and the wider musical history.

Exchange Avenue Baptist Church youth choir prepares for a tour, 1969.
Rehearsing togetherExchange Avenue Baptist Church youth choir prepares for a tour, 1969.Oklahoma Historical Society / The Gateway to Oklahoma History · Original source
Gene Thrailkill and Bert Gillespie prepare percussion equipment, 1977.
Behind the Pride of OklahomaGene Thrailkill and Bert Gillespie prepare percussion equipment, 1977.Oklahoma Historical Society / The Gateway to Oklahoma History · Original source
A Salute to Black American Jazz at the state capitol, 1981.
Jimmie NelsonA Salute to Black American Jazz at the state capitol, 1981.Oklahoma Historical Society / The Gateway to Oklahoma History · Original source