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When young musicians from Paterson came together to create an anthem celebrating their city, three William Paterson University students helped transform their work into a professionally recorded song.
William Paterson Sound Engineering Arts students Timothy Leonard ’26, Shayla Montero ’27, and Niko Nyman ’26 served as recording engineers for “Life in the Silk City,” an original composition created by students in Paterson featuring performers from the Paterson Music Project (PMP) and the Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts. The song and accompanying video premiered September 3 during a community celebration at Paterson School 16.
Over several days during spring break, the WP students ran recording sessions at the University that brought a rhythm section, strings, brass, woodwinds, and a children’s choir into William Paterson’s studios in the Shea Center for Performing Arts. The complexity of the musical arrangement meant that its many layers could not be recorded simultaneously.
“With careful coordination of available resources, significant pre-production planning, and some long hours, our students were able to pull it all off gracefully. This was a very strong analog to a professional recording experience in a large studio, where time management and maximizing the calendar for a project are paramount,” says Professor Phil Clifford, director of WP’s Sound Engineering Arts program. “Professional studios often have to switch gears, working on multiple projects with completely different instrumentations; this project just happened to have it all in one.”
“Life in the Silk City” grew out of a songwriting class offered through PMP, a program of Wharton Arts, a nonprofit performing arts education organization. PMP provides tuition-free afterschool music education to students in grades 1 through 12 in Paterson. The program uses music education as a vehicle for social change, providing young people with opportunities to develop musical abilities alongside skills including self-confidence, discipline, collaboration, and creative thinking.
“The students were really thoughtful about how to represent the diversity and unique personality of Paterson through their lyrics and musical choices. When you listen to the song, you’ll hear lyrics in three languages and different genres that represent the students’ interests and the diverse backgrounds that make up their community,” explains PMP Project Director Sam Tobias. “It’s not easy to represent a place as unique as Paterson all in one song, but you can hear Paterson’s past, present, and future in ‘Life in the Silk City.’”
Overall, the song’s message is one of community connection and pride—a city made stronger by its diverse residents.
“Seeing and hearing the completed ‘Life in the Silk City’ gave me a strong sense of gratitude for being able to be part of the project. It was amazing to see the hard work from my colleagues and me come together and bring such a meaningful project to life,” says Montero. “Most of all, it meant a lot to see young musicians have an opportunity like this … while also reminding me of how far I've come and how experiences like this are helping me get closer to my own professional goals in music and audio.”
Tobias says the experience at William Paterson had an impact beyond the finished recording.
“The opportunity to record in William Paterson’s facilities was a life-changing and eye-opening experience for our students,” he says. “As an educator, it’s rare that you see an immediate impact, but in the studio, I could see the gears turning in our students’ minds. Only a few days later, one of our students let us know that they intend to pursue a career in audio engineering. It’s hard to overstate how meaningful it is for students to have experiences that change the way they see the world and see themselves.”
In addition to Clifford, William Paterson faculty and administrators who contributed their time and talent to the collaboration included Professor of Music Carol Frierson-Campbell; Adjunct Professor of Sound Engineering Arts Dante Portella; and Payton MacDonald, interim associate dean of WP’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.
“PMP’s focus on music education as a vehicle for social change aligns so well with William Paterson’s focus on social mobility, social justice, and community engagement that it was a no-brainer to make sure we could support this project,” Clifford says. “I think everyone in the William Paterson arts community can be proud of what we accomplished together.”
Leaders from both organizations say they are eager to explore additional opportunities for University students and young musicians in Paterson to learn from one another and create together.
