True stories turned into songs & portraits that sing
“So connected to life—to the lives of the people! So uplifting. Bravo! Wonderful songwriting”
— Carol Anshein
A Living Touring Cabaret installation
True Stories turned into songs -- and portraits that sing
Award Winning Echoes of Otsego is more than a performance, more than an exhibition—it is a living, evolving work of art. At its heart are Song Portraits: original songs created from in-depth conversations with community members whose lives—funny, tender, defiant, searching—become music. Alongside the songs are Keith Torgan’s Oilish digital portraits, which capture not only likeness but essence. Together, they form a cabaret-style installation where image and song speak to one another, inviting audiences to see and hear people they might otherwise pass by.
This work shines a light on the extraordinary in the ordinary—on bass players obsessed with motorbikes, bakers who carry the soul of a village, survivors who find faith, and seekers who discover that home was what they were searching for all along. The stories are intimate and local, yet they resonate far beyond one county’s borders, offering reflections on identity, belonging, resilience, and the quiet power of everyday lives across rural America and beyond.
Because Echoes continues to grow with every new encounter and every new story, it is never quite the same twice. Each presentation is both an artwork and a gathering—an invitation for audiences to witness, to reflect, and perhaps to recognize echoes of their own lives within the songs and portraits.
Available to galleries, performance venues, and festivals across the U.S. and internationally, Echoes of Otsego travels as a mobile cabaret installation, carrying with it the voices and visions of community—reminding us that in the stories of others, we often find ourselves.
“Oh my—so touching. Thank you for putting this universal prayer to song”
— Shana Deane
The opening song in Echoes of Otsego is the very first song portrait I ever wrote. Its genesis was a request from a friend who asked me to write a song for her husband, a novelist. He had nearly finished his book, but fear and perfectionism kept him from sending it out into the world. She hoped a song might inspire him to complete it and take that leap. I understood his struggle deeply, and the song came quickly.
It was transformative—not only for him, but for me. In writing it, I discovered the power of turning my attention outward, of listening closely to someone else’s story and giving it voice through song. That was the true beginning of Echoes of Otsego—the realization that music could carry the weight, humor, and hope of another person’s life.
“People can't stop raving about Siesel & Torgan! Their performance is full of surprises. The combination of Torgan's zany toughness and Siesel's artful sweetness is irresistible”
— Elizabeth Nields
The People — The Portraits
“Lots of God sailing through these people and their songs. Ballast for the wind”
— Andrea Fooner
keith torgan
Keith Torgan is a multi-disciplinary artist whose career spans music, theater, and visual art. As a singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor, author, teacher, storyteller, and visual artist, he has performed for audiences in venues ranging from theaters and libraries to iconic New York spaces like The Knitting Factory. His compositional work includes scores for The Tempest and Ring Round the Moon, and he is the award-winning author of Green Golly & Her Golden Flute, a creative reimagining of the Rapunzel story that introduces children to classical music.
Keith has also shared his expertise as an educator, teaching acting and performance skills to musicians at NYU, the College of St. Rose, Boston Flute Academy, the China Conservatory of Music, and Hannover University for Music, Theater, and Media in Hannover Germany. Now based in upstate New York, he collaborates with his wife, Barbara Siesel—a renowned flutist, producer, and educator—on performances and projects that inspire and entertain audiences of all ages.