• High School/Grades 9-12

Plugged In Band Program’s Peace Tracks is a virtual exchange program for high school students from Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, and the United States. Participants are grouped into binational bands with each band composing, performing, recording, and producing an original song and music video about issues their generation or culture is facing and the positive change they want to create in the world. Participants develop skills in communication, cross-cultural collaboration, songwriting, video editing, and creating, recording, and mixing music. Each Peace Tracks session culminates in a live-streamed concert featuring the bands’ songs and music videos.

Activities

Each session begins with students sharing about themselves, their musical tastes, and their culture. Each band then selects a theme for their song, writes lyrics collaboratively, and creates, performs, records, and mixes music for their song using Soundtrap, a digital audio workstation. Next, each band creates a story board, gathers video footage, and edits their music video using WeVideo, a video editing platform. Occasional live video conferences on Zoom help students get to know each other better. The session culminates in a live-streamed concert on YouTube with participants celebrating each other’s work through a live chat. Classroom teachers from partner schools join Plugged In Band Program staff in facilitating and moderating interactions among the students.

Program Details