UMA is proud to celebrate Dr. Anita Jerosch performing with the distinguished Maine Brass Collective, an ensemble of professional brass and percussion musicians from across Maine who serve on the faculty of UMA, USM, UMO, Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin Colleges, and perform with the Portland Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Maine State Ballet Orchestra, Portland Ballet Orchestra, Opera Maine, and more. The concert was sponsored by the Bowdoin College Music Program.

Faculty like Dr. Jerosch help strengthen connections between UMA and Maine’s professional arts community, a meaningful part of our commitment to cultural involvement and excellence.

In a small room at the Windham Women’s Correctional Center, a group of women gathers each week to sing. For an hour, the noise of daily routines fades, replaced by shared breath, blended voices and a rare chance to be fully present.

This women’s choir offers more than music. It creates space for connection in a setting where isolation can be the norm. Through song, participants are reminded that their voices matter and that they belong to something larger than themselves.

The program was initiated by Dr. Christine Letcher, assistant professor of music at UMA and music director of the Church Organists and Directors Association (CODA) Chorus, and is supported by a growing circle of collaborators. CODA’s board president, Elise Klysa, worked closely with Letcher to develop and secure grant funding, and each week four CODA volunteers, sopranos and altos, join rehearsals at the facility. Their presence reinforces the choir’s sense of shared effort, modeling collaboration while singing alongside participants rather than leading from a distance.

A bridge back to themselves

Many participants describe the choir as a way back to who they are beyond their circumstances, a pattern reflected in studies showing that group singing in prisons helps people rebuild a sense of identity and self‑worth beyond their sentence. Singing together invites listening, trust and vulnerability. Each person shows up not as a number or a label, but as a human being in relationship with others.

That sense of belonging does not happen by accident. Rehearsals are structured to encourage collaboration and mutual support. Over time, the group finds its rhythm together, learning when to lead, when to follow and how to hold space for one another. One participant shared that singing helped her feel human again, a feeling she had not realized she was missing. This response is consistent with research finding that prison choir members report greater happiness, sociability and a renewed sense of being seen as fully human.

Music also becomes a way to process difficult emotions. Joy, grief, hope and uncertainty all have a place in the room. The act of singing gives those feelings somewhere to go, turning them into sound, harmony and shared experience.

“We approach this work as collaborators, not instructors,” said Letcher. “Together, we create a space grounded in dignity and connection. In the choir, women practice listening, leading, and trusting their own voices, and those strengths become part of how they see themselves and what they bring back home.”

Measuring what music makes possible

Alongside these personal moments, the program is intentionally gathering insight about its impact. Participants complete simple pre‑ and post‑tests that explore changes in social connection, mood and outlook, building on a growing body of evidence that music programs in carceral settings can reduce anxiety and depression while increasing resilience and social connection.

Over the next two years, this information will help shape a practical guide for other correctional facilities interested in starting similar programs. What is happening in Windham has the potential to ripple outward, offering a model rooted in dignity, access and care.

Songs that look forward

The choir’s repertoire reflects both comfort and possibility. This winter, participants are rehearsing familiar Disney songs that tap into memory and imagination. Last summer during the warmer months, the music turned toward a theme of sky and stars, songs that look upward and outward.

Rehearsals build toward moments of shared pride. The choir works in two seasonal projects each year, a Winter Choir project and a Summer Choir project, and each culminates in two performances. One performance is shared with fellow residents, and the other welcomes invited community members. Standing together and singing for an audience affirms the work they have done, both individually and collectively, transforming rehearsal into something witnessed and celebrated.

A quiet kind of transformation

While the choir operates independently, it reflects a broader commitment shared across Â鶹APP prison education work: meeting people where they are and creating opportunities for learning, expression and connection in places where access can change the course of a life.

At its heart, this choir is about access. Access to creative expression. Access to community. Access to the simple, powerful experience of being heard.

Through partnerships and grant support, including funding from Choral Arts New England’s Alfred Nash Patterson grant, and the Onion Foundation, the program continues to grow. Its impact is felt not in grand gestures, but in small, steady changes. A deeper breath. A steadier voice. A group of women finding harmony, together.

Join us for a Decade-by-Decade Musical Time Machine

Thursday, February 26 | 6:00 PM
Farber Forum, Jewett Hall- Farber Forum | Free and open to all

What happens when you mix six decades of UMA history, a room full of powerhouse faculty musicians, vintage archive photos, jazzy energy, contemporary classical flair, and post-concert snacks?

You get a celebration that refuses to sit quietly in the background.

This special 60th Anniversary concert takes you on a musical journey from the 1960s to today, pairing live performances with a multimedia look at the moments that shaped the University along the way. Expect an energetic, feel-good program that blends story, sound, visuals, and a little bit of sonic adventure.

What you’ll experience:

• Live performances by UMA faculty and guest artists
  
• Music spanning the 60s through today
  
• Jazz, contemporary classical, and genre-blurring surprises
  
• Archival photos from Â鶹APP past, projected decade by decade
  
• A world premiere arrangement of “UMA Sunshine”, originally written for the University by former faculty member Willie Maiden
  
• Refreshments afterward in the Danforth Gallery
  

Performers include:
Lindsey Wiehl, Christine Letcher, Anita Jerosch (with guest Sebastian Jerosch), Duane Edwards, Jeffrey Rojo, Marcia Gallagher, and more.

Admission is free. Donations for student scholarships will be gratefully accepted.

