State of Sound Stories from NC State University Libraries invites individuals and groups to share their personal sound stories — their creative paths that got them involved with sound — to highlight diverse ways forward for those interested in making sound a bigger part of their lives or careers.

Join us for a conversation with Tift Merritt, a Raleigh singer, songwriter, artist and community archivist, and Peter Askim, director of orchestral studies at NC State and conductor of the Raleigh Civic Symphony and Chamber Orchestra. We'll talk with Merritt and Askim about their personal sound stories and their collaboration on The Other Side of Hungry River, which is set to premiere on May 2. The music explores the emotional history of Dorothea Dix Park, the former site of a slave plantation and mental institution.