About Old Library Studio

Mixing music and mentorship, Old Library Studio gives teens in and around Portland a place to compose and record their own music. Teens at OLS benefit from a relaxed and welcoming learning environment, hands-on use of professional recording equipment, and help from skilled instructors. A 501(c)(3) arts-education charity that is truly a rarity.

The mission of Old Library Studio is to inspire and educate young artists using the tools of digital technology. Old Library Studio is a unique music-technology classroom and recording studio for teens. We work to ensure that teens from a broad range of musical and non-musical backgrounds can learn to compose and record their own music, guided by staff and professional mentors. Every program we offer results in excellent new music written, performed and recorded by our students. It's fantastic !

Since 2004 Old Library Studio has brought a cutting edge after school music program to Portland teens and established a reputation with schools and alternative programs for engaging at-risk youth in creative learning. Old Library Studio has been recognized for artistic excellence by the Oregon Arts Commission, and our executive director, Noah Kleiman was awarded the 2006 Skidmore Prize for work in the Arts.

We provide creative opportunities for teens which they don’t find anywhere else. Most music education programs concentrate on instrumental or vocal instruction. Several otherwise traditional music programs provide limited music recording opportunities, but Old Library Studio is the only program which emphasizes individual musical creativity, over performance practice. In essence, our students learn “what makes music tick”, by actually creating real music themselves.

Old Library Studio fills a significant gap in our community by engaging teens, from all socio-economic quarters, in the creative process of music production and studio recording. Old Library Studio has a strong track record of successful partnerships with programs which serve at-risk teens. The impact our programs have on students can be profound. Students from Portland Public Schools have found the motivation to finish their high school education, and turn their lives around.