Whether you’re a music lover, a history buff, an alum feeling nostalgic, or someone who simply enjoys being in a room where something new is happening for the first time, this is your night.

Come for the music. Stay for the snacks. Leave humming a tune from your favorite decade.

Dr. Anita Jerosch was selected to sit on a panel of international judges at the International Women’s Brass Conference bass trombone audition competitions for orchestra in Hartford, CT in May. This international competition was open to all ages, and genders.

The UMA Faculty/Student Jazz Ensemble was selected to perform at the on Saturday, June 14 from 12:30pm to 2:00pm at the Congregational Church in Camden, Maine.

The ensemble is composed of Duane Edwards, bass (adjunct faculty), Jackson Cromwell, drums (artist faculty), Thomas Runco, guitar (student), Emily LaChapelle, vocals (student, and Laura Boege, violin (student).

This event is free and open to anyone who wants to attend (all students, faculty, staff, and the general public). FMI: Dr. Anita Jerosch, Associate Professor of Music, anita.jerosch@maine.edu

A new work by Â鶹APP adjunct faculty member Al Kryszak will have its world premiere in New York City. “Suite for Solo Cimbalom,” a selection from Kryszak’s “N´Ç˛ő´Ú±đ°ů˛ąłŮłÜ” concerto and film score, will be performed by MatÄ›j ÄŚĂ­p, a rising cimbalom virtuoso from Hodslavice, Czech Republic.

The cimbalom is a hammered, stringed instrument known for its resonant, shimmering tone and remarkable expressiveness. Popular in Eastern European folk and classical traditions, it is rarely featured in solo contemporary works, making this premiere especially distinctive.

Kryszak’s celebrated career includes premieres at Turner Classic Movies, Symphony Space and The Film Society of Lincoln Center. Known for blending music and film, his work often bridges silent cinema and modern classical soundscapes. This latest suite follows Číp’s acclaimed 2024 Boston performance of Kryszak’s full “Cimbalom Concerto” with the New England Film Orchestra. Learn more about his music, art and career at .

The performance will take place Friday, May 2, at 6 p.m. at Bohemian National Hall at the Czech Center in New York City.

UPDATE: The full concert can now be viewed at

UMA Concert Week Spring 2025

Don’t forget to join us for Â鶹APP Music Program’s online concerts, pre-recorded and presented on .

April 17, released at 7pm: Concert featuring highlights of our Junior and Senior Student Concerts

May 2, released at 7pm: Online Ensembles Concert featuring our Envok Vocal Ensemble, Â鶹APP Chorus, and Jazz and Rock Online Ensembles.

Join us for an evening of art, music and inspiration at Art & Music Night, a special fundraising event in support of student scholarships. The event will take place Thursday, April 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Jewett Hall on the UMA Augusta campus, at 46 University Drive.

Art & Music Night will feature a student art exhibition, a reception with a cash bar at the Danforth Art Gallery and live music performances by Â鶹APP esteemed music faculty, including Lindsey Wiehl, Duane Edwards, Christine Letcher, Anita Jerosch and Jeffrey Rojo.

The event is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome and encouraged, with all funds raised supporting scholarships for UMA art and music students.

“This event is more than just a night of art and music—it’s an investment in the future of Â鶹APP talented students,” said Assistant Professor of Music Lindsey Wiehl, of Â鶹APP Contemporary and Popular Music Program. “Every ticket, every donation, and every moment of support helps provide scholarships that turn passion into possibility. We can’t wait to share an inspiring evening with you and make a real difference together!”

Art & Music Night showcases the talent and dedication of UMA students and faculty while raising critical funds to help the next generation of artists and musicians thrive.

Calling all UMA musicians! UMA Radio wants to showcase your talent on our internet airwaves! We play a wide variety of genres, and we’re excited to feature the diverse musical talent of our community.

If you’re interested in sharing your music with the station, send an email to umaradio@maine.edu with your artist/band name and a brief description of your music.

We can’t wait to hear your music and share it with our listeners! Get your music heard on UMA Radio!

Dr. Lindsey Wiehl, assistant professor of music at the Â鶹APP, has been named one of 20 Outstanding Women of 2025 by local radio station Coast 93.1. Celebrated for her deep commitment to community enrichment through the arts and education, Wiehl’s work spans far beyond the classroom.

She has led music and STEM-based projects at summer camps,music lessons at the International Music Camp, and has developed programs that provide students with instruments and opportunities to create and share their music. Through her entrepreneurship venture, Reeding Rainbow Reeds, she blends creativity with accessibility—ensuring that music remains inclusive, engaging and available to all.

At UMA, Wiehl teaches music production, songwriting, and woodwind techniques, and she mentors students through innovative programs in creating and presenting music to larger audiences, which explores the intersection of sound and technology. Wiehl also creates immersive multimedia concert experiences—like Music Based on Literature and Beatlemania Bassoonmania—that invite new audiences into the world of music.

As a performer and composer, Wiehl appears locally and internationally, and she is one half of, the electro-synth band she co-founded with her sister Valerie. Their AVA Digital Platinum Award-winning music video, recorded and produced by UMA Senior Events & Learning Production Specialist Rick Burns, captures their signature blend of EDM energy and scientific curiosity.

A classically trained bassoonist, she’s equally at home in academic, classical and contemporary settings. “I believe the brainy and complex side of music can—and should—coexist with the fun and approachable side,” Wiehl says.

You can listen to Lindsey’s Coast 93.1’s broadcast interview, and learn more about her fascinating work and career at.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Lindsey Wiehl on this well-earned recognition!