Jazz and Contemporary Music

Create it! Perform it! Record it!

Jazz. Popular. Technology.

Enjoying a reputation as northern New England’s preeminent modern music education resource, UMA’s music program offers concentrations in Performance, Sonic Arts and 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. Jazz and popular music are in the foreground in a forward-thinking program that prizes individual creativity and contemporary musical thinking.

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 today's 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 is limited only by your own creativity. Perhaps your desire is to perform regionally or nationally, become a studio session player, or compose popular tunes or symphonic works. 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.

 

Watch live Jazz Week concerts!  More Information

 

 

http://webcast.uma.edu/livejazz

 

 

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.
Sonic Arts and Composition Concentration:
Interested in pursuing songwriting, computer-based music, popular, jazz or classical composition at the college level and recording your music in a professionally-equipped recording studio? Click here to begin a dialog with Professor Richard Nelson.
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.