"The UMA Music Program has been great! The faculty, programs, and experience has helped me become a better musician all around."
Andrew Whitney
- Jazz & Contemporary
Music Major
"I love teaching Music at UMA because we focus on the music of today -- jazz, rock-influenced styles, and many others. Whether it's performing, composing, working in the recording studio or learning to teach, students are always engaged and excited."
- Richard Nelson
Associate Professor of Music
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- Current Checksheet for Concentration in Music Education
- Current Checksheet for Concentration in Performance
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Degrees Offered: B.M. and A.S.
Offered on the Augusta Campus
Passionate about music? Serious about your future? Then consider our Jazz and Contemporary Music Program or Associate of Science in Music as your direct pathway to a successful career in the exciting world of professional music.
Enjoying a reputation as northern New England’s preeminent modern music education resource, UMA’s music program offers concentrations in Performance, Composition, Music Education and Audio Technology.
Our renowned faculty, progressive program content, multi-stylistic approaches, highly personalized instruction, technical facilities and extremely competitive tuition have made UMA the prime choice for dedicated, motivated music students with a contemporary focus.
Our program also offers many benefits often absent at larger institutions: an optimum teacher to student ratio, small class size, highly personalized attention, supportive peer group, and easy commuting access. Simply put, UMA is a great place to become immersed in music, because the environment is nurturing, motivating and relaxed – a perfect mix for ensuring an enjoyable learning experience, year after year.
Once you graduate, the array of careers will be music to your ears. Perhaps your desire is to perform regionally or nationally, become a studio session player, or compose popular tunes or symphonic works. Or maybe teaching music courses in elementary, high school or college-level institutions is your direction. There is also the exciting world of music technology, with creative opportunities in recording, mastering, live sound, MIDI, broadcast media or sound track production. And for those with business interests, perhaps band and concert tour management, music and copyright law, promotion and marketing or even music instrument retail may be your career focus.
Whatever your direction, UMA’s music program will have you ready to play.
Click here to download the Jazz and Contemporary Music program brochure. (PDF document)
UMA Music’s Course Concentrations:
UMA ensures a well-rounded and relevant education by providing a diverse array of concentrations reflecting performance, composition, recording technology or pedagogy. Designed to address your future career vision, there’s a concentration interest for any student wanting to study at UMA.
Performance Concentration:
Immersion in small-group jazz and contemporary music repertoire, theory and improvisation techniques.
Composition Concentration:
Broad-based composition studies encompassing and integrating jazz, popular and modern classical styles.
Education Concentration
Well-rounded preparation for State of Maine teacher certification, with an emphasis on jazz and contemporary music.
Audio Technology Concentration
Thorough training in analog/digital recording, engineering and mixing in a fully equipped professional studio.
The UMA Music Faculty:
The combination of full time and adjunct faculty at UMA represents the pinnacle of musicianship, educational excellence, real-world experience, industry savvy and ethic. And no “old school” vibe here! The faculty at UMA understands and proactively participates in the modern music scene, in a multitude of styles and with an impressive complement of skill-sets. The award-winning UMA faculty is always out in the scene, mixing it up with other regional players and occasionally hosting and playing with nationally respected icons. Master your instrument and become a proficient, concisely accurate exponent of the styles you most enjoy, through the expert influence and guidance of UMA instructors.
Resident Faculty
- Russ Lombardi - Associate Professor of Music
Music Theory, Arranging, Composition, Ensemble, Piano, Bass - William Moseley - Professor of Music/Audio-Studio Coordinator
Audio Technology, Music History, Ensemble, Flute - Richard Nelson - Associate Professor of Music
Composition, Music Theory, Ensemble, Guitar - Charles Winfield - Professor of Music
Music Theory, Musicianship, Music History, Ensemble, Trumpet
Adjunct Faculty
- Norm Bergeron: Latin Percussion, Ensemble
- Gary Clancy: Guitar, Ensemble, Music Business
- Matthew Fogg: Piano, Theory
- Marcia Gallagher: Voice, Ensemble, Piano Lab
- Steve Grover: Drum Set, Ensemble, Music History, Musicianship
- Scott Hughes: Guitar, Ensemble
- Pamela Jenkins: Saxophone, Music History, Pedagogy
- Anita Jorosch: Trombone, Pedagogy, Music History
- Tim Johnson: Voice, Ensemble, Recital Class
- Greg Loughman: Bass
- Frank Mauceri: Electronic/Computer Music, Composition, Saxophone
- Dean Neal: Pedagogy
- Don Stratton: Trumpet, Composition
- Bob Thompson: Guitar, Music Business
*Baccalaureate or Graduate level study is generally required for these occupations.