Where Play is a Serious Business
Independent Playground Studios is a nonprofit organization that teaches children how to write and musically produce their own original songs – using smart phones and tablets! We do this by having the children (aged 6-18) take part in fun, interactive, hands on workshops that include teaching the craft of: Songwriting, Storytelling, Music Production, Beat Making, and the art and science of mixing and audio engineering.
our passion
Independent Playground Studios is NOT a talent agency, religious or political entity. We are a S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) Program. We are a fun and mobile virtual studio that teaches children of all walks of life, that it is possible to create GREAT music by embracing limited resources! We hope that by teaching our projects and workshops in this way, we will inspire our youth to see that it is possible to overcome all life obstacles, by unleashing their unlimited imagination and embracing a positive attitude!
What We Offer
A S.T.E.A.M (Science*Technology*Engineering*Arts*Math)
music workshop, Class, & after school program.
OUR STAFF
Omorro Hogan
Executive Director, Music Producer and Songwriter
Omorro currently has 21 years experience passionately working, teaching, mentoring, inspiring, and building positive relationships with hundreds of his students, and their parents, throughout the Anchorage area. He has 14 years experience teaching music production, songwriting, vocal lessons and guitar lessons to children. During that time he has musically directed several live plays for Alaska Theatre of Youth (Peter Pan and Wendy, Alladin), and organized a concert for the special Olympics at East High school. At Starbright Early Learning Center, he has produced, and co-written several music videos and movie shorts with his students. At Starbright he honed his teaching skills in music production, beat making, and musical performance to his students aged 5 – 14. He has directed a children’s music concert for the Lieutenant Governor in 2009 at Government Hill elementary. In 2012, he taught music lessons (Guitar, Bass, and voice) at The Boys&Girls Club at the Mountain View location. At the end of the summer of 2012 he took his students and organized a musical performance concert at the Mountain View fair.
Omorro is an avid album collector and amateur pop music historian. In 2003, he decided to get his first guitar lessons. In 2004 he purchased an 8 track mini digital studio. After he recorded and produced his first song, he was hooked! He was amazed at how he could manipulate sound/audio to create art. He was amazed at how, through trial and error, sweat and tears, that he could produce near studio quality songs with inexpensive equipment! It was then that he discovered his passion of combining science, creative writing, and music to create and express himself in a way that was uniquely his, and to create a curriculum to teach his students these musical skills. he wanted to teach his students the possibility of an amazing future for themselves if they would learn to create and think outside of the box. And he was passionate and determined to teach these skills and life lessons – all while having fun! In 2006, when he first started teaching music and video production, their wasn’t a respected curriculum for teaching those subjects to elementary aged children. So he set about creating his own curriculum. Fast forward to January 2020, and Omorro’s dream child, Independent Playground Studios has been born!
Omorro a singer-songwriter, and guitarist who has written and produced over one hundred songs for his virtual one man band: Omorro and the Daydream Orchestra. Omorro married his wife in November of 2000 in Philadelphia, where he and his wife, working at the same after school program at Germantown Friends school, discovered their newfound passion for working with children. They have been working together, usually in the same building (sometimes the same room, grrrrrr… LOL!), ever since!